It seems like every time I go to a Met game with Squawker Lisa, the Mets lose. Tonight we were at Citi Field to see the undefeated Mets. The first batter, Ian Desmond, homered. The jinx was on.
One look at the Mets' lineup and I knew it would be a long evening. No David Wright. No Ike Davis. Ronny Cedeno batting second. Jason Bay hitting cleanup. At least David Wright should be back soon, I thought.
Then I got home and found out that his finger was fractured. Can we blame this on Lisa as well?
It must be the Lisa jinx. How does Daniel Murphy save Monday night's game in the field and revert to the Murphy who can't field when Lisa's in the house?
Bobby Parnell comes in the game, and by the time I finish telling Lisa how he's turned over a new leaf this year, he's given up two doubles, another hit and a walk.
Against my better judgment, I bought in to the Mets' fast start while seeing it on TV. Then you go to a game and find yourself sitting in a mostly empty ballpark where the biggest cheer all night was for a girl who correctly guessed which Met cap on the video board hid the bag of potato chips.
When we left the ballpark, we headed for the platform where the express 7 train left for Manhattan last year, only to find that there were no express trains tonight. Are the crowds too small to bother with express trains now?
Tomorrow will probably be warm and sunny (we could have used blankets tonight). Johan Santana against Stephen Strasburg. There's a chance things could go well for the Mets - Lisa and I won't be at the game.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
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!
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!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Look who's 3-0 and look who's 0-3
Squawker Lisa, there's still plenty of room if you want to climb aboard the Met bandwagon. See what a closer looks like when he's 3-for-3 in saves. See a veteran pitcher coming back from a serious injury pitch five shutout innings on Opening Day instead of jumping on a trampoline. See a young starter who shows up in camp in shape, isn't nervous about pitching in New York, and instead of going on the DL, takes a no-hitter into the seventh.
I'm going to enjoy the Mets' success as much as I can now because it isn't likely to last. Maybe it's not a coincidence that they swept the Braves, who are coming off a historic collapse. The Red Sox are also 0-3 and there are lots of theories that it could be a hangover (no clubhouse pun intended) from last year, so it could be the same thing with the Braves.
One of the best pieces of news for the Mets might have been that Jon Niese's no-hit bid was broken up in the seventh inning. Terry Collins said emphatically after the game that he would have have pulled Niese after 115 pitches, no-hitter or not.
But the Mets are desperate for good publicity. They've been accused of pushing players to play through injuries. If Niese had been pulled, the Mets' great start would have been drowned in boos. Instead of celebrating Niese's strong performance and new contract, the fans would come away feeling cheated.
Last year, the Mets found a way to spoil what should have been a franchise triumph - the team's first batting title - when Jose Reyes abruptly came out of his last game in the first inning. I didn't have a problem with Reyes making an early exit, but the whole situation could have been handled better.
Imagine if Niese had thrown 130 pitches and the Braves broke up the no-hitter in the eighth or ninth. Now it's the clueless Mets risking the health of a pitcher they just signed to a five-year deal.
So things are actually looking pretty good for the Mets at the moment.
At least until Mike Pelfrey pitches tonight.
I'm going to enjoy the Mets' success as much as I can now because it isn't likely to last. Maybe it's not a coincidence that they swept the Braves, who are coming off a historic collapse. The Red Sox are also 0-3 and there are lots of theories that it could be a hangover (no clubhouse pun intended) from last year, so it could be the same thing with the Braves.
One of the best pieces of news for the Mets might have been that Jon Niese's no-hit bid was broken up in the seventh inning. Terry Collins said emphatically after the game that he would have have pulled Niese after 115 pitches, no-hitter or not.
But the Mets are desperate for good publicity. They've been accused of pushing players to play through injuries. If Niese had been pulled, the Mets' great start would have been drowned in boos. Instead of celebrating Niese's strong performance and new contract, the fans would come away feeling cheated.
Last year, the Mets found a way to spoil what should have been a franchise triumph - the team's first batting title - when Jose Reyes abruptly came out of his last game in the first inning. I didn't have a problem with Reyes making an early exit, but the whole situation could have been handled better.
Imagine if Niese had thrown 130 pitches and the Braves broke up the no-hitter in the eighth or ninth. Now it's the clueless Mets risking the health of a pitcher they just signed to a five-year deal.
So things are actually looking pretty good for the Mets at the moment.
At least until Mike Pelfrey pitches tonight.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
What's the Worst Thing About Friday's Opening Day Debacle?
It is only one game, but geez, Squawker Jon and all the Yankee-haters of the world had to enjoy yesterday's Yankees loss. As my friend Joe, a Red Sox fan, put it to me on Facebook, "My joy in seeing Sabathia give up the grand slam was only exceeded by watching Mariano blow the save AND take the loss." And Squawker Jon may be on the disabled list from doing the Snoopy Dance!
Sheesh.
And what was up with Joe Girardi intentionally walking the immortal Sean Rodriguez to load the bases in order to have CC face Carlos Pena, who then hit that grand slam? Yikes. Sabathia seemed to be laboring in this game, that's for sure.
Oh, and so much for that five-man infield, eh? Raul Ibanez home run aside, it wasn't a good day for the Yanks. Not to mention having to hear the trash talk! Not a good day.
I heard Suzyn Waldman going on and on in the pre-game about the exciting Game 162 the Rays had to get into the playoffs last year. You'd hardly know, though, that it was against the Yankees!
Jon also asked when the Michael Pineda era was going to begin. Smartypants.
An aside -- there has been nothing that has happened since the Pineda/Montero trade that has made me any less queasy over it, from Pineda showing up to spring training overweight, to the lack of speed on his fastball, to the tendinitis. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I still think the Yanks should have not made the deal.
And to be blunt, after Brian Cashman's little scandal, suffice it to say that I have even less faith in Cashman's judgment than I did before. And it's not the infidelity itself, it's the fact that it apparently took him literally years to realize that Louise Neathway was a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Not to mention how he wrote that bunny-boiler a letter of recommendation on Yankees letterhead. How appalling, as is him reportedly having her sit in the same section as the Yankee wives. What was he thinking?
On a brighter note, looking forward to the rest of the season. And Jon, you can chortle now, but at least my team will be playing meaningful games past Opening Day!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Sheesh.
And what was up with Joe Girardi intentionally walking the immortal Sean Rodriguez to load the bases in order to have CC face Carlos Pena, who then hit that grand slam? Yikes. Sabathia seemed to be laboring in this game, that's for sure.
Oh, and so much for that five-man infield, eh? Raul Ibanez home run aside, it wasn't a good day for the Yanks. Not to mention having to hear the trash talk! Not a good day.
I heard Suzyn Waldman going on and on in the pre-game about the exciting Game 162 the Rays had to get into the playoffs last year. You'd hardly know, though, that it was against the Yankees!
* * *
Jon also asked when the Michael Pineda era was going to begin. Smartypants.
An aside -- there has been nothing that has happened since the Pineda/Montero trade that has made me any less queasy over it, from Pineda showing up to spring training overweight, to the lack of speed on his fastball, to the tendinitis. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I still think the Yanks should have not made the deal.
And to be blunt, after Brian Cashman's little scandal, suffice it to say that I have even less faith in Cashman's judgment than I did before. And it's not the infidelity itself, it's the fact that it apparently took him literally years to realize that Louise Neathway was a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Not to mention how he wrote that bunny-boiler a letter of recommendation on Yankees letterhead. How appalling, as is him reportedly having her sit in the same section as the Yankee wives. What was he thinking?
On a brighter note, looking forward to the rest of the season. And Jon, you can chortle now, but at least my team will be playing meaningful games past Opening Day!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Opening Day: The more things change...
It was great to see Johan Santana's successful return from a serious injury, combining with the revamped bullpen to shut out the Braves on Opening Day. But the Mets can't get through a day without several reminders of their numerous problems.
With two on and two out in the fifth inning, the Mets had their first scoring opportunity. It was time to pinch hit for Santana, who was going to come out anyway. So the Mets sent up...
Mike Baxter.
The Mets' unwillingness to spend the little it takes to have a major-league bench might be the most frustrating thing about their financial issues. If you don't have productive stars, you can't win. If you don't have depth, you can't compete.
Do the Mets expect to not have any injuries? That idea went out the window in the seventh, when Andres Torres pulled up lame while chasing Tyler Pastornicky's triple. Now I have to learn how to spell Nieuwenhuis.
This franchise desperately needs to restore its credibility. But it doesn't help to trumpet sellling out Citi Field on Opening Day with the largest crowd in the ballpark's history, not when every story about the game mentions the patches of empty seats, which were clearly visible on TV.
Even the much-maligned Mets medical staff offered its own bit of self-promotion, touting Santana's successful surgery and recovery. Yes, it's great to see Santana back out there, even if he may never be the Santana of old. But Santana had reduced velocity and barely made it through the fifth inning. It may not yet be time to start celebrating.
At least, however, the Mets are over .500, tied for first and have a better record than the Yankees. So I'm going to enjoy it while I can.
With two on and two out in the fifth inning, the Mets had their first scoring opportunity. It was time to pinch hit for Santana, who was going to come out anyway. So the Mets sent up...
Mike Baxter.
The Mets' unwillingness to spend the little it takes to have a major-league bench might be the most frustrating thing about their financial issues. If you don't have productive stars, you can't win. If you don't have depth, you can't compete.
Do the Mets expect to not have any injuries? That idea went out the window in the seventh, when Andres Torres pulled up lame while chasing Tyler Pastornicky's triple. Now I have to learn how to spell Nieuwenhuis.
This franchise desperately needs to restore its credibility. But it doesn't help to trumpet sellling out Citi Field on Opening Day with the largest crowd in the ballpark's history, not when every story about the game mentions the patches of empty seats, which were clearly visible on TV.
Even the much-maligned Mets medical staff offered its own bit of self-promotion, touting Santana's successful surgery and recovery. Yes, it's great to see Santana back out there, even if he may never be the Santana of old. But Santana had reduced velocity and barely made it through the fifth inning. It may not yet be time to start celebrating.
At least, however, the Mets are over .500, tied for first and have a better record than the Yankees. So I'm going to enjoy it while I can.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Opening Day: 2012 Mets more like 1978 squad than 1984
It's impossible to sell the current Mets squad as a contender, so some are attempting to draw comparisons to 1984, when a team that had won 68 games the year before and had not been good for years suddenly won 90 games. But the 1984 Mets already had Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry and were adding a rookie named Dwight Gooden.
The 2012 Mets have three players who have had multiple All-Star appearances - David Wright, Johan Santana and Jason Bay. If all three of these players have seasons representative of what they've done in the past, and a lot of other things go right, the Mets can win 90 games.
But everyone knows that's not going to happen. Even team apologists have given up hoping the new fences will help the hopeless Bay and are muttering about platooning, though there's currently nobody to platoon him with.
While Santana's comeback is probably the most positive thing about the 2012 Mets, the most optimistic projections fall well short of his former status as perennial Cy Young candidate.
David Wright does have a good chance to return to his former glory, and if he does, what's a potential scenario?
He gets traded.
When the Mets finally return to contention,they are going to look drastically different than they do now. While Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada and Jon Niese could all be part of a future contender, with the possible exception of Davis, all figure to be complementary pieces more than part of an All-Star core.
At this point, I'd settle for comparison to 1983, when that 68-win squad did finish the season with a lineup that included Hernandez, Strawberry, Mookie Wilson, Hubie Brooks and George Foster.
But in the short run, the 2012 Mets figure to be more like the 1978 version, when the team that got rid of Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman the year before tried to make do with what was left.
Jose Reyes is no Tom Seaver, but he might be just as irreplaceable. And the Mets also start a season without Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, who were both with the team last year into July. With all these players, the Mets were one game over .500 at the All-Star break, only to go 31-40 in the second half.
It was almost like rubbing it in when ESPN's kickoff of the 2012 season (at least on American soil) featured Reyes and Beltran performing for their new teams, the Marlins and Cardinals.
Let's hope it's not too long before the Mets are again worth featuring on ESPN.
But in the meantime, I expect 72 wins this year and a last-place finish, but at least some hope for the future with positive showings from Davis, Niese and Duda and a late-season appearance by Matt Harvey.
As for the Yankees, 92 wins and the playoffs. Robinson Cano competes for MVP while A-Rod continues his decline. Brian Cashman blames Seattle for overusing Michael Pineda.
Squawker Lisa has at least one Met prediction I'm willing to print - the team announces on Opening Day that they are retiring Gary Carter's number. Let's hope so.
The 2012 Mets have three players who have had multiple All-Star appearances - David Wright, Johan Santana and Jason Bay. If all three of these players have seasons representative of what they've done in the past, and a lot of other things go right, the Mets can win 90 games.
But everyone knows that's not going to happen. Even team apologists have given up hoping the new fences will help the hopeless Bay and are muttering about platooning, though there's currently nobody to platoon him with.
While Santana's comeback is probably the most positive thing about the 2012 Mets, the most optimistic projections fall well short of his former status as perennial Cy Young candidate.
David Wright does have a good chance to return to his former glory, and if he does, what's a potential scenario?
He gets traded.
When the Mets finally return to contention,they are going to look drastically different than they do now. While Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada and Jon Niese could all be part of a future contender, with the possible exception of Davis, all figure to be complementary pieces more than part of an All-Star core.
At this point, I'd settle for comparison to 1983, when that 68-win squad did finish the season with a lineup that included Hernandez, Strawberry, Mookie Wilson, Hubie Brooks and George Foster.
But in the short run, the 2012 Mets figure to be more like the 1978 version, when the team that got rid of Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman the year before tried to make do with what was left.
Jose Reyes is no Tom Seaver, but he might be just as irreplaceable. And the Mets also start a season without Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, who were both with the team last year into July. With all these players, the Mets were one game over .500 at the All-Star break, only to go 31-40 in the second half.
It was almost like rubbing it in when ESPN's kickoff of the 2012 season (at least on American soil) featured Reyes and Beltran performing for their new teams, the Marlins and Cardinals.
Let's hope it's not too long before the Mets are again worth featuring on ESPN.
But in the meantime, I expect 72 wins this year and a last-place finish, but at least some hope for the future with positive showings from Davis, Niese and Duda and a late-season appearance by Matt Harvey.
As for the Yankees, 92 wins and the playoffs. Robinson Cano competes for MVP while A-Rod continues his decline. Brian Cashman blames Seattle for overusing Michael Pineda.
Squawker Lisa has at least one Met prediction I'm willing to print - the team announces on Opening Day that they are retiring Gary Carter's number. Let's hope so.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Imagine if Mets had Yankee-style injuries
A pitcher pitches an inning with a broken elbow. Another pitcher suffers a gruesome injury jumping on a trampoline. A third pitcher, traded for the team's top prospect, goes on the DL. Sounds like the Mets. But it's the Yankees.
The Mets have a well-deserved reputation for screwing up medical matters, but the Yankees have had their own woes lately. The difference is that nobody is saying "Same old Yankees." Not yet, anyway.
On Saturday, Cesar Cabral, who was on track to win a job in the Yankees bullpen, pitched an inning with a broken elbow. Now he's on the 60-day DL.
In 2009, Jon Niese appeared to injure his hamstring making a play at first. The crack Met medical team decided to let him try a practice pitch. I still cringe at the sight of Niese crumpling to the ground, now with a completely torn hamstring.
If Cabral had been a Met, we probably would have had photoshopped pictures of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail on the mound in a Met uniform while Met trainers agree with him that the loss of his arms and legs is "just a flesh wound."
After missing most of last season, former Met phenom Ike Davis has seen his comeback complicated by something called Valley Fever. The general reaction? Only the Mets could have a player come down with a disease most people have never heard of.
After missing most of last season, former Yankee phenom Joba Chamberlain has seen his comeback complicated by an injury caused by jumping on a trampoline. The general reaction? What a good dad!
When the Mets traded top prospect Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, they were accused of negligence in failing to realize that Zambrano had a damaged arm.
When the Yankees traded top prospect Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda, manager Joe Girardi described it as "great news" when an MRI showed only shoulder tendinitis.
When reporters noted that Phil Hughes was also diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis last year, and he missed three months and finished the season with a 5.79 ERA, here was Girardi's response:
"They both got tendinitis, but I wouldn't necessarily say they're similar [injuries]," Girardi said. "There's a lot of parts to that shoulder."
Girardi's rationalizing about Pineda's injury reminds me of how some people said that Johan Santana would make it back faster than Chien-Ming Wang and others who had the same injury because all injuries are different.
Of course, all injuries are different. Pineda might miss much less time than Hughes.
Or he might miss more time.
It's way too early to judge the Pineda-Montero trade. And unlike the Kazmir debacle, this trade looked like a good deal for the New York team, or at least a fair deal, depending on how upset one was to see Montero go.
But it's fair to say that the trade could look better as of now. And it's fair to say that Mets are no longer alone when it comes to medical misadventures.
The Mets have a well-deserved reputation for screwing up medical matters, but the Yankees have had their own woes lately. The difference is that nobody is saying "Same old Yankees." Not yet, anyway.
On Saturday, Cesar Cabral, who was on track to win a job in the Yankees bullpen, pitched an inning with a broken elbow. Now he's on the 60-day DL.
In 2009, Jon Niese appeared to injure his hamstring making a play at first. The crack Met medical team decided to let him try a practice pitch. I still cringe at the sight of Niese crumpling to the ground, now with a completely torn hamstring.
If Cabral had been a Met, we probably would have had photoshopped pictures of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail on the mound in a Met uniform while Met trainers agree with him that the loss of his arms and legs is "just a flesh wound."
After missing most of last season, former Met phenom Ike Davis has seen his comeback complicated by something called Valley Fever. The general reaction? Only the Mets could have a player come down with a disease most people have never heard of.
After missing most of last season, former Yankee phenom Joba Chamberlain has seen his comeback complicated by an injury caused by jumping on a trampoline. The general reaction? What a good dad!
When the Mets traded top prospect Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, they were accused of negligence in failing to realize that Zambrano had a damaged arm.
When the Yankees traded top prospect Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda, manager Joe Girardi described it as "great news" when an MRI showed only shoulder tendinitis.
When reporters noted that Phil Hughes was also diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis last year, and he missed three months and finished the season with a 5.79 ERA, here was Girardi's response:
"They both got tendinitis, but I wouldn't necessarily say they're similar [injuries]," Girardi said. "There's a lot of parts to that shoulder."
Girardi's rationalizing about Pineda's injury reminds me of how some people said that Johan Santana would make it back faster than Chien-Ming Wang and others who had the same injury because all injuries are different.
Of course, all injuries are different. Pineda might miss much less time than Hughes.
Or he might miss more time.
It's way too early to judge the Pineda-Montero trade. And unlike the Kazmir debacle, this trade looked like a good deal for the New York team, or at least a fair deal, depending on how upset one was to see Montero go.
But it's fair to say that the trade could look better as of now. And it's fair to say that Mets are no longer alone when it comes to medical misadventures.
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