Amazin’

Friday, June 12th, 2009: The Mets and Yankees play a hard fought ballgame in the Bronx.

With 2 on and 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Mets Closer Francisco Rodriguez throws to Yankees 3rd Baseman Alx Rodriguez, who promptly pops the ball towards Mets 2nd Baseman Luis Castillo.

Chaos ensues in Mets country:

Thanks to Ray Dice Chan over in the Global New York Mets Fan Group over on Facebook for the intense drawing.

Movie Review: Up (Disney / Pixar)

After watching this movie over and over again, I believe the status of Brad Lidge… wait… I mean Brad Lidge’s ERA will continue to skyrocket towards the stars!

Props to Ray Dussault over at the Global New York Mets Fan Group on Facebook for the image.

Word of the Day: Collapse

So what exactly did happen to the 2008 New York Mets? Here’s how I see things, and how some journalists are just looking to get readers to their columns by tagging this Mets season with some misleading terms.

Ted Keith and Jon Heyman over at SI.com both referred to this season as another “Collapse”. Why a collapse? Because for the second straight season, the Mets were beat out in the east by the Phillies after holding a lead in the division with (that magical number) 17 games to go, and were also beat out in the wildcard race. But the finishing touch on why they would call it another collapse is that the final blow, once again, came at the hands of the Florida Marlins. Touching Drama, yes? Wrong.

The 2008 season can be summed up in 2 words, which all Mets fans will understand divided the season into to “mini-seasons”. Those words are Willie and Manuel.

While I don’t completely blame Willie Randolph for his post-2006 failures, there was no doubt that his time as Mets manager was fading fast after the 2007 season. The first half of the season (until Willie’s firing) created not only a 34-35 record, but a large amount of angst and disappointment among the fans. This was supposed to be the year of ‘revenge’ or ‘payback’. After 69 games, that was not the case. But for the final 93 games, hope was restored. Despite missing the playoffs by a slim margin for the second straight season, Jerry Manuel took over Willie’s job and the first half of the season seemed like a meaningless faded memory. Under Manuel, the Mets finished the season going 55-38 the rest of the way. Carlos Delgado finally got his swing back, David Wright and Jose Reyes finally showed some life, Starting Pitching got better under Dan Warthen, and young faces like Murphy, Parnell and Niese began to display what the future may hold. I wouldn’t call the season a collapse by any means, but more of a rebirth of where the success started for this Franchise as far back as 1969: The Farm.

Back to the word of the day: “Collapse”. Why don’t we analyze that a little more, in relations to the world of Professional Sports. If I’m not mistaken, this article pretty much sums it up. If you’re at work or can’t view the link, the article (written by Bryan Armen Graham over at SI.com) is titles “100 Seasons… 100 Heartbreaks”, referring to Philadelphia’s (current and longest) championshipless drought of it’s 4 major sports franchises. The Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers have combined for a total of 100 Championshipless seasons since 1983. That’s 25 years without a major sports championship. I would gamble to call that a “Collapse” of an entire city, let alone 4 major sports franchises. But, this is New York City, and the media hovers to New York City like a fly to a zapper.

So while the ruling media continues to misinform for its own pleasure, I’ll sit back and smile as I think about the bright future this franchise could have as it enters it’s new home (even though I’m not completely happy about Citifield).

Lets Go Mets (add ridiculously “Hooo” exhale).

Phuck!

I haven’t watched the All-Star Game (let alone the Home Run Derby) since Bid Selig called one of them back in 2002, but this video is priceless. Chase Utley was being announced as a contestant in last night’s Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium. As he was making his way out, the fans at the ballpark started to ‘Boo’ him. Watch Utley’s response to the crowd at the ‘Cathedral’.

In case you had trouble hearing, that was “Boo? Fuck You”

Now, fan feelings aside (because I’m a Mets fan who is clearly against the Phillies if you read my old Mets posts), I don’t disagree with Chase’s reaction at all. His choice of words could have been more “National TV” friendly, but I think his reaction is correct. This wasn’t a Phillies/Mets game. This was the 2008 Home Run Derby at one of MLB’s most historic fields. This was a showcase of some of the game’s best players. These guys work their tails off just to make it to the Major League level, let alone the All-Star game. This should be a time to throw down your team’s colors and come together to watch some of the best players in the game. Be proud of who is representing your team, but acknowledge the talent of the other players there as well.

If there’s anything that might be guaranteed to happen after that little boo-fest, it’s that the Philadelphia sports writers and bloggers are going to be all over this like crazy glue… and they’re not exactly going to defend New Yorkers.

Major League Greedball – Cabreraball

This morning, I read an article on ESPN.com about another “big” signing in Major League Baseball. The Detroit Tigers are all set to sign newly acquired 3rd Baseman, Miguel Cabrera, to an 8-year contract worth $153.3 Million! If I wasn’t annoyed about salaries in professional sports, I am now. I’m not going to make any “Statistical” arguments about why nobody in baseball should make nearly that much. I’m going to make a more practical argument.

Everyday in this country, teachers are getting short-changed. Teaching is one of the most important professions in the world. I’m not a teacher, but I have a lot of friends who are, and who are struggling to make a living for themselves because they don’t make nearly as much as they deserve. What can a teacher do for you? A teacher can give you building blocks and motivate you to be whoever and do whatever you want to be successful. A teacher can show you that you should always reach for your dreams and goals. Education is so important in the growth of our children in this country, and all over the world. As a matter of fact, teachers are so important, that they could teach people like Rosanne Barr how NOT to sing the National Anthem like this…

I remember this… and I remember throwing up afterwards…

They could also give Ashlee Simpson’s sound guy come sound career advice when he screws things up for poor Miss Simpson…

“Saving her voice” my @ss. If she can’t hold her own on stage and resorts to ‘over-dubbing’, then she shouldn’t be performing live…

What kind of message does this Cabrera contract signing send towards the children of this country who need education and teachers? In my own opinion, it doesn’t send any positive messages towards the kids of America, except for a message of greed. Basically, if you can play baseball well, you’ll be rewarded with all the money you could dream of. So, play the game to get rich… because if you play the game unselfishly and because you love the game, you’ll end up making as much as a Tampa Bay Ray. (I still think of them as the Devil Rays)

When I see my elementary school, middle school, and high school teacher friends making as much as professional athletes, I’ll be more interested in the sport of baseball, and other professional sports, like I was when I was growing up. It’s one thing to earn a living, being a professional athlete. But to play the game for greed is a whole other story.

But on another note, as a Mets fan, I sure am glad to see Miguel in the American League. Happy Trails, Miguel!