Down on the Farm

There I was last night knowing what to expect; "here it comes," I thought to myself, Feliciano can’t do his job, and now Willie calls in, not Joe Smith or Duaner Sanchez, but instead a fellow named Muniz, another Carlos yet. I picture the Mets dugout, and Willie says, “hey Carlos” and 23 guys turn around.

The Mets are done, I think, and groan a little because Carlos Delgado had just made a hell of a play. I start thinking about what else might be on the tube, the NBA farce of a playoffs (Celts-Lakers has been pre-ordained for some time now), maybe the French Open (but no Tennis Channel) or the College World Series, or maybe I can catch another re-run of “Monk”.

But because I’m a masochist, I leave the Mets game on. “What the hell,” I say, “ I don’t care about these guys anymore anyway.” After all, Willie’s still the manager, Omar’s still the GM, and now I’ll get to watch still another Carlos blow this game for nice Mr. Vargas.

But, lo and behold, Muniz strikes out the dangerous Kemp, swinging yet, on a beautiful hard inside fastball, up at the shoulders. "Whoa!. That was nice,” I exclaim. Not only does he save Vargas, but Feliciano and the whole Mets team with one great pitch.

Of course, the Mets went on to win, ruining Joe Torre’s debut as the Dodgers’ manager in New York. Joe had to watch last night, as his usually reliable catcher, Russ Martin, got his mitt caught up in the opposing pitcher’s bat, keeping an inning alive for the top of the order.

And that top of the order did some real damage too; Reyes singles, Castillo doubles, scoring Vargas, and Wright nails a second homer, turning an otherwise innocuous inning into a four-run nightmare. Not just for the runs, which were bad enough, but his outfielder, Juan Pierre, threw the ball away, and his pitcher, Brad Penny, failed to back up third base on the play.

In fact, the best TV shot of the night had to be the one of Torre in the dugout, seeking some explanation from Penny (“Penny for your thoughts,” I thought) and grimacing as Penny gave some wild excuse for not doing his job.

But the Dodgers are a dangerous team and they proved it last night by coming back in that potential nightmare of a sixth inning. Kent and DeWitt had homered in the top of the fifth to cut the lead from six to three runs, and here they were coming again in the sixth.

Ehier had doubled and Martin had walked with just one out, and up to the plate stepped Jeff Kent once again. And, sure enough, Kent smacked a hard line drive to the right side, but, wonder of wonders, Carlos Delgado snared that ball and damn near doubled Martin off first base. But Carlos’s dive came up short as Martin squirmed out of the tag.

But the Dodgers weren’t done yet. Willie made the right move, or one that should have worked anyway, bringing in the left-handed Feliciano to face the left-handed Loney. But when Loney hit a hard single, it set up the confrontation of the night.

Matt Kemp had been the most dangerous hitter in that potent Dodgers lineup, batting well over .300 with 28 rbi’s. And, while I was expecting and hoping to see Smith or Sanchez on the Mets side of that confrontation, Muniz put out the fire, thus ruining a perfectly wonderful opportunity to second-guess Willie once again.

But, I must admit, it was nice to see a Willie move work out (for once?) and it was even better to watch him joking with the press after the game. Things don’t look so dark anymore for these Mets, and Willie. It’s amazing what a few wins can do.

But the story of the game, for me, was not only the performance of Carlos Muniz, but also that of the starting pitcher, Claudio Vargas. He has been remarkably consistent over his four game starts, allowing no more than four runs in each of them. He now sports a very creditable 4.50 ERA.

The Mets have been strangely fortunate in their call-ups lately, and, since being swept by the Braves, losing two of three to the Rockies and losing the first versus the Marlins, there have been several unsung heroes emerging, either from the minors or the bench. Muniz and Vargas last night, Endy Chavez and the long-lost Fernando Tatis the night before, and Tatis and Ramon Castro the night before that.

And their performances had been sorely needed, with Delgado needing a rest, Ryan Church nursing a concussion and Moises Alou out once again. The unlooked-for bench play seems to have lifted the rest of the lineup out of their doldrums, Wright with his two dingers, Beltran with his hitting and fine play in the field, Castillo looking born-again at the bat and whose diving stop of a hard ground ball to his right the other day was one of the finest plays I’ve seen by any second baseman this year.

<>The long and grinding baseball season only underscores the importance of, not just the bench, but the entire organization. Examples are everywhere, and not least in the Bronx. The Yanks recently found a fellow named Darrell Rasner in their organization who has become their fourth starter, sporting a 3-1 record, an incredible 1.80 ERA and a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of just .88!

Rasner too seems to have had an effect beyond just his rather remarkable numbers. The Yanks high hopes for their two rookies had seemingly been misplaced, while the performances of Pettite and Mussina had been uneven at best. Since Rasner’s arrival, Pettite and Mussina have picked it up as has the entire Yankees team.

There had to be some good news over there. Not counting Joba, of course. We can’t hear enough about him.

Throwing It In....

How important is it really? With Willie, without Willie, it's just a game. This fact was driven home to me this morning as I read about a service held for the Bayonne, NJ war dead, including the brother of a friend of mine from high school. It's easy to forget sometimes, even on Memorial Day.

Things would probably be a lot better at Shea, though, if the Mets would just play the game like a game. Yesterday, I watched helplessly as Reyes booted a hard bouncer and Beltran made an ill-conceived dive at a soft liner to centerfield. Result – a few more unearned runs for the Marlins.

If things were allowed to settle down somewhat, if the Mets had made a managerial change last night, the pressure would have been relieved and maybe Reyes makes that stop; maybe Beltran takes that liner on a hop, thus minimizing the damage.

However, the big news last night was that Willie Randolph would keep his job as manager. Although I think it's probably a mistake, if just for the distraction it's causing this team, I've made a conscious decision not to live and die with the Mets anymore, at least not for the foreseeable future. If the Wilpons don't care what their fans think, why should I care about them, or their team?

Keeping Willie at this point really makes no sense though. The Florida Marlins are leading the NL East with a 30-20 record, which puts them on a pace to go 97-65 for the season. The Mets, currently at 23-26, would have to go 74-39 for the rest of the season in order to tie the Marlins That means they'll have to win 2 out of 3 games for the rest of the season in order to take the division. Very unlikely.

Their wildcard chances aren't that much better. The Cubs and Cards are now at 30-21 and 30-22 respectively. The Diamondbacks are also 30-21. So it still comes down to winning two out of every three for the rest of the season. For a team that can't even achieve a .500 record past the season's quarter point, I'm afraid that's almost impossible.

It wouldn't necessarily have been inconceivable if they had changed the team chemistry somewhat. But they missed their chance now. The Wilpons, secure in their new stadium deal and having Willie under contract for another year, decided just to let the season go. Why send good money after bad?

The Wilpons must've missed all the bad fielding, the horrible base-running, the players playing tight as bowstrings. Or they've already decided the real fault has been in the player selection, and that Omar will eventually be replaced anyway. And, although they might be correct in that assessment, I think it was premature. A managerial change would have given this team a chance.

After all, a not too different team came very close in 2006 to winning it all. It had the same ingredients really, Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Delgado. Of course, LoDuca was the catcher and Valentin was the second baseman, and Shawn Green manned one of the outfield positions, and the pitching was different. Willie was the manager, of course, and well, I guess it really doesn’t take that much tweaking to screw things up.

The tweaks haven’t worked. That’s for sure. Castillo has been bad to disastrous. Delgado’s a couple of years older, but then so are Reyes and Wright, which, in their cases, should have been a very good thing.

The lineup was a little different but not much. Beltran used to bat third with Delgado at cleanup and Wright batting fifth. Wright’s ascendancy and Delgado’s slide dictated a change, but that shouldn’t have made all that much difference either.

Interestingly enough, though, Tom Glavine was 15-7 in 2006. Steve Trachsel was 15-8. Those were the two big guns and they’re not here anymore. El Duque was 9-7, Pedro Martinez was 9-8 and John Maine was just 6-5. Oliver Perez had just come over from the Pirates and finished 1-3. Although Brian Bannister never got much of a chance, he’s a nice pitcher now for Kansas City. And then there was Victor Zambrano, who was traded for potential ace Scott Kazmir.

It’s obvious that this team could have really used Pedro and El Duque this year, from the start. Maine hasn’t lived up to his potential. And, gee whiz, imagine if we had Bannister and Kazmir. Then it would have been Santana, Kazmir, Bannister, Maine and Perez, even without mentioning Pedro or El Duque.

It should also be noted that Moises Alou had nothing to do with 2006. And, in retrospect, he has had almost nothing to do with 2008 either. There were some other perhaps minor ingredients to that 2006 team that the 2008 version may be missing, players such as Cliff Floyd and Julio Franco. And Kaz Matsui won a pennant with the Rockies after the Mets let him go.

So, except for Johan Santana, a lot of the moves have been pretty bad, to say the least. Probably the biggest difference to team chemistry has been the Valentin injury and the hobbled Castillo as a replacement. Valentin, playing in just about 2/3 of a year, with 387 at bats, had 62 rbi’s and 56 runs scored. Castillo thus far has just 13 rbi’s and 22 runs scored, and he has been a liability in the field.

They say a team has to be strong up the middle, and the Mets have Castillo at the keystone and Reyes playing erratically. They say pitching and defense wins pennants and World Series and the Mets have only three starters pitching creditably, Santana, Maine and Perez. The bullpen has been very bad at times, with Heilman the biggest disappointment. The pitching is ranked 14^th overall, the defense is ranked just 18^th overall.

Championship performance? Certainly not. Championship talent? Probably not. We may never know. And the players still don’t know if they have a manager for the season.

A Clean Sweep All Around

Are we having fun yet, Mets fans? How much of this bad baseball do we have to watch? For whatever reason, and maybe it isn't FAIR, Mets management must make a move. Two moves, perhaps, eventually. Willie has to be fired now.

I know he's sorry, but that has nothing to do with it. I know he's black, but that has nothing to do with it. I know his players aren't playing good baseball, and that has EVERYTHING to do with it.

Omar Minaya should get an opportunity to name a new manager immediately. Any veteran manager will do. If, at the end of this year, the new manager hasn't turned things around, then Omar should be canned as well. To fire Omar now would surely disable this Mets team, as Omar has been the architect and guiding force in bringing this "talent" to the table.

The Mets lost again to the Braves last night, completing their 4-game exploration of every conceivable way to lose a baseball game. The bright spots tonight were the two Carlos's nailing two on the board against Hudson. And Santana was great for a long time.

The big mistakes were much in evidence again though. the failings at critical moments, the fielding mistakes, the base running flubs, the double plays....

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I truly believe the Mets should give all their prospective players manual dexterity tests before hiring. Luis Castillo stood out tonight as the goat, making a ridiculous throw home on a play that should have just gone to first. This is immediately after he sunk Pelfrey last night with his slow-footed mishandling of a ground ball. Luis completed his very special "triple" by grounding into a double play in the eighth, effectively killing a rally he made sure never really had a chance.

Brian Schneider flubbed a bunt early on that resulted in a run. Beltran made another boo-boo on the base paths. So did Wright, although that was a difficult play. Too many mistakes, just too many mistakes, BIG mistakes at the most critical junctures, that's why Willie must go. Not that it's even necessarily his fault but this team needs a change, and the easiest change to make is a managerial one.

Never has a team played tighter. As long as Randolph is left hanging as he is, this team will just keep imploding. These players are trying too hard, it's very obvious. A change in scenery is absolutely dictated by the facts of the situation.

Another thing puzzles me about these Mets. Damian Easley missed this game for his son's graduation. Who authorized THAT? He's the backup second baseman. The Mets could have used one tonight. Especially with Alou hurt again, with Church's concussion, was it really prudent to let another player take the night off? The Mets think they're running a country club.

.And it's almost impossible to ignore the statements Randolph made to the press. His allegations were ridiculous. That he later apologized for them doesn't erase in my mind the man's analytical ability, or his lack thereof. It may help explain his pitching decisions, or maybe even his failure at developing some of his talent.

The Mets need a manager who’ll not challenge them at every opportunity, who’ll use them in appropriate situations, who’ll allow them to do the things they do well over and over again, a manager who’ll react more quickly to acknowledge that a slumping player could use a break, an older player might need a little shaking-up, a manager who’ll know when a lineup needs changing.

A little fire couldn’t hurt either. How refreshing would it be to have a guy who’d throw a tantrum once in a while, get thrown out of the game, even kick dirt, throw bases around, argue balls and strikes, a manager who’d recognize the power of inspiration.

Willie’s anything but inspiring. This veteran lineup could use a little, or even a lot, of inspiration. This team has shown two gears only, lackadaisical and tight. And by making himself the center of attention, and, even worse, the center of sympathy in certain quarters, this team’s wound up beyond comprehension. If it wasn’t before, it is now.

It’s not all Willie’s fault though. Too many of his players are one-dimensional. Many of them don’t make contact often enough. Many of them can’t even touch a breaking ball. Others can’t get around on the fastball anymore. The base running is horrendous. WAY too many of them can’t stay on the field because of injuries. And finally, all-pervasive on this team is its age. And that’s not all Willie’s doing.

All that being said, though, this team has potential, a great deal of it. I’m convinced that, with a veteran manager, this team would play better baseball. It really couldn’t play much worse. A tweak of the roster here and there wouldn’t hurt either. Although we’ve seen some young pitchers, aren’t there any position players in AAA that might shake things up a little?

A new manager could change everything though. And whoever he is should be one with experience at the major league level. This is a veteran team, one constructed to win a World Series, and, as such, it deserves a veteran manager, one these veterans can respect. I’m not at all sure they respect Randolph.

A National League guy would fill the bill nicely too, and, need it be said, NOT a Yankee. And maybe, just maybe, a manager who never played the game, a manager who knows how to manage people, a manager who wouldn’t always remind a player, just by his very presence in the dugout, what kind of player HE was when he played the game.

Any race will do, white, black or brown, but experience is a must. A Dusty Baker type, a Lou Piniella type, a strong personality, a guy who won’t be bland, a guy who’ll get upset, and a guy who won’t even THINK about what angles SNY is pursuing.

A Tale of Two Carlos's

After having managed two wins rather handily against an erstwhile perennial-playoffs Yankees team, Willie Randolph will take his beginning-to-be-performing Mets team into Atlanta this afternoon, no doubt hoping for a continuation of some hot hitting from his two Carlos's, Delgado and Beltran.

When these two buddies from Puerto Rico are hitting, there isn't too much else that has to go right, or Wright even. In fact, the Mets fortunes closely reflect those of its two big men, for better and worse. And, if motivation, borne of a remarkably uneven past, can inspire a better performance, these two should shine from now until October.

Any Mets fan over the age of ten can still vividly recall the October of two season ago, Carlos Beltran at the plate, watching strike three bend right-to-left over the plate, thus ending their 2006 season. But those fans with a longer memory may also recall Beltran's eight home runs in the 2004 playoffs.

On October 15, 2006, NY Times writer Lee Jenkins opined that "The Mets....evened the NLCS at two games apiece because Delgado made it so. Every ball he hits seems to be worth chasing." Upon checking how Delgado did in Game 7 of that series, I see the Cards walked him three times. That Wright, following Delgado in the lineup, only went 1-4 that day is probably better forgotten.

But the stories of these two goes well beyond 2006, tales of woe mostly. For example, Delgado began his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, who won the World Series in both 1992 and 1993 but in that 1993 season, Delgado only played two games. Talk about bad luck, the 1994 World Series was cancelled entirely.

Delgado didn't become a regular for Toronto until 1996 and from 1997 to 2006, Carlos had ten consecutive seasons of 30 or more home runs, and in the year 2000, he hit an incredible .344 with 41 home runs while garnering enough MVP votes to finish fourth to a fellow named Giambi. But Toronto wasn't in contention during those years.

In 2005, Delgado got his big break, finally hot on the trail of a Championship with the Florida Marlins, who won it all in 2003 over the Yankees. But the Marlins finished only 83-79 in 2005 despite Carlos’s .301 BA and 33 home runs.

The year 2006 was the Marlins fire-sale year, or one of them anyway, and the Mets acquired Carlos’s huge contract from the Fish and got 7 million back in the bargain. But, as good as Delgado was in the 2006 NLCS, Heilman served up that costly two-run homer and Wainwright curled in that third strike to Beltran and, poof, another year was wasted.

Beltran shares a similar baseball heritage, aside from any ties to Puerto Rico. Beltran started out with the Kansas City Royals and had consecutive 100-rbi years from 2001-2003. Kansas City, of course, never sniffed anything close to a pennant in those years.

In 2004, however, Beltran got his big break, getting traded to the Houston Astros, but wound up losing a tense NLCS to the Cards. He was awesome in that year though, banging out 15 homers and 51 ribbies for the Royals and 23 dingers and another 53 ribbies for the Astros.

Beltran was also the star of that year’s playoffs, of course, with his 8 playoff dingers. The Mets moved in with a truckload of money and Carlos became a Met. Carlos had a horrible (for him) 2005 Mets inaugural though, with high expectations doing him in. Carlos the Younger hit only 16 HR’s and 78 ribbies.

All of which, of course, brings us to the heart-breaker of 2006. And then the meltdown of 2007. Mets fans can’t really say which year hurts more, most would say 2007, but some of those may have missed that 2006 called strike three.

In any event, Beltran wore the horns in 2006 and Delgado certainly at least shared a pair with his sorry 2007 of .258 with just 24 home runs. Carlos the Elder had a lot of company, of course, and analysts are still debating who’s more to blame for 2007.

When there are so many candidates for the horns, it’s only natural to point towards the manager, of course. And Mets fans did. And they have continued their pointing into 2008. And who can really blame them?

As this is written, the Mets continue their foibles against the Braves, making Tom Glavine the reincarnation of, well, Tom Glavine. They’re down 3-1 in the fifth and John Maine is now out of the game.

Both Carlos’s have already had their share of bad luck in this game, and, one wonders, is this their fate, to be remarkably talented but unfulfilled millionaires? There have certainly been sadder tales in the history of the major leagues. Don Mattingly, Ernie Banks, and a host of others never won the big one.

Despite what my head keeps telling me, my heart is really with these two. They are, by all accounts, remarkably nice people, but people prone to long streaks of good and bad, driving their fans and their manager to distraction, at least, and in the manager’s case, perhaps to another city.

Another common thing about these two, though, is that there is a LOT of history there. Can two old war-horses such as these really muster up the enthusiasm and effort required to produce in each and every game? Having just watched Beltran bounce out weakly to shortstop on a ball about a foot off the plate, I have to wonder, not that he hasn’t done that a thousand times before.

Much as Jason Kidd played a magnificent fourth quarter and just survived the first three, so do Carlos and Carlos plod through the season and turn it on for the Yankees, or to keep Willie in the dugout for the rest of the season.

This Braves game seems to accentuate the point. Aaah, it’s a double-header, maybe they’re saving it for Game Two.

The Big Mistake

The Mets and Yankees will meet for the umpteenth time in still another Subway Series (yawn) this weekend, and was there EVER a Subway Series with less at stake? The under-performing Mets go into this latest matchup in 3rd place in the NL East while the Yankees have been even worse overall, inhabiting last place in the AL East. But given all that, it sure seems as if the Yankees are the better team.

I t would be hard to imagine a worse loss than the Mets had last night. This seemingly rudderless bunch made the big mistake again, this time losing the game on the basepaths, but it's always been something with them, either horrible relief pitching or batting slumps or just bad decisions.

All the Mets problems were accentuated last night by Billy Wagner, who wondered aloud why he was the focus of attention after a game in which he took no part. Of course, it was an entirely rhetorical question. The goats weren't around.. And it was the second time this week that Wagner has expressed his frustration with this group and its losing ways. I say "group" because they certainly don't play well as a team.

Although I'd ordinarily condemn one teammate trashing another, in this case I think Wagner is entirely justified. His first target, Oliver Perez, routinely turns wins to losses, giving about 5 innings of great pitching before blowing up. Wagner's frustration last night could have been with anyone in a blue and white uniform.

Although Delgado has had a myriad of problems and has either been mired in long slumps or has made huge mistakes in the field, Delgado can't really be blamed for last night's loss. He hit the ball right on the nose when he had to. That his hard line drive was caught wasn't so terrible. What is remarkably terrible was Willie's decision to send the runner on contact.

One run down in the 9th with just one out and you're sending the runner? It just doesn't make sense and, of course, Beltran was doubled up. Any Little League coach could have done that. It was just another example of bad baseball, making the big mistake, and making the wrong decisions in critical moments of the game.

As a Mets fan, I couldn't be happier that Willie Randolph will be re-evaluated soon. The sooner the better. He may know the game, but he doesn't act that way. He stays with players too long, he gives veterans way too much latitude, he makes horrible pitching decisions, and now, it seems he's lost touch with a good running game. What else is there? Oh, his players seem to have lost faith in him.

The Yankees, while in last place, have a couple of excuses. They’ve been playing without Arod for a couple of weeks and Posada for even longer. They’ve been trying out some new pitchers.

But they do ordinarily play good baseball. When they lose, it’s because they just couldn’t put enough hits together or their pitching wasn’t good enough. Or the balls and strikes called were ridiculous, as they have been too often this year.

So, on the one hand, we have a team with lots of talent that just seems too stupid to win versus a team that’s less talented but playing hard and just coming up short. It’ll be hard to root for the Mets under these circumstances.

Tonight, it’ll be Santana vs. Rasner, a match that should certainly favor the Mets. Even Willie hasn’t been able to make Santana play badly. Rasner looked good, though, in both his Yankees starts, pitching six full innings each time and giving up just two runs per outing. And the Yanks won both those starts.

Arod will still be out of the lineup as will Posada. That won’t make things any easier for the Yankees. The Yanks can’t be thrilled, either, that they’ll see two more lefties in Santana and Oliver Perez before getting a right-hander on Sunday in John Maine.

The Mets should win the first two of this best-of-three at least, but I wouldn’t put money on it. The Mets don’t deserve the confidence. Sure, they may take the lead but they’ll figure a way to lose it.

Randolph will make the same mistakes, inserting Heilmann in a tight game, running when you shouldn’t, putting the wrong players in the lineup at the wrong times. And then he’ll say he isn’t worried. It’s a veteran team.

The Yankees have been easy to root for in their depleted state. I’ve always liked Morgan Ensberg and Alberto Gonzalez has shown a nice glove, a kid who’s trying hard, an Ensberg with a little more potential. Either Jose Molina or Chad Moeller have been adequate defensively.

While it is always an interesting Series, and I’m sure old Yankee Stadium will be rockin’, it could be a disastrous Series for the Mets if they manage to once again falter, with their best pitchers going against a Yankees lineup depleted by injuries.

While it’s technically an “away” game for the Mets, I’m sure the Mets boo birds will be out there somewhere, or maybe the Yanks fans will be smart enough to boo for them. It certainly hasn’t improved the Mets performance.

A sweep might be the best thing that could happen for the Mets, either way. If they win three, it’ll mean Willie has managed to turn things around. If they lose three, it’ll help prove Willie’s team has been, is, and will be lost for as long as Willie’s the manager.

I really hope the Mets can turn it around. Steal a base or take an extra base IN THE RIGHT SITUATION, don’t get thrown out of a game when the team needs your bat, and make all the right moves, come from behind or win a one-run game. Can these Mets NOT make the big mistake?

If momentum means anything in baseball, the odds are against them. And for Willie.

D'Antoni Sono Buoni

After hearing a good deal of nonsense about how Mark Jackson was promised the job, and how it's somehow "confusing" that a bad team would hire a good coach, I was happy to hear both Mike D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh debunk those rumors and express some difficulty in even understanding why a bad team could NOT hire a good coach.

The shock jocks on WFAN and YES did it again though. I keep thinking they can't say anything even more shocking than the day before, but they surpassed themselves today.

One key piece of research, I would think, that one should do before an interview is to know the interviewee's name. After two or three times calling the coach "D'Antonio", they finally managed to correct themselves. They later excused themselves by saying that "a lot of people have gotten it wrong" and "it's a hard name".

I keep asking myself WHY I continue to listen. The answer lies in the fact that their show gets ALL the important interviews. Their show has become so popular over the years that it has become a huge sports forum. And that's to every sports fan's benefit, but, still, for two Italian-American interviewers to botch another Italian-American's name is embarrassing to me, both as an Italian-American and as a New Yorker.

In any event, so far so good with D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh too, for that matter. D'Antoni made it clear that he can coach, he can be flexible, that he didn't come to New York just for the money, that he and his family both love New York, and that he gets along very well with Stephon Marbury.

He also explained that he coaches to the strengths of his team, and he had very skilled offensive players in Phoenix as well as a 6'7" center. He also had to defend his record in Phoenix, as if that record needed any defending, but he made it clear that they lost to San Antonio (THAT'S where they got the "D'Antonio" from, I guess), arguably the best team in the NBA for years.

Mr. Walsh made it clear that he NEVER offered the job to Mark Jackson, that he liked Mark Jackson very much, but that Mike D’Antoni was the most qualified person for the job. And nobody could argue with that, not even those two. He made it clear that, before making any big decisions on personnel, he would first determine his current player’s talents, in what scheme they would be most effective, and only then would he make decisions on acquisitions.

Walsh also made it clear that he would never swap a player with just one year left on his contract for one with three or four years to expiry. That, of course, was a discussion with respect to Marbury, who, although he will earn (well, maybe “earn” is too strong a word) about 21 million dollars next year, it will only be for one more year, and, besides, he made no bones about the fact that he recognizes that Stephon is a very talented player.

Walsh also answered the question as to whether he ever said that he wanted a defensive coach. While he didn’t say that, he clarified that defense is certainly important and stressed the significance of point differential rather than points made or given up on either side of the ball.

Given the stated process, it’s hard to believe that progress will come quickly for the Knicks. That being said, however, Walsh has pulled rabbits out of a hat before with Indianapolis.

And D’Antoni has had success at every stop. From West Virginia to the NBA,ABA and Italian League as a player, than as a coach, he’s been part of winning teams and sometimes championships. Of course, he had incredible success with Phoenix of the NBA. And, judging from the reactions of the Nets’ Boki Nachbar to D’Antoni’s hiring, he’s also a dream to play for.

So what’s not to like? I’m not sure I like his mustache, but I struggle to find anything else. In fact, for as much flak as Knicks owner James Dolan has had to take over the years, he seems to have hired the best possible choices for both GM and now coach.

Let’s see what transpires though. Let’s see what happens when D’Antoni runs smack into the horror of Eddy Curry as center. That to me is a gigantic problem, and will no doubt be D’Antoni’s biggest challenge. There are Marbury, of course, David Lee, Jamal Crawford and Zak Randolph with talent, but the rest of the roster is expendable. Combined with the fact that a few of those expendable players have a few years left on their contracts, some of the problems become long-term ones.

There’s always hope though, especially with good people at the top. And that appears to be in place. If they can sign their probable lottery pick in this year’s draft, success could be right around the corner. After all, Isiah’s team was doing creditably just two years ago before injuries to Crawford and Lee.

When Crawford and Lee returned, however, there was Zak Randolph, who, for whatever reason, never worked out, although he should have been a big help. His stats had been among the highest for power forwards in the entire league. Unfortunately, the fragile Curry never seemed to recover from the challenge of having another inside scoring presence. And neither player played defense.

Isiah always seemed to think he could just acquire good players, and everything else would work itself out. Maybe they did to his mind in Detroit. Isiah never flinched when asked about how Marbury would mesh with another fine scoring point guard, or how Randolph and Curry would co-exist. Of course, they never did, and I wonder to this day whether Isiah is worried yet.

Probably not, he’s got some guaranteed money coming his way. And, no doubt, he’ll still be useful as a consultant. As long as the questions are pointed to past experiences, everything should be just fine in Knicks-land.

Still More Ado About Nothing

Well, here we go again! The Lords of Discipline in all their wisdom are once again attacking my favorite pitcher, Joba Chamberlain, for pumping his fist and yelling . It doesn't seem to matter to them that Joba is young and naturally exuberant, that he just struck out the guy who had nailed his first pitch fastball for a 3-run homer on Tuesday, or that he had had to listen to a potpourri of self-important analysts giving their two cents on whether he'd be able to handle it emotionally.

<>Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised, in a society that doesn’t seem too upset that we’re torturing prisoners without a trial. Some people just like discipline. These are the same folks who get upset when one of their co-workers gets away with coming in ten minutes late. It doesn’t matter that their car broke down, or that their kid’s babysitter called in sick. And the same people who go nuts when a really talented person gets a raise when they had the audacity to take their scheduled vacation.

In short, these are the idiots. First of all, it’s a GAME, people. Until free agency gone wild, and the designated hitter, a game played by KIDS. And, of course, Yankees fans get even more upset than most idiots, since they see themselves as the professionals, the people who actually think that pinstripe business-as-usual approach to the game is cool; the ones who think Manny Ramirez should go kill himself because he drops the bat and watches his long home runs, no matter that he hits about .330 every year.

Maybe it’s just been a slow news month for sports, not that there hasn’t been action, what with the NHL and NBA playoffs going on, and more divisional races in Major League Baseball than we’ve seen in a very long time. But there hasn’t been controversy. You could hear the disappointment in those shock-jock for sports bobble heads’ voices when those Walsh tapes turned out nothing, or when Clemens maybe couldn’t be proven guilty of statutory rape.

Or, maybe their ratings were down. That’s a distinct possibility. These loudmouths certainly aren’t known for their sports acumen. In fact, now that I think of it, it’s those soft guys who never played a sport but majored in journalism who are the very worst offenders. They can’t discuss the sport with any degree of analytical skill. They don’t know it, they can’t really know a baseball player’s feelings if they never had the same experience, if their highest moment in life was an A on some book report. These are, by the way, the same people who get crazy when a blogger gets any attention.

The young man pumped his fist, people! Joba got him (Dave DeLucci) on a breaking ball after having thrown a couple of big-time fastballs on the corner for strikes. That’s big stuff for a kid, hell, for anyone. That he did it against the guy who lambasted him a couple of days before was even sweeter. Gee, I guess his emotions didn’t get the better of him.

I hope Joba keeps right on being Joba. And I hope he eventually gets away from the Yankees. They don’t deserve him, really. Yankees fans don’t deserve him either. Their team can just buy a pitcher. (Not that they’ve had any success whatsoever in THAT department). But, Joba should have been a Royal, or a Pirate, or a Giant, hell, anything but a Yankee. The Yanks never develop anyone, unless you count Kennedy and Hughes, of course. (Word is that they’ll get better).

Another thing that bugs me is that, when DeLucci hit that homer, Cone had just said that DeLucci was a dead fastball hitter. So, um, why didn’t anybody question the pitch selection? THAT was the most obvious question. Or the location? Even though the pitch had been almost letter-high and on the inside corner, a good location against most hitters, it certainly wasn’t a bad location for DeLucci!

The news should be that Joba learned from the first experience. His fastballs were on the outside corner. And those pitches were RIPPED! And Joba’s “out” pitch was the breaking ball in the dirt. DeLucci was badly fooled, which, no doubt, played no small part in his criticism of Joba for his mound antics later on. I say “too bad, Dave, you struck out, you looked bad doing it, sit down”. NEXT!”

Can we just, please, get some real analysis? I know fantasy baseball players everywhere would appreciate some more of that. The reason I like Joba is that he’s on “Dem Crabs”, my fantasy team. I certainly don’t like the fact that he’s a Yankee.

There are so many aspects of the game that are not covered enough. How about Prince Fielder’s troubles? Here’s a guy who didn’t sign a very nice contract offer from the Brewers, a guy who turned vegetarian, and is now having his troubles at the plate. How about Geovany Soto’s and Fukudome’s performances this year, candidates for Rookie of the Year? How about Johnny Cueto pitching lights-out for the Reds? I mean, we hear a bit about these players but, certainly more could be said.

Of course, being in New York, it’s as if no other teams exist. Sports jocks here still think Carlos Delgado is a major slugger. And they anxiously await the return of Pedro Martinez, and look forward to production from 42-year old Moises Alou and the return of El Duque.

And when did we think it was OK for a sports network to own the local baseball team? Now THERE’S a way to kill any journalistic integrity! I think of Michael Kay and cringe. Not that I so much mind rooting for the home team, but at least TRY to maintain some objectivity. The Mets team does a good job of it.

And “Hey Joba, keep it goin’ man”, you’re doing just fine, especially compared to the job these no-nothing sports jocks are doing.

Going to Church

The Mets are full of surprises this year. Biggest surprise of them all though has been the consistent play of right fielder Ryan Church. In 28 games he's played, he's had at least one hit in 22 of them. He's batting .310 with 4 home runs and 22 rbi's this season. When he's not killing the competition with his bat, he's using his glove or his arm, as he demonstrated just this past Sunday against the Diamondbacks, cutting down a runner trying to take third base.

Just for a bit of perspective, Church has a career batting average of .275 and, before this season, he had a distinct problem hitting left-handed pitching. Not this year. He's actually batting better vs. lefties than against righties. This is his fifth year in the majors and he's never even played a full season.

Last year, though, he played in 144 games for Washington and hit .272 with 15 homers and 70 rbi's. His OPS (On-base pct. plus slugging pct.) last year was .813 and, as his current OPS of .856 isn't really that much higher, I think we can continue to expect good things from Mr. Church. And, who knows, maybe another change of his place in the batting order. He started the season batting sixth, but his remarkable consistency and apparent bat control has made him a natural for the number two position in the lineup. Even Willie has noticed.

It's a good thing for some pleasant surprises, especially with these Mets, who have had more than their share of unpleasant ones. Until just recently, Carlos Delgado had continued to disappoint (from last year) but Luis Castillo hadn't been too far behind in the anguish department. Carlos Beltran, while he does still play a great centerfield, hasn't been quite himself yet, batting .221 with 24 runs scored but just 13 ribbies and his record with runners in scoring position has been worse. Perhaps Carlos needs to relax.

Baseball is a streaky game and the Mets certainly follow that pattern, maybe too much. Reyes has demonstrated his affinity for going to sleep, at the bat and in the field as well. Moises Alou's only consistency has been his appearance on the disabled list. Much the same could be said for Brian Schneider. Angel Pagan had started very hot but has now cooled considerably.

Then there is David Wright, .469 and .198, those are this year's numbers versus lefties and righties. Would that there were more left-handers because his overall batting average is just .274. Mr. Wright has always been a little strange at the plate though. Every at-bat seems to go to two strikes immediately, yet there's no one you'd rather have at the plate with two strikes than Mr. Wright.

Then there is the pitching. Johan Santana has been amazing as usual yet continues his predilection for giving up home runs. Oliver Perez has been less than amazing and continues his penchant for making the big mistakes. John Maine has been pretty consistent, but each of his games seems like an adventure. Nelson Figueroa has been another shining light, not so much for his overall stats but for his relative consistency. Pelfrey has been Pelfrey, and his 2-2 record has been achieved via a 5.27 ERA.

I don’t even want to think about Pedro Martinez, the pain of his going down so quickly is still with me, and I can’t say I’m happy that he recuperates somewhere in Latin America. Oh, and then there is El Duque. Right.

Strangely enough, I continue to have faith in the bullpen. Billie Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, even Aaron Heilman, I think, over the long run, they’ll be good, especially if Aaron becomes a long relief guy rather than that setup guy for Wagner. To me, the winner of that spot has clearly been Sanchez, who is just tougher in that situation, has better stuff and maybe more command of the zone.

The others aren’t bad either. Feliciano, Smith, Schoenweis, and even Sosa, who has had his share of bad luck, all have had their moments this season, and I mean that mostly in a good way. Sosa, for example, leads the team in wins with 4.

The Mets have been consistent though only in their overall mediocrity. Currently at 16-14, they are only third in the NL East, behind the Phils, of course, and the surprising Marlins. They lose 4 out of 5, then win eight in a row, then another streak of three losses. Now they seem to win one, lose one, which, I must say, doesn’t make me feel any better but does prevent overall despondency to invade my spirit.

I keep thinking things can only get better. Catching, for example, has been a merry-go-round, what with Schneider’s mysterious hand infection and Castro’s hamstring. I have to admit taking a liking for Raul Casanova, who seems to do the job behind the plate and in the batter’s box as well. His .262 BA isn’t really too shabby and he can hit for power, although he’s hit just one home run thus far.

Tonight we have Nelson Figueroa going again and I’m hopeful, both for Figgy and the whole team as well. I do see some good signs. I wonder who’ll bat second. I hope Mr. Castillo rides the pine. I look forward to seeing Delgado continuing to hit, for Wright to find his way against right-handers, for Beltran to have some luck at the plate, something he never seems to possess in abundance.

Perhaps the thing I most anticipate is having the “regular” lineup in place. Schneider is back so it’ll be Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Castillo and the pitcher. That, at least, was the lineup last night, and, although they only scored one run with it, I’d like to think it was the Dodgers’ pitching that shut them down.

And I’ll root for Church. As Kipling said, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs”….