Pay Attention, Baseball Fans

Yeah, they’re worried…bigtime. CC getting beat, Arod slumping, Teixeira showing nothing at all and Jeter striking out 3 times yesterday. But, even after watching Burnett throw a gem last night, they still don’t trust him to throw another. Life is good for a Mets fan and Yankee-hater.

I love seeing Yankees fans torture themselves. Is there anything better than watching them agonize? Unfortunately, they survived Game 2. The joy I had anticipated of witnessing their total unraveling as they went down 2-zip to Pedro can’t happen now. I’ll have to live with them still thinking their Bronx bumblers have a chance against the World Champion Phillies. They’ll be a little less frantic now. Too bad.

What a melodrama! First it was CC this and CC that and how the big guy was unhittable. Nine innings later, it was their anxiety over A.J. Burnett, how inconsistent he’s been, how big his contract was. It went something like this, “He got the big money to win in the post-season. He’d better show that he’s the pitcher the Yanks thought they were getting when they plunked down the 82 million.”

Those crazed fans were actually starting to turn back the clock, to turn back to the times when Joba was dominant out there, before Cashman and Girardi started playing with his innings. Joba would save them, Joba would show that fight and determination he displayed in his early outings, Joba would mow down the Phillies and take his rightful place amongst all those great Yankee arms of yesteryear.

Imagine if they had lost again and Arod’s 3 strikeouts had been staring them in the face. Not to mention Teixeira’s lackluster performance so far. And let’s not even talk about middle-relief! Do you want to give them a heart attack? They’ve totally dumped on Hughes and Joba as a middle reliever. They are now actually thinking that Damaso Marte will somehow save them.

But A.J. really was magnificent last night. Too bad! Looking at the bright side though, their agony will be more prolonged this way. If they had been 2-zip down, Yankee fans may have just given up early and waited for the sweep. Now they can feel they’re still in it.

They can look forward to their hero Pettitte somehow regaining his old late-Nineties form. And, even though their hero-worship of CC seems done (there was talk of giving Sabathia his 4 days rest), they can still hope for a reincarnation from the big man and a less masterful performance from Yankee-killer Cliff Lee.

But, to be honest, it’s hard for me to root against some of these Yankees. This team reminds me of those Nineties Yankees of Tino and Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Scottie Brosius, all hustlers, all team guys, and yes, even Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada too. And of course Mariano, who saved their butts last night with his six-out save. And Girardi, who managed a perfect game last night but had been Posada’s backup then.

How can you root against Mark Teixeira? I still recall his winning that infamous Mets-Yanks Castillo-drop game. Yes, Luis lost the game but Teixeira won it too, by running out that apparent routine fly ball, all the way from first to home so that when Castillo picked the ball up, there was no chance to get Teixeira. And just last week he covered second base because that’s what he was supposed to do.

How can you root against Godzilla? So tough in the clutch, seemingly always, and once again last night. Or Swisher, who’s been castigated far and wide in Yankee-Land for his recent troubles at the plate. Or Johnny Damon, who may be playing his last World Series in New York, but so ably led the Red Sox over the Yanks in that fateful 2004 ALCS.

So it’s not the individuals a Yankee-hater hates. It’s just the fact that the Yankees have all these great players at all. But, even with all the furious buying activity over the years, they’ve not been past an ALCS since 2004, watching other teams take the AL crown, the Tigers or the Red Sox or even the Tampa Bay Rays.

So I wouldn’t be heartbroken if the Yanks won this Series because they have a great team. Great teams should win the World Series. And they should have to beat another great team to be able to call themselves champions.

And the Phillies are a great team. As fearsome as the Yanks lineup is, the Phillies can match them overall, both in the lineup, on the field, on the mound and in the bullpen. Before last night, the Phillies seemed to think the Series would be a walk-over, a 5-game affair as per Jimmy Rollins, their mercurially-mouthed shortstop.

We can all look forward to Game 3 now as each game seems to have its own little storyline. Game 1 will be memorable for CC and Lee, for Game 2 it will be Burnett emerging as a bigtime playoffs and Series pitcher besting crafty old Pedro Martinez, who was gallant for a full six and even went out there for a 7th.

Yeah, the story has been pitching so far but you know that with the sheer numbers of hitters on both these worthy Series opponents, the bats won’t be so silent much longer. Game 3 goes deeper into those pitching rotations, pitting what has this year been a very hittable Hamel against another old Nineties Yankee in Andy Pettitte.

The younger fellow, Burnett, outpitched his older counterpart last night and I suspect that that scenario will repeat itself tomorrow night. But then it’ll be CC-Lee II and one wonders whether the replay will yield quite different results. And how things will go from there.

That’s all you could want in a Series really. This is the Series I wanted and it’s playing out as I had imagined. Pay attention, baseball fans, because you may not be seeing a Series like this again for quite some time.

The Yanks Are the Story

So to what do Mets fans look forward in these last months of a lost season? Well, there is next year of course. Santana and K-Rod are keepers. I know that much. Wright too I suppose. Who else can we feel is indispensable?

Let’s talk disappointments. How about Sean Green? No offense but he’s been awful and I’m sure some other team would love to have him. Goodbye Sean. It’s been real. That catcher of ours, the arguable number one catcher, Brian Schneider, he can hit the dusty trail too. Other than those two, there really aren’t that many players you can point to who have had to live up to grand expectations. Well, if you don’t count the pitching side, and other than the core guys who’ve been out.

Most of the players on the field now for the Mets are reserves in the real world. Even a Pagan, who seems as if he could be a regular, doesn’t have enough of a track record in the bigs yet to inspire any kind of expectation. Cora’s a nice reserve, there’s just not enough bat there. Berroa seems like a retread. From Kansas City, hmm.

Any good performances have been surprising, from players nobody expected much from. Omir Santos, the catcher, is a nice example. Jeremy Reed, this new kid Sullivan, certainly David Murphy, these fellas just play the game hard and a fan hopes for the best, but there are really no expectations.

We need to get back to reality, a time when there were expectations of performance at every position, especially shortstop, first base and centerfield. It’s high time we looked at contract situations for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes.

Beltran got a seven-year contract for 119 million back in 2005. That takes Mr Beltran all the way out to 2011, only two years from now. I for one would love to see Carlos in centerfield for the next five years or so, but only if he could be a happy, healthy Carlos. We don’t need a guy who’s unhappy.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Delgado back at first base either but he’s 38, he’s hurt and he’s expendable if his demands become unbelievable. Reason would dictate a new first baseman though, one of the young guns that we can find in Kansas City’s Brett Butler or Pittsburgh’s kid, Garrett Jones.

Reyes should be moved if possible. He signed a 4-year back in 2006 for 23.25 million, a bargain if he plays but a bust if he sits. I’d start looking for a suitor. I’m tired of hearing about potential. He’d have great trade value. It’s almost a lock that some other team would be interested.

But this team needs big-time performance at these slots. The only other position player capable of big performance at the plate is Wright. Francoeur will be a question mark, Sheffield is too old, that centerfielder from the minors is always hurt. Murphy hasn’t shown any real consistency and, well, we need hitters badly. First base and centerfield would be good places to shop.

And then there’s the pitching. Santana is in a class by himself which he proved again yesterday, a real competitor and leader. Pelfrey, Maine and Perez have been very disappointing, for one reason or another, inconsistency or physical well-being always cropping up. But at this point, hanging on to them might make the most sense.

On the relief front, Billy Wagner can probably be traded. Putz should be better as should Green. We could maybe get a big-time position player for Wagner. Everybody needs a good closer, everybody but the Mets. K-Rod’s been a revelation when he’s not been bored to death.

“Boring” is watching this Mets team facing San Diego in San Diego. Could anything be worse? The mind boggles. Thank God for Santana.

As boring as the Mets were, the Yankees were unbelievable. As much as I dislike the whole Yankee organization, you have to give them credit for their demolition of the Red Sox head to head Thursday through Sunday. They hit when they had to hit and they pitched all the time, whether they had to or not.

What a disaster for the Red Sox! They pretty much kissed the AL East title goodbye and their quest must now be for the wildcard. Sabathia, Burnet and Pettite buried them after Joba just got by. When Joba faltered, the Yankees bats came to the fore. It was either Arod or Teixeira or Damon or Posada, it seemed but they got production from just about everybody in a striped shirt.

Teixeira went 6 for 17 with 2 homers, Arod went 4 for 18 with 2 homers, Damon had his 2 homers too, and he scored 4 times, Posada and Cano both went 8 for 18 and Posada had a homer of his own. The new Hinske and Swisher platoon seems pretty formidable too, and their infield defense, with the addition of Teixeira and the improvement in Cano, is almost scary.

Yes, I hate to say it, but the Yanks are loaded. They’re serious, very serious. While I was thinking that they might try to go forward with Mitre as a fifth starter, they picked up Chad Gaudin, a legitimate starter, who has kicked around the majors for several years with mixed success but had really shown marked improvement recently.

So while the Mets have nothing, the Yankees have everything, starters, relievers, hitters, fielders, you name it, they’ve got it. While they can and probably will look bad in certain games going forward, particularly if they get a bad start out of a starter, since their middle relievers can be somewhat compromised.

That alone should make for a livable August and September. I’d hate to have to just live and die with the Cubs or the Rangers for the rest of the season. And it’s still too early to get into football.

The Yanks are the story. The Mets are the footnote. I’ll try to wear a smile.

Reflections in a Lost Season

It’s another day for day-games, the travel day for the Yanks, Orioles, Cubs and Phillies at the very least. Just my luck, the Phils are down 5-3 just now as Feliz drives in a couple. Looks like Zambrano, my fantasy opponent pitcher, is, as we used to say “blowing up”.

I can’t watch the Yankees-Orioles, it’s too uneven a match. The O’s still haven’t scored and it doesn’t look as if they’re going to. Burnett is just wacking them down and he doesn’t look troubled by the prospect of continuing. My fantasy opponent, though, is playing Roberts so maybe I’ll just root against him.

What is with this necklace on Burnett. I preferred the days when men didn’t wear jewelry. Me, I don’t even like the wedding band, and not because I have any bad intentions. If you want jewelry, wear a watch. You know, the thing you don’t need anymore because the time is staring you in the face from your cell phone, Blackberry, i-phone, and every electronic device in your house.

Hey-hey, the O’s finally scored two, and on a wild pitch too, but I’d rather blame Posada, one of my Yankee kicking-boys this season. The pitch wasn’t that bad, Jorge just missed it. Nice to make this thing competitive though for the 8th and 9th.

Over in Philadelphia, the Phils are getting thrashed by the Cubs. It’s 7-3 now and did you really expect much from Moyer? I think that if you want to pay a 43-year old guy to take the mound every 5th day or so, you deserve what you get.

For many baseball fans, though, the actual playing of the game has become secondary, even the watching of the actual game. But I have to admit, some of the peripheral action is pretty interesting…who’ll get Halladay (nobody), who’ll get Holliday (nobody), and who’s a buyer, who’s a seller, yada yada.

My beloved Metsies, alas, seem to be racing towards the seller side of things. Give them an opportunity to lose and most times they’ll take it. But one constant in the games they lose in awful fashion is the absence of pitching. In the games that are competitive, about every other game, they get good pitching. Let’s check the game log….

In the last 10 games, going back to the last game at LA, they lost two, then Santana pitched a beautiful game against Cincinnati and the Mets won 4-0. Then they won again with Pelfrey allowing only 3 runs over 7 innings. They won that one 9-7, so the relief pitching was horrible, but as the Mets decided to hit that day, it didn’t matter.

Then against the Braves, things started to unravel. They lost a tough 5-3 decision after Perez had turned in a good performance for him, and the Mets relievers couldn’t hold those pesky Braves off, giving up two runs in the last three innings. Pelfrey was awful the next day and the Mets got killed 11-0.

Then it was Santana’s turn. The Mets won 5-1. Getting my drift here? Then it was Nieve’s turn and he immediately got hurt so he could watch Tim Redding get blasted. The Mets lost and it wasn’t very close. But, behind a very creditable performance from Livan Hernandez in the Washington opener, the Mets won. Then Ollie the crazy man Perez turned in a clunker so the Mets lost again.

As bad as all this sounds, the Mets finished that ten-game stretch 4-6. Two wins from Santana, and one each from Pelfrey and Hernandez. Perez really wasn’t that bad, giving up 7 runs in 12 innings in his two starts. The relief pitching has been dreadful except for the rock, K-Rod.

My contention had been that the Mets could still contend if they got their big guns back soon. That was based on the schedule too, which didn’t seem daunting, but the Braves were one team the Mets should have split with, and they only took one of four. They have to do better than that. They did take 2 of 3 from the Reds though, and they’ve split with Washington so far. This last game against the Nats will show me a lot about the Mets, and whether they should be buyers or sellers thereafter.

The Mets will have Pelfrey going on his fifth day. Stammen is the Nats pitcher and he’s nothing to write home about. And I’d think, as Pelfrey is the team’s union representative, that the Mets will try hard to get him the win. The Mets have to win this game, if, for nothing else, my stick-to-it-iveness.

If they can’t beat Washington with their number 2 starter, they’re in really terrible shape as a team. Then I’d say they should be sellers. But Beltran and Reyes are both coming off injuries, minimizing their current market value and who really wants them to go anyway? Beltran had been one of the “rocks” before getting hurt and Reyes is Reyes after all, which is to say, alternately good and bad. Make that very good and bad, quite a distinction actually.

Until Beltran and Reyes get well, there’s really no point in dealing. That goes for Delgado too. But the needs are very clear in the long run, at least a reliever or two and a legitimate starter.

Of their two big relief acquisitions Green has been a real bust, for the most part, and Putz is an unknown after shoulder surgery. That’s a lot of money tied up in two relievers who haven’t been able to perform up to expectations. The Mets must hope that those two come back strong, thus mitigating their relief situation.

The more it’s analyzed, the more depressing it gets. The only logical thing to do is stay pat for now and hope that a Niese or somebody else from the minors will fill that 5th starter position. The relief will just have to get better with experience.

Next year is the best time to deal.

On Good and Bad Baseball

Wowww…I hate to say it, being a long-time Yankee hater, but the Yanks looked great last night. And it was a great game to watch on TV, even with Michael Kaye just saying obvious stuff all night long.

The new guys came through for the Yanks, i.e. Burnett and Swisher, even Gardner, and the old Yanks, especially Jeter, seemed to reach back to their past to do what they always had done. Jeter and those inside-outers, that swing that dumps even inside pitches into right field for either a single or double. He went 3 for 5 last night, and his last hit was the Rays-killer, a long drive that kept goin’ and goin’……..

I was rooting for the Rays all the way too, especially as Garza (Rays SP) is one of my fantasy pitchers. And, after that 15-5 drubbing of the night before, I had been looking forward to a repeat – bad pitching, especially early, that just knocks the life out of a team, any team of competitors.

But it wasn’t to be. The Yanks took a quick early lead as another old-timer, Posada, hit a sac-fly to score Gardner who had earlier singled. Then Swisher killed a ball that landed waay out in right field for a second run.

Burnett held the lead through six tough innings, with A.J. providing the kind of no-hit pitching and showing the kind of stuff I hadn’t seen since David Cone. Longoria, Upton, Pena, it didn’t matter, they came, they saw, they sat down. It was awesome really, even if a little depressing for a Mets fan.

Ah, but you can’t keep a good team down forever and even the greats suffer a lapse sometimes. Burnett’s lapse came in the bottom of the seventh as a string of base hits by Crawford, Longoria and Pena plated one and a sac-fly tied the score at two.

But Burnett woke up and the Rays went to sleep. The Rays’ Navarro struck out looking, and just for good measure, just to make sure the Rays were shut down, catcher Molina threw out Pena at first for the third out. Just like that, the fire was put out.

And, just as a good football team scores on its next possession, the Yanks fired back in the 8th. Gardner and Jeter again were the culprits to set the table for Teixeira, who managed a sac-fly off the usually tough J.P. Howell, and the Yanks had the lead once again.

But it was a tenuous lead, and the Rays didn’t win the AL East last year for nothin’. I thought for sure the Yanks would replace Burnett, they’re so nutsy about pitch counts. But Burnett hadn’t thrown too many, they kept him in, and the bottom of the order for the Rays went very quietly.

Then, just to make absolutely sure the Rays were dead, the Yanks unleashed guys like Cano and even Melky Cabrera. They hit straight singles off Wheeler, one of the Rays closers, to set up Gardner, who hit a hard liner out to centerfielder Upton, who misjudged the ball coming straight at him and then over his head for the ground-rule double and that always so important insurance run.

But that wasn’t enough for Jeter. He clubbed a Wheeler offering for a big, big 3-run homer and it was all over. We didn’t even get to see Mariano, now that the Yanks had a big 5-run lead. And they didn’t need him, Bruney was just fine, thank you, as he mowed down the heart of the Rays order in the ninth, striking out the side, Upton, Longoria and Pena, boom, boom, boom.

The game was over but the impression remained. It was the Rays who made the big mistakes, it was the Yankees who maintained their focus throughout, and got contributions from everybody. They played not only like a team, but like a winning team, the kind of team that could put away the likes of the Rays and the Red Sox.

Mets fans can appreciate good baseball, not that we’ve seen much of it from our empty-headed local heroes lately. Reyes’s over-slide of second base the other day pretty much killed the Mets in that one. Before that, we had watched as our good ol’ Murphy just flat-out dropped an easy fly ball.

Aah, maybe it was an isolated incident, the Yanks playing like that, just the right place and the right time. After all, their ace was on the mound and they had just been drubbed and embarrassed. But still, the contrast between their heady play and that of the Mets is just too hard to ignore.

To make things worse, I read that Reyes is looking to steal home, just to show off his Jackie Robinson-ness. Give me a break, Jose! Learn how to take second. That would be a good start. As Jose goes, so go the Mets, and, if he sets the wrong tune, a totally bone-headed tune, the Mets will readily follow suit.

There are some likenesses between the two clubs though. The Yanks have their Wang getting banged around and we have our Oliver Perez. But with Yang, it’s a relatively new thing while with crazy Ollie, it’s just same thing, different season. You get the feeling Wang will come around; is there any real hope for Perez?

But there the likeness ends, at least as far as starters go. Sabathia and Burnett are the Yanks two aces, we have a legitimate Santana, but then a very questionable Mike Pelfrey, who’s been hittable to the max, especially early in the game, when a lot of games are decided. At number 3, they’ve got Pettite, we’ve got Maine….and pray for rain.

Even with all our nifty relief pitchers, Green and Putz and Frankie, these early deficits provided by all the Mets pitchers but Santana, drain the life out of a team. It’s just exhausting to have to keep coming back.

We need to see a change……soon.