Win an autographed poster and VIP tickets to "Knuckleball!"

The baseball documentary Knuckleball! will be premiering for free on Saturday, April 21st as a part of the Tribeca Drive-in at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Here's your chance to win a chance to sit in the VIP section, and get a movie poster autographed by four famous knuckleballers, including R.A. Dickey, Tim Wakefield, Jim Bouton and Charlie Hough.
Simply tell us what your favorite sports movie is -- you can email us at subwaysquawkers@gmail.com -- and you could be on your way to winning!

Here are some details on the film:

This classic sports story recounts the 2011 journey of the last professional knuckleball pitchers: Tim Wakefield, a 17-year Red Sox veteran, and Mets up-and-comer R.A. Dickey. Together with just four other living knuckleballers, they shine a light on their remarkable brotherhood and the shared pursuit of honor and craftsmanship.

The Tribeca Drive-in will open at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21st, and include live music, giveaways, baseball trivia contests and pitching clinics with pro knuckleballers R.A. Dickey; Tim Wakefield, formerly of the Boston Red Sox; Charlie Hough, formerly of the Dodgers and Rangers; and former New York Yankee Jim Bouton. The world premiere of Knuckleball! will follow at 8:15 p.m.

LOCATION:
Tribeca Drive-In® At the World Financial Center Plaza (West Street between Vesey & Liberty Streets)



For more info about the film, visit www.knuckleballmovie.com


Simply tell us what your favorite sports movie is -- you can email us at subwaysquawkers@gmail.com -- and you could be on your way to winning VIP admission, as well as an autographed movie poster signed by Dickey, Wakefield, Hough, and Bouton!! Please send in your entry by Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Thanks!

Which Subway Squawker Will Jinx the Mets Tonight?

The good news for me today is that our long national nightmare is over; the Yankees finally won a game. Yippee! And the good news for Squawker Jon is that his Mets are still undefeated, after a walkoff win last night. However, the bad news will be starting for the Mets soon enough tonight, since Squawker Jon and I will be in the house! And you will be shocked to hear how we got the tickets.

Yes, I signed up for that Club Mets thing --for $19.95, you can get the MLB audio for your computer for the entire season, as well as two free tickets to a game in the Nationals series, and other discounts and whatnot. Of course, this would happen to be the series where the Mets are selling $2.50 tickets, so it's not quite as sweet a deal as it seemed to be a few months ago. But it's still a pretty good deal -- the audio alone is worth $19.99, more than the Club Mets membership! (The Yankees' type of membership for this -- Yankees Universe -- isn't even anywhere near as good a deal, by the way -- if you want free tickets, you have to sign up for the $295 membership. Yikes!)

So anyhow, Squawker Jon and I will be at the game tonight, and the question is, which one of us will jinx the team. It would seem like I would be the jinx, since I am the Yankee fan in enemy territory. But then again, we are talking about Squawker Jon here, the man who killed Mike Pelfrey's career after he purchased a Pelfrey t-shirt!

But what if the Mets (gulp) win tonight, and the Yankees lose in their own game? Jon will hurt himself doing the Snoopy Dance all the way back home! Good grief, as Charlie Brown would say!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Pride, Power, Proctor

So the Yankees allow a cast of scrubs to blow a seven-run lead while sitting All-Star relievers Mariano Rivera and David Robertson and some folks give Jose Reyes grief for not being Ted Williams?

Before I get to the conclusion of my brief stint as a Yankee fan, I want to congratulate Jose on becoming the first Met to win a batting title. And there's nothing on the final day to apologize for. As Squawker Lisa points out, the reason we remember Ted Williams' heroics 70 years later is that they are so unusual.

Players sit on their stats in meaningless games all the time. As Mike Vaccaro pointed out in the Post, Bernie Williams left the last game of the 1998 season early to protect his batting title. And as one of Lisa's Facebook friends pointed out, in 2008 Derek Jeter left the game early and sat out the last two games, finishing with a batting average of exactly .300.

I do feel a little bad for the loyal fans who came out to Citi Field yesterday, but they ultimately got what they paid to see - Reyes win a batting title and appear in what could be his last game as a Met.

Reyes' early departure was handled awkwardly, but these are the Mets. And my main concern with Reyes is that the Mets now avoid an early departure for Reyes from his Mets career.

***

So much for my three-day stint as a Yankee fan. If I had wanted to see epic bullpen meltdowns, I could have stayed in Flushing. But the Yankees are not obligated to use Mariano and Robertson in a meaningless game for them as they prepare for the playoffs any more than Reyes was obligated to play the whole game.

And whatever the Yankees did, it was the Red Sox who were responsible for their own collapse. While I wanted to see the Red Sox win, I have to say that I don't mind seeing the Sox and Braves pass the 2007 Mets on the list of epic chokes.

Especially the Braves.

While my brief stint as a Yankee fan was a bust, my brief stint as a Phillies fan went well, with the Fightins finishing off the collapsing Braves. And the Phillies did themselves proud, with veterans Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and even ancient Raul Ibanez playing all thirteen innings of last night's game.

***

Thankfully, the postseason is here, so I can go back to rooting against both the Yankees and the Phillies. I just hope I don't have to make another grim choice in the World Series.

Backwards Day for the Squawkers

It's as if Squawker Lisa started watching "Doctor Who" and I tuned in to "Dancing With the Stars." As if Lisa started quoting Monty Python, while I quoted Oprah. Lisa is rooting for the Yankees to lose, while I am rooting for the Yankees to win.

People complain that fantasy baseball causes fans to compromise their rooting interests. But look what the collapse of the Red Sox has done to the Squawkers!

Not that it's any fun being a Met fan pulling for the Red Sox these days, when Boston is making the Mets looks good. The Mets have only won five of their last 16. The Red Sox have only won five of their last 22.

And just when I'm putting the 2007 Mets collapse in the past, I get to be reminded of it every day.

Since I know all too well how these collapses turn out, it's not like I have any hope that the Red Sox will turn it around.

The one bright spot about the Red Sox completing their historic collapse is that it will be even worse than that of the 2007 Mets. So maybe every time a team falls apart, the Mets won't be one of the first teams mentioned.

Meanwhile, the Braves are on the verge of their own historic collapse, which would be great, except now I have to root for the Phillies, since they are playing Atlanta.

I'm still rooting for the Mets to finish on a positive note, but even Jose Reyes' pursuit of the Mets' first batting crown is tainted by the fact that these could be his last appearances in a Met uniform.

But when I was hoping for meaningful games in September, I didn't expect it would involve rooting for the Yankees and the Phillies.

Are the 2011 Boston Red Sox Turning Into the 2007 New York Mets?

Saturday's game was the very first Yankees-Red Sox game that the Bombers have won this year at home, and the Yanks looked about as dominant against Boston as they have since they swept them in that August 2009 series in the Bronx. Jon Lester, who usually gives the Yankees fits, looked more like John Lackey. And Jesus Montero looked like a star. It was fun to have a blowout win, and the game actually lasted less than three hours. Shocking, I know!

I have been trying to keep myself from doing a full-on Snoopy Dance about the Boston Red Sox's September swoon -- they need to be officially out of the Wild Card race before I will put on my dancing shoes. That being said, what I've seen so far reminds me a lot of the 2007 New York Mets. (Squawker Jon, are you listening?)

The angriest I have ever heard Jon in the decade I have known him was when Tom Glavine coughed up seven runs in the first inning of the last game of the season, to put the nail in his team's coffin. Tom Terrible lasted all of one-third of an inning before getting knocked out of the game. Jon was appalled by Glavine's horrific performance and wrote a rant in Subway Squawkers that made my anti-Joe Torre rants look tame. And that was before Glavine poured salt in the wounds of Mets fans everywhere by proclaiming that he wasn't devastated by the loss. Good grief.

Anyhow, I've been reading talk about how it would be unfair to get rid of Terry Francona, because he has two rings, blah blah blah. Nonsense. If the Sox don't make the postseason, after everybody and his brother predicted them to win the World Series, the manager has to go. One of the many mistakes the Mets made in recent years was not getting rid of Willie Randolph after the 2007 collapse, instead waiting until the following June to fire him in the middle of the night after a West Coast win.

The same with the Yankees keeping on Joe Torre after 2004. It's the manager's job to keep the team grounded, and not letting the team drive into the ditch, the way Boston is right now. It's not all Carl Crawford's fault, you know, as much as some people in the media would like to make it that way.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to today's doubleheader, but apparently the matchup I was hoping for -- A.J. Burnett vs. John Lackey -- is apparently not going to happen. Alas. They could have called the game the Toilet Bowl.


What do you think? Tell us about it!

Who Would You Rather Have --Jose Reyes or Derek Jeter?

I have been watching Jose Reyes' MVP-caliber year with the New York Mets with great interest, especially since it's the last year of his contract. Like some Yankee fans, I was salivating at the idea of Reyes putting on pinstripes when he is no longer a Met.

But Brian Cashman has put the kibosh on that idea, saying, "That's just not going to happen." Of course, given that Cashman's own contract is up at the end of the year, never say never. Not to mention that Cashman has said one thing, and ended up doing another, before, like when Bubba Crosby was going to be the Yankees' starting center fielder for 2006! All that said, the Yankees probably will not get Reyes, even thought they should.

Back in 2007, Squawker Jon and I were interviewed on the Mets Weekly SNY broadcast for a Subway Series preview. When I was asked who was the best shortstop in New York, I gave my smartypants answer --  Alex Rodriguez!

Now I would say it's Jose Reyes, which is not exactly going out on a limb here. But it's going to be interesting to watch if Reyes is doing great things for the Mets, or heaven forbid, the Boston Red Sox, over the next few years, while the Yankees have Jeter at shortstop for the next three and a half seasons. (The media always seems to forget Jeter's player option for a fourth year in that contract. And given that he said last year that he thought he was still in the middle of his career (!), there is no reason to think at this point that he will hang it up before that season.)

Anyhow, will Yankee fans be gritting their teeth if Reyes has a year or two like this with the Red Sox, when it's pretty clear that Derek Jeter's 2010 was just a sneak preview of what we're going to see in this contract? And for all the "he's back" talk after his two-homer game against the Texas Rangers, the fact is that the captain has the same number of home runs this year that Eduardo Nunez achieved in 62 at-bats -- two. And while Jeter is better than Nunez with the glove at this point, Nunez is hitting much better in the lineup in Jeter's absence than Derek has all year:

Jeter's 2011 splits: .260/324/.324
Nunez's numbers since replacing Jeter in the lineup:.294/.351/.441 (his overall 2011 numbers are .241/.290/.379.)

I'm not saying Nunez is the answer, but the dirty little secret in Yankeeland is that the team has done just fine without Jeter in the lineup, especially with Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher alternating at the top of the lineup (they were hitting a combined .314 in that spot going into Friday's game.)

Of course, Joe Girardi has already said he won't move Jeter out of the leadoff role when he returns from injury, whenever that is. Because it makes perfect sense to have the player with the second-worst on-base percentage on the team batting more than anybody else on the Yankees!

I know, I know, these numbers don't take into account intangibles, grit, mystique, aura, or five rings. But geez, at some point, maybe after the 3000 hit milestone is achieved, we have to remember that it's the Derek Jeter of 2011 playing, not the ghost of Jeter at shortstop. Sacrilege, I know.

Last Chance to Win Free Mets Tickets

Today is the last time you can enter our Mets tickets contest to win two free tickets for Sunday's game, courtesy of Blimpie Sub Shop. Please go here to enter! Two of our readers will win two free tickets to see the Mets take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Fathers' Day. Good luck!

Is Coffee the Met Fan/Yankee Fan Dog Being Abused?

Last year, I wrote an article about Coffee, the Met fan dog who wore a David Wright jersey, a pipe, sunglasses, glasses, a bandana, and a Mets cap.

My scoop was that I was the first to notice that this dog, seen as a "Met fan" asking for money outside CitiField, was pawing both sides of the street -- he also showed up dressed as a Yankee fan asking for money during the playoffs! Click on my original article to see the pix. I thought it was funny that even a dog would change baseball alliances when it was convenient! I guess money talks.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I  noted on our page view reports that we were getting a lot of traffic on that old story, and a whole bunch of new comments. I didn't understand why people were reading the piece. Then I saw that there was a Facebook group called Stop Abusing Coffee set up, with a link to my own article, among other stories about the dog. The page said that "Coffee the dog that is forced to sit outside of Citi Field before, during & after EVERY Mets home game needs to stop being abused."

Anyhow, I didn't want to accuse the owner of abuse without hearing or seeing evidence of it, so I held off on writing something right away. Then the Gothamist site ran several stories last week, with photo evidence of Coffee having to wear a shock collar to stay in line. Yikes! Then they ran a photo of Coffee's owner, apparently holding the controls for the shock collar, a picture where it looks like Coffee does not have any teeth!

The latest news is that Coffee's owner had her pretending to be a Yankee fan outside Yankee Stadium during the Subway Series this past weekend, and some concerned folks took some more pictures. This story is now blowing up -- it's one of the lead items on today's Drudge Report.

A lot of people have called the Mets, the ASPCA, and other animal rights groups to get this stopped, to no avail. You can read more about this issue at the Stop Abusing Coffee page. Here's hoping for a happy resolution to this story.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Sorry, Squawker Jon, Fred Wilpon Is No George Steinbrenner

Squawker Jon writes that "Fred Wilpon is George Steinbrenner without the success." I take issue with that comparison. Steinbrenner was a winner; Wilpon, with all his "snakebitten" talk; is just a whiner.

Mike Lupica, who slammed the Yankee front office last week for not covering up for Jorge Posada's sitdown strike, has a much more positive take today on Wilpon throwing his stars under the bus. (Shocker, I know.) He writes, "Steinbrenner used to say everything about everybody, even Don Mattingly, then trash the Bronx for good measure. Now we build monuments to him." Um, no. Steinbrenner didn't get a monument for calling Dave Winfield Mr. May. He got it for winning seven World Series rings.

Fred Wilpon has one ring, back from when he co-owned the team with Nelson Doubleday. And it was Doubleday who, back when he co-owned the team, pushed for them to sign Mike Piazza, the way George Steinbrenner would have. If it had been up to Wilpon, the Mets would still be looking for another playoff appearance since the late 80s. And the only monument Wilpon will ever get is a monument to stupidity.

Whatever you can say about Steinbrenner, he was a Yankee fan through and through. And he really had a feel for Yankee tradition. It was The Boss who brought Mel Allen back into the Yankee fold, over a decade after he had been unceremoniously fired by the Yankees front office as a broadcaster. Steinbrenner also got Roger Maris to put on pinstripes again, and later retired his number. (Yes, Mets, people actually get their numbers retired. It's 25 years since 1986, and there hasn't been a single Met with his number retired from that era. What's up with that?)

Even when The Boss fought with people, he eventually brought them back in the fold. Like Billy Martin, Yogi Berra, and even Dave Winfield, who suffered the worst of Steinbrenner's wrath.

Steinbrenner's "Yankee way" pep talks and signs may have made some players roll their eyes, but there is no doubt which team he loved: The New York Yankees. On the other hand, it's pretty clear that Fred Wilpon's first baseball love is the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Mets just an afterthought to his childhood dreams.

Citi Field when it first opened was more of a tribute to Ebbets Field and a time long gone than it was to the actual team playing there. Here are Fred's comments to New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin on the issue:

“The first day the architects came to the site, they started saying blah, blah, blah, and I said to them, ‘Let me tell you how this is going to work,’ ” Wilpon told me recently. “ ‘The front of the building is going to look like Ebbets Field. And it’s going to have a rotunda—just like at Ebbets.’ And then I said, ‘Guess what. Here are the plans for Ebbets Field.’ And I handed them over.”

He also told Toobin:

Today, as Wilpon negotiates with possible investors, he says it’s clear that the team is worth more than a billion dollars. “There’s one National League franchise in New York,” he said. “Fifty years from now, there’s going to be one National League franchise in New York. That’s a very valuable thing.”

I'm sorry, I'm not really feeling the Mets love here -- he can't even muster up the name of his own team when saying how valuable it is!

While Wilpon did eventually acknowledge that he overdid it in Citi Field with the Brooklyn love: "All the Dodger stuff—that was an error of judgment on my part," he tells Toobin, he still seems more interested in walking down memory lane than embracing the team he currently owns. George Steinbrenner grew up a Cleveland Indians fan, but the closest he came to embracing his childhood team was hiring Gabe Paul and Bob Lemon, both of which were good moves.The rest of his life was all about Yankeedom.

Finally, Steinbrenner would never have agreed with Wilpon calling his team snake-bitten. Instead, The Boss would surely have agreed with Oprah Winfrey's quote that you make your own luck. Here's hoping that Wilpon makes his own luck for the Mets, and sells the entire team. Enough already.

Subway Series: Mets Can't Fight the Power

The world didn't end last night, so the Yankees moving into first place by beating the Mets will have to do. The Yankees got only seven hits, but four of them were homers, leading some to suggest that the Yankees are an all or nothing team.

But I wish the Mets had such problems. Brett Gardner has more homers than last night's cleanup hitter, Jason Bay. And while Bay clearly doesn't belong in that spot, nobody else on the active roster does either.

So the current Mets lineup goes only as far as their pitching takes them, and last night Chris Capuano didn't take them very far. Capuano had been pitching well as of late, allowing only two earned runs in each of his last three starts, but that only got his ERA down to 4.78, and it's now 5.36 after last night's homer barrage. And it's not as if he's that much better at home - his Citi Field ERA is 5.04.

Today's rubber game will be a good test for the Mets' pitching staff. Mike Pelfrey has a 5.11 ERA and 1.54 WHIP for the season, but after a disastrous start, his May ERA is 2.11 and his WHIP is 0.98.

But when Pelfrey pitched against the Yankees at the Stadium last June, he allowed homers to Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson. Not a good omen when Granderson is doing so well and Teixeira already has a homer in each game of this series (and a homer in the Baltimore game before that).

So Squawker Lisa, I hope I'm wrong about my prediction that the Mets would take just one of three, but it looks to be an uphill battle for the erratic Pelfrey and the Mets' makeshift lineup.

Lisa and I want to send our best wishes to Gary Carter and his family, and we are hoping and praying for a good outcome.

Subway Series: Mets Give Yankees a Knuckle Sandwich

Boo hoo, Squawker Lisa. The Yankees had to face a knuckleballer last night - that's not fair! Some Yankee excuses from last night's game:

"It's tough to hit whenever you go up against a knuckleballer." - Russell Martin

"There's just no rhyme or reason to it." - Curtis Granderson

"No one knows where it's going so it's kind of hard to have an approach against him" - Derek Jeter

Actually, this year it's kind of hard for Jeter to have an approach against most pitchers, but I digress. The Yankees can make all the excuses they want, but R.A. Dickey had a 5.08 ERA going into last night's Subway Series opener. In his last start, he gave up six runs and 11 hits to the weak-hitting Astros. Even most Met fans didn't think Dickey had a chance to pitch well in the Bronx.

But for one night at least, Dickey looked like the pitcher the cheap new front office was willing to give a two-year contract. It's great to see Dickey come through and Mets pitching continue to be on a roll. The Yankees got just four hits Friday after scoring 13 runs Thursday night. In the Mets' previous two games, they shut out the Nationals, who then scored 17 runs last night. It doesn't matter if half the Mets' lineup is from Triple A if the pitching is this good.

And by the way, for all the Yankees' complaining, Dickey only pitched six innings. While the Mets rotation still looks shaky, the bullpen could be the best the Mets have had since 2006.

Look on the bright side, Squawker Lisa. Maybe the world will end tonight before the Yankees have to think of excuses about why they struggled against Chris Capuano.

Subway Series: Mets Win; Yankee Fans Grumble

Squawker Jon was doing the Snoopy Dance over last night's Mets' 2-1 victory over the Yankees. The YES Network's Jack Curry compared the win to a 15 seed knocking off a 2 seed. And to top it off, as a Red Sox fan friend pointed out, Boston now has a better record than the Yankees, so if the world ends at 6 p.m. tonight, the Sox will have one-upped New York for all eternity this year. Oh, great.

But hey, as Squawker Jon always tells me when I grumble over something, look on the bright side. Soon, Jose Reyes will be making those sparkling, game-saving plays in pinstripes, right?  Dare to dream!

Like I noted yesterday, if the Mets somehow sweep this series, they will have a better record than the Yankees this season. Squawker Jon will be putting on his dancing shoes again if that happens!

* * * 

Joe Girardi was asked this by the New York Post's Kevin Kernan after last night's loss:

When Girardi was asked if he had any thoughts about shaking up his lineup, he offered this with a smile: "The last time I did something, everyone was in an uproar."

 Well, one guy was. That was the move that sent Posada to the nine-spot.

That's wonderful. Joe finally does what needed to be done, in moving the .165 hitter to the nine spot, and now he's so gun-shy by Posada's hissy fit, he's keeping back at seventh, due to worries that Posada will have another sit-down strike. Meanwhile, Brett Gardner, who is hitting .345 in May, is also hitting ninth. How does that work?

Not to mention that reports of Derek Jeter getting out of his year-long funk were greatly exaggerated. He has the worst OPS on the team, and the second-worst on-base percentage, which is kind of not what you want your leadoff hitter to do.

Yes, yes, I know the Yankees hit the Orioles pretty good last night. But they are 6-0 against that team this year, and pretty much destroy them year after year. On the other hand, the Yanks are 1-5 against Boston, 3-4 against Detroit, 2-2 against the White Sox, and 1-2 against Kansas City. The Bombers need to start stepping it up, and soon.

* * *

I watched some of the SNY broadcast to see how the other half lives. They noted that Freddy Garcia, who pitched very well last night, has the nickname "The Chief," due to his resemblance to the character in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." I see him as more of The Rock, but that's me.

Then, I polled Facebook friends as to who which celebrity Russell Martin looks like. People came up with Rick Shroeder, Jon Favreau, and David Denman (Roy from "The Office")!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Subway Series: Mets' Pitcher Pedro Beato Sez "I Hate the Yankees"

I was on the phone today with Squawker Jon, when I asked him if he had heard the news about Pedro Beato. "What, is he injured again?" Jon groaned. Then Jon corrected me on the pronunciation of the Mets' pitcher's name (I was saying it as Beat-o!)

Anyhow, I told Jon the news: Beato is causing a hubbub today over him telling Bergen Record writer Steve Popper that he hates the Yankees. Here's the direct quote:

"I hate the Yankees," said reliever Pedro Beato, speaking as a native New Yorker, not out of any actual animosity for the crosstown rivals. "My family – I can tell there are no Yankees fans.

"I think I know more than those guys, not the older guys obviously because they’ve been in this situation. I’ve been to games. I know how crazy the fans can be. As a player you shouldn’t let that get to you. I know it doesn’t get to me. I’d rather play in these situations than play in a game where there’s not that many fans. That’s the whole excitement of the game, how the fans get into the game, how they cheer their team, the loudness and craziness of the crowd."

I just looked to see if Beato took this back, saying how much he respects the Yankees, blah blah blah, and that he was quoted out of context, but it looks like he's sticking with what he said. And even though I don't agree with the sentiment, good for him. It gives people something to talk -- or squawk -- about besides griping about how the Subway Series doesn't mean as much as it used to. And he kind of had a backhanded slap at Mets fans, talking about playing in games where there aren't many fans. You know, kind of like what happens at Citi Field every night!

But guess what? The Mets are not quite as pathetic this year as we Yankee fans seem to think they are. The Yankees' record is 23-19, and they are one game out of first place. The Mets are 21-22, and five games out of first. If the Mets swept the Yankees this weekend, they would actually have better record than the Bombers. Imagine that!

But I don't think that will happen --  I say the Yankees will win two out of three. I am not sure who will win which game, though! Don't want to jinx any of the games!

Jon and I were talking about which members of the other team we like. Jon says his favorite Yankees are Mariano Rivera and Pedro Feliciano (I'm appreciative of the first one, and snickereing about the second one!) As for myself, I like Ike (Davis), R.A. Dickey, and Carlos Beltran -- I think Beltran gets a bum rap, the way A-Rod did. But it's a little bittersweet this year, with me having to cope with the loss of Luis Castillo, who had the best play ever in a Subway Series! Fortunately, Mike Vaccaro wrote a great article today recapping the Castillo game. Check it out!

Who is your favorite or least favorite Met or Yankee? Tell us about it!

Check Out the Subway Series Festivities at Madison Square Park This Weekend

Squawker Jon and I were in Madison Square Park last weekend for their food festival, which was pretty good. But there's even more going on the park this weekend, thanks to the Subway Series, including that food festival. Here is some information on the second annual Delta Dugout event at the park this Friday through Sunday. Squawker Jon and I will be attending one of these days -- we're still arguing (um, I mean debating!) which one that will be! Anyhow, here's the info I received on the event:

Delta Airlines is inviting Mets fans to come out to the second annual Delta Dugout at Madison Square Park, May 20-22, to celebrate the iconic interleague series. The three-day fan experience includes player appearances by current and former Mets players, live game viewing and silent auctions featuring signed Mets memorabilia benefiting the David Wright Foundation.

It will also offer an array of games for baseball enthusiasts, including batting cages and fast pitch competitions, as well as a photo booth, special Delta games and Mets ticket package giveaways throughout the weekend.  Fans will also enjoy ballpark-style concessions and specialty food and beverages, including a special “Delta Dugout hotdog” featured at the Shake Shack throughout the weekend.

Schedule of Events:

Friday, May 20, 11am-10pm, Opening Day

11am-7pm: Gaming Village and Delta Sky360 Lounge: Batting Cages, Fast Pitch, Custom Photo Booth, Delta Destination Challenge, Plane-Ko, Silent Auction, Kids Corner, Dugout Trivia, Specialty Concessions, Giveaways

7pm: Live Viewing of Yankees-Mets series opener with great giveaways, including travel packages from Delta, baseball gear and tickets to future Mets and Yankees games

Saturday, May 21, 11am-10pm

Noon: Home Run Derby Challenge with Josh Thole & Fast Pitch Challenge with Joba Chamberlain

11am-6pm: Gaming Village and Delta Sky360 Lounge: Batting Cages, Fast Pitch, Custom Photo Booth, Delta Destination Challenge, Plane-Ko, Silent Auction, Kids Corner, Dugout Trivia, Specialty Concessions, Giveaways

3pm: Mr. Met Meet & Greet

5:15pm: Bernie Williams Special Pre-game Concert.

7pm: Live Viewing of Yankees-Mets series, game two, with great giveaways, including travel packages from Delta, baseball gear and tickets to future Mets and Yankees games**

Sunday, May 22, 10am-4pm

11am: The 3rd Annual Fan Flair Challenge at the Delta Dugout with phenomenal giveaways to the “most spirited” outfitted Mets and Yankees fan including game tickets, baseball gear and more!

10am-4pm: Gaming Village and Delta Sky360 Lounge: Batting Cages, Fast Pitch, Custom Photo Booth, Delta Destination Challenge, Plane-Ko, Silent Auction, Kids Corner, Dugout Trivia, Specialty Concessions, Giveaways

 1pm: Live Viewing of Yankees-Mets series finale, with great giveaways, including travel packages from Delta, baseball gear and tickets to future Mets and Yankees games

Merry Christmas, but I don't want to see Manny Ramirez under the Yankee tree

Squawker Jon and I would like wish all our Subway Squawkers readers a very merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you're celebrating this year.

This is our fifth season of writing this blog, and we're happy that we've had this opportunity to squawk about our teams -- and about each other. We also really appreciate that we've gotten to know our readers a little better, via Facebook, Twitter, and real-life meetings. Thanks for reading us!

Anyhow, I went to church for Christmas Eve, and they had a Las Posadas ceremony as part of the service. But there was no mention of Jorge!

Now, I did get the Bruce Springsteen box set The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story under my Christmas tree. But I don't want to see Manny Ramirez under the Yankee tree!

There have been rumors flying about that the Yankees are targeting him and Johnny Damon. I wanted Manny as a Yankee after the phenomenal end to his 2008 season, and I of course wanted Damon back last season. This year, not so much.

Sure, Ramirez might be the all-time Yankee killer with the bat, and Damon is one of my favorite Yankee players, but neither of them really fit on this team right now, in no small part due to Jorge Posada being paid $13 million for 2011 to be the DH.

I can't see Damon being happy to be a part-time player. And Manny hasn't been the same hitter ever since The Man took away his right to take fertility drugs! Besides, I think the Yanks have enough superstars on the decline right now. They don't need another one.
Anyhow, I told Jon that Posada ought to send a big Christmas card to Omar Minaya -- their meal at the Four Seasons when the catcher was a free agent got Posada a fourth year!

Anyhow, thanks again for reading us. If you got any cool Yankees- or Mets-related loot under the tree, let us know!

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On the "Moneyball" crew taking their talents to Flushing -- and to the movies

I haven't given the Mets enough grief as of late. That changes right now, Squawker Jon.

First off, how many people from the old "Moneyball" regime is Sandy Alderson going to import to the Mets? Is Scott Hatteberg going to get a job on the team, too?

Squawker Jon wrote that I said:

Squawker Lisa compared the front office big three of Sandy Alderson, Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi to the Miami Heat's dream team, lamenting that there was no ESPN special in which they would announce that they were taking their talents to Flushing.

Well, I was a wee bit more sarcastic there than you give me credit for, Jon, especially given that I'm on record as thinking Ricciardi is way overrated! At any rate, at least your new GM getting the band back together keeps people from talking too much about that Mets clubhouse manager. What's the deal with that Charlie Samuels dude? What did he do to make Jeff Francouer tip him $50,000 -- wash his laundry especially nice? And how about K-Rod living at this guy's house? That's just wacky.

Back to "Moneyball" -- the subject of the book got me thinking about the new "Moneyball" movie. I couldn't find out who was playing Alderson or Ricciardi in the movie, but I did see that DePodesta's character, who will be played by Jonah Hill (!) in the film, has a different name now -- Peter Brand. DePodesta told Yahoo Sports he was uncomfortable not with Hill, but with the way the script depicted him, saying "I didn’t feel comfortable with my name being attached to a fictitious character."


Maybe it's just as well -- it's not like Jonah Hill looked anything remotely like DePodesta, anyway. DePodesta played football and baseball at Harvard, while the most athetic thing Hill looks like he's ever done is maybe a rousing game of beer pong or something.

According to the IMDB, Jorge Posada is in the movie, portrayed by Sergio Garcia click here to see his photo and bio, and no, I don't think he looks all that much like Posada, either.



Philip Seymour Hoffman is playing Art Howe. Giving that Hoffman seems to play an odious character in virtually every movie he's in, if I were Howe, I'd be calling my lawyer right now!

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Lee Mazzilli as the new Mets manager? Even Flushing doesn't deserve that!

Squawker Jon, now that your Mets have a new GM in Sandy Alderson, I saw that tabloid columnist Bill Madden is championing Lee Mazzilli for Mets manager. What's that all about?

Madden writes this today in the New York Daily News:

Now the big question is: Who will Alderson hire as his manager? Originally, it was believed the Wilpons wanted a manager who will excite their fan base, but this being Alderson's call and his alone, the primary criteria will probably be a manager with whom he's comfortable and who will not buck him. In that respect, he'll likely want a manager with major league experience because this is New York - no place to experiment with someone untested. I would expect Lee Mazzilli, who has a Met pedigree and had a modicum of success managing in Baltimore under impossible conditions, and Bob Melvin, who had 90-win seasons in both Seattle and Arizona before his teams went quickly south on him, will be on Alderson's list.

Now, I've heard Melvin's name bandied about as a Mets' managerial choice for a while now. But who would want Lee Mazzilli as manager of the Mets? He was fired from Baltimore for going 9-28, after being in first place for the first 2 1/2 months of 2005. He was a terrible bench coach for the Yankees, known mostly for being one of Joe Torre's guys than for any good decision-making skills. Mazzilli couldn't even hack it as an SNY analyst, showing zero personality. Is he somebody who can really turn the Mets around? I don't think so.

This isn't the first time Madden has written about Mazz for manager. Back in September, the columnist wrote this, pushing Mazzilli for the job:

So, if not [Wally] Backman, there is only one other candidate who fills at least two of the three primary criteria the Wilpons are looking for - difference-maker, experience, Met pedigree - and that's Lee Mazzilli, who, coincidentally, is also employed by the Yankees in a behind-the-scenes capacity. Mazzilli, one of the most popular Mets ever, managed the Baltimore Orioles for a year and a half in 2004-05 and might have been a difference-maker there if not constrained by the manic, deterrent ownership of Peter Angelos. Mazzilli's 78-84 third-place finish In 2004, is the O's best record since 1999. The following year, he had them a half-game out of first place as late as July 18 - only to be fired by Angelos two weeks later in the wake of Rafael Palmeiro's positive steroids test.


Mazzilli became the organization's unwitting scapegoat because he wouldn't give Palmeiro a public declaration of support.

Madden calls Mazzilli a "scapegoat" for the Palmeiro issue, but he fails to mention that not only did the Orioles, after being in first place for much of the first half of 2005, go 9-28, but they had also lost eight in a row, and 16 of their last 18 games, when Mazzilli was fired. No matter how much of a micromanager Angelos is, it's hard to justify keeping a manager around whose team collapsed like that, no matter how many injuries and issues the team faced.

Madden also writes that Mazzilli "is also employed by the Yankees in a behind-the-scenes capacity." It's so behind-the-scenes, that I didn't even know about it until now! And that's another reason why he would be a bad candidate for Flushing. I can't tell you how many times I heard Met fans gripe about Willie Randolph being a Yankee. We'd hear the same thing if Mazzilli became Mets manager. Surely the Mets can find somebody with a better pedigree than Mazz to run the team.

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Are you joining the CitiField Sit Out movement?

There's been a whole to-do in the Mets community as of late over the Citi Field Sit Out, organized by My Summer Family Mets blogger Taryn Cooper. Tonight, August 25, some Met fans are staying away from the stadium to register their displeasure with what's going on these days in Metsland, even though some of them, like Taryn, had already bought tickets for the game.

Anyhow, I interviewed Taryn about the event to see what it's all about. You can read the whole interview at The Faster Times site. I guess Squawker Jon and I will be participating, as neither of us will be going to the game. Then again, we already weren't planning on attending, so I don't know if that counts!

Anyhow, go here to read the story. I'm sure reader Uncle Mike will have a lot to say about it!

Yankees have HOPE Week, while Mets are just hopeless

I got up this morning to watch Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, and Nick Swisher on "The Today Show" kicking off the Yankees' HOPE Week. That week of events was really inspirational, and I'm sure this year will be just as great.

But on the other hand, Mets fans have no hope. The latest debacle in your dismal season came today, with the news that Frankie Rodriguez tore a thumb ligament when beating up his baby mama's daddy. I am not the least bit surprised. Remember what I wrote last week:

...Rodriguez, who will get paid over $11 million this year to pitch, used the hands that the Mets pay him so much money for to pummel somebody so badly that he was sent to the hospital. And that he did it on Mets property, in front of Mets family members.

What if Rodriguez had hurt his pitching hand in the fight? I wonder if the Mets would have punished him more for potentially missing games.

Only now, after the news that K-Rod is out for the year, did Mets manager Jerry Manuel finally seem ticked off over the debacle, saying he was "disappointed, discouraged, frustrated." And there's talk that the Mets will be looking into voiding the closer's contract. Good luck with that.

This is yet another reason why the Mets' blase reaction about the assault was wrong. Don't you think the players' union will point out that the organization didn't think it was much of a big deal until the injury? Remember, Manuel downplayed the incident as being not baseball-related. Jeff Wilpon issued a one-sentence statement, and Omar Minaya refused to comment. None of them showed any outrage over it -- until now, that is.

Now, I'm no lawyer, but my guess is that this stance is going to hurt the Mets. Besides, as Squawker Jon points out, the only contract in recent memory that was successfully voided was Aaron Boone's. The Yankees weren't able to do it with Kevin Brown, or Jason Giambi. It's not an easy procedure.

At any rate, I think we might have seen K-Rod's last pitch for the Mets, even if it means the Mets dumping him elsewhere. Wonder if he's pointing to the sky now.


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Mets' ownership, front office are MIA over K-Rod

To Squawker Jon's dismay, I've been paying a lot of attention to the train wreck that is the Mets of late, with the Francisco Rodriguez arrest situation. So  I watched Wednesday's SNY postgame, and also watched the pregame for Thursday's game.

And I was appalled by Jerry Manuel excusing his closer's arrest as being "not baseball related," and for him saying that he would actually use K-Rod in a game that day. How outraged was I? I actually uttered the words "Joe Torre would have handled this better" to Squawker Jon. And you know how often it happens that I ever say anything positive about Torre!

According to media reports, the K-Rod fight with Carlos Pena, his common-law father-in-law, supposedly took place after Pena told Rodriguez to "man up." I don't know if that's what happened. But that advice is something the Mets front office ought to do.

So far, their behavior has been abysmal. Aside from Manuel acting like a befuddled Mr. Magoo, insinuating this is a private matter (a private matter doesn't involve an arrest report, dude), the rest of the Mets' management haven't exactly been profiles in courage here.

What did general manager Omar Minaya have to say about the closer he signed turning the family lounge into the stage of "Jerry Springer"? A whole heap of nothing. Here's the story, from Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

Minaya declined comment on the charges against Rodriguez, saying he didn't have enough information. Yet the Mets suspended Rodriguez for two days and placed him on their restricted list, costing him about $125,000 in salary.

You're the GM of the team and you refuse comment? Unacceptable.

Jeff Wilpon, the guy his father Fred Wilpon insisted was doing such a great job, had a little more to say than Minaya, but not much: He issued this statement:

"Ownership and the organization are very disappointed in Francisco's inappropriate behavior and we take this matter very seriously."

Well, the Mets did suspend Francisco for a whole two games. Whoopee.

And why the heck didn't Wilpon speak to the media personally? It was one thing when an aging, addled George Steinbrenner would have his press agent issue statements for him. But why is the COO of this team pulling the Greta Garbo act all the time?

As for the storm of stories about what really happened to spur on K-Rod pummeling his in-law, it doesn't really matter to me what was said, and what caused it. What matters is that Rodriguez, who will get paid over $11 million this year to pitch, used the hands that the Mets pay him so much money for to pummel somebody so badly that he was sent to the hospital. And that he did it on Mets property, in front of Mets family members.

What if Rodriguez had hurt his pitching hand in the fight? I wonder if the Mets would have punished him more for potentially missing games.


Anyhow, the Mets fans who pay their money for tickets and support their team deserve more accountability than they've been getting from their team. When will this nightmare end?


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