Thursday, October 19, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
That's Better!
So the Mets win last night in a way that was typical of their season. It was a match-up of two unproven pitchers, Oliver Perez with his 3-13 record and 6.00+ ERA against Anthony Reyes with his 5.06 ERA and 5-8 record.
Oliver Perez is yet another pitcher that the Mets were forced to use with the injuries they had and after the disappointments of the last two games I wasn't expecting much. Perez did not pitch great but did two things that John Maine and Steve Trascel was not able to do, and that was to pitch enough innings to give the bullpen rest.
However, it was the Mets hitting that had been in a coma the previous 14 innings of play. I look for signs of how the game was going to go, and for the Mets it did not look good at first. They were able to get two men on base in the first two innings without being able to score. The Cardinals scored first, and I thought here we go again, but the Mets got a break when Ronnie Belliard got thrown out at third by Endy Chavez after Yadler Molina hit a line drive to left field to score Scott Rolen. This limited the damage and Perez had enough poise to get out of the inning.
The Mets took the lead by scoring twice the next inning on two solo home runs by Carlos Beltran and David Wright. The Cardinals came back to tie the game by taking advantage of Shawn Green's timid fielding.
The Mets went into the series sporting the best relief pitching Corp but have been out classed by the Cardinals who had only given up one hit in the previous three games. This time Tony LaRussa's gamble to take out Anthony Reyes after only four innings didn't pay off. An error by the Cardinals and a single by Beltran brought Carlos Delgado to the plate. This is Delgado's first playoff run in his career and he was taking full advantage of it by smashing the ball relentlessly. The fun part is seeing how many of his key hits have been hit to the opposite field. This was a guy who played most of the season facing an infield that had three men covering the right side of the infield. Anyway, Delgado hits the ball over the leftfield fence for a three run homer.
This meant that Oliver Perez had a three run lead and would get another turn at bat which he took the opportunity to appear very foolish. He struck out at the plate as many times as he struck out Cardinals.
Anyway, LaRussa brought in Hancock to keep them in the game but he was dreadful as he gave up 5 runs without getting anyone out. By the end of the sixth inning the Mets had a 12 to 3 lead and won it 12 to 5.
Anyway, I can publish this cartoon without it being dated...Yet.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
It's Not Looking Good.....
So, the Mets are down to two games to one in the National League Championship. I was confident they would be up two to one, but alas here we are. When the Mets were rained out for their first game it basically would wreak havoc on its pitching rotation. Unfortunately, the Mets were not able to adjust their pitching staff to take in account that they may have to use 5 starters, or have Tom Glavine pitch with short rest.
However, this would be moot if the Mets would continue to play like they had all year. Tom Glavine did his job by pitching a shutout gem in game one. I conceded game two to the Cardinals because their ace Chris Carpenter was on the mound. It looked good at first when the Mets scored more runs in the first inning of game 2 than they did in the whole of the first game. John Maine could not hold the lead however. He's a rookie, pushed into this role because of the injuries to Orlando Hernandez and Pedro Martinez. All he had to do was pitch five innings and give up less than 4 runs. He couldn't do that. So the Mets continue to score some runs to have a 6 to 4 lead. All Mota had to do was hold them to one run. He couldn't do it.
so, the Mets were tied 6 to 6 going into the ninth, All Billy Wagner had to was hold it to that score. He couldn't do it. None of the pitchers did what they are capable of doing. So it was a tough loss.
So the third game comes and Steve Traschel needed to pitch a solid game to get a win. The Cardinals had their pitcher with a high ERA. Traschel pitched awful and Jeff Suppan pitched brilliant, so we are now down, two to one with an unproven pitcher starting game 4.
Hoo Boy.
However, this would be moot if the Mets would continue to play like they had all year. Tom Glavine did his job by pitching a shutout gem in game one. I conceded game two to the Cardinals because their ace Chris Carpenter was on the mound. It looked good at first when the Mets scored more runs in the first inning of game 2 than they did in the whole of the first game. John Maine could not hold the lead however. He's a rookie, pushed into this role because of the injuries to Orlando Hernandez and Pedro Martinez. All he had to do was pitch five innings and give up less than 4 runs. He couldn't do that. So the Mets continue to score some runs to have a 6 to 4 lead. All Mota had to do was hold them to one run. He couldn't do it.
so, the Mets were tied 6 to 6 going into the ninth, All Billy Wagner had to was hold it to that score. He couldn't do it. None of the pitchers did what they are capable of doing. So it was a tough loss.
So the third game comes and Steve Traschel needed to pitch a solid game to get a win. The Cardinals had their pitcher with a high ERA. Traschel pitched awful and Jeff Suppan pitched brilliant, so we are now down, two to one with an unproven pitcher starting game 4.
Hoo Boy.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
You Don't "Pass Away" In A Plane Crash
Well, yesterday was a weird day. I was looking forward to my day off, reading about the Mets finally taking the Yankees off the back pages of the New York tabloids. When I looked outside and saw that the weather wasn't looking good for a day of bike riding. I took a chance anyway and rode my bike around to the library when the rain started falling. I was debating whether to get beer to watch the Mets first game in the NLCS. I didn't thinking that the game may get called off due to the rain.
Anyway, I get home, a little wet, and turned on the TV to see if anything was happening. That's when I saw the news that a plane had crashed into a building on the upper east side. Since it was Fox News I first had on, there was talk of terrorism, the other stations were more sober with the coverage basically acknowledging it was a small plane, and that it wasn't an act of terrorism. I speculated it might have been a suicide crash but after seeing the same footage over and over again on TV I turned it off to listen to sports radio.
I has happy that they were not talking about the crash, after all it's not a sports story right? Mike and the Mad Dog were on, getting ready to talk about the Mets for a change and not the drama that is the Yankees. They were talking to Darryl Strawberry, bringing back memories of 1986, Darryl was charming, I like hearing him these days talk about the current Mets. He was to throw out the first pitch for the first game.
Then, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo interrupted with the news that the plane that crashed into the apartment building was registered to the Yankee pitcher, Cory Lidle. Within a minute he had been identified as one of the deceased in the crash. Holy Crap! What is going on with the Yankees? Wow, this makes all the other Yankee drama irrelevant. It brought back memories of Thurman Munson, who died in a plane crash in August of 1979.
The weird thing was that Cory Lidle had a contentious interview the other day on the Mike and The Mad Dog show about some quotes he made about the Yankees not being "prepared" for the Tigers. Since it's confrontational radio, the hosts took it as a slam of Joe Torre and Cory Lidle struggled to defend his words. Anyway, it was weird, the rain fell, the Mets game was postponed, and my day off turned out to be a drag.
One of the tributes to Cory Lidle had him on a plane flying around California and the ironic thing was I felt a little jealous of his joy at being able to be in the air enjoying one of his favorite past times. Another tribute had highlights of every team he played for, including the Mets. He was a pretty good pitcher with a 82-72 record. He was on 7 teams over the years so many people including his former teammates on the A's, were affected by the tragedy.
Anyway, today there will be a Mets game, I will enjoy it (on radio) while I'm working but it will be with a bit of a heavy heart.
Anyway, I get home, a little wet, and turned on the TV to see if anything was happening. That's when I saw the news that a plane had crashed into a building on the upper east side. Since it was Fox News I first had on, there was talk of terrorism, the other stations were more sober with the coverage basically acknowledging it was a small plane, and that it wasn't an act of terrorism. I speculated it might have been a suicide crash but after seeing the same footage over and over again on TV I turned it off to listen to sports radio.
I has happy that they were not talking about the crash, after all it's not a sports story right? Mike and the Mad Dog were on, getting ready to talk about the Mets for a change and not the drama that is the Yankees. They were talking to Darryl Strawberry, bringing back memories of 1986, Darryl was charming, I like hearing him these days talk about the current Mets. He was to throw out the first pitch for the first game.
Then, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo interrupted with the news that the plane that crashed into the apartment building was registered to the Yankee pitcher, Cory Lidle. Within a minute he had been identified as one of the deceased in the crash. Holy Crap! What is going on with the Yankees? Wow, this makes all the other Yankee drama irrelevant. It brought back memories of Thurman Munson, who died in a plane crash in August of 1979.
The weird thing was that Cory Lidle had a contentious interview the other day on the Mike and The Mad Dog show about some quotes he made about the Yankees not being "prepared" for the Tigers. Since it's confrontational radio, the hosts took it as a slam of Joe Torre and Cory Lidle struggled to defend his words. Anyway, it was weird, the rain fell, the Mets game was postponed, and my day off turned out to be a drag.
One of the tributes to Cory Lidle had him on a plane flying around California and the ironic thing was I felt a little jealous of his joy at being able to be in the air enjoying one of his favorite past times. Another tribute had highlights of every team he played for, including the Mets. He was a pretty good pitcher with a 82-72 record. He was on 7 teams over the years so many people including his former teammates on the A's, were affected by the tragedy.
Anyway, today there will be a Mets game, I will enjoy it (on radio) while I'm working but it will be with a bit of a heavy heart.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Oh Shit! I Can't Vote
It just dawned on me that I will not be able to vote in next month's mid term elections. I've been back in New Jersey for over a year and have yet to register to vote. I don't know why. I have been into all the races that are occurring in the US this year and am fascinated at the turn of events that may occur. Still, I made no effort to register, I don't know where to register, heck I don't even know who my Congressman is.
The last time I failed to vote was in 1994. That was the year the Republicans took over Congress for the first time in over 40 years, much to my chagrin. To add insult to injury I had just moved to Federal Way, WA and my congressman, a moderate Democrat named Mike Kriedler had lost to a right wing wacko, Randy Tate. It was a bummer that year so I wonder what kind of karma is gonna happen this year.
I, of course would like the Democrats to win back Congress and yes, it's mainly because I can't stand George Bush and I want the Bush agenda to be stopped. That should be reason enough. He lost the popular vote in 2000, and yet he took over the White House as though he had a Reagan84 like mandate to do whatever he wanted. In the first months of office he smeared the Clinton administration with lies like supposed vandalism on Air Force 1 and the White House. He ignored the Clinton administration's warnings about terrorism, Instead he wanted to revive the failed Star Wars missile programs from the 80's years after the Cold War ended. He eliminated history's largest surplus and replaced it with history's largest deficit. He caved in to the Chinese when they captured one of our spy planes. He allowed his campaign supporters to have a joy ride on a nuclear submarine that killed 9 Japanese tourists. All this was BEFORE September 11th...
After September 11th 2001, Bush had the opportunity to define himself but he squandered the goodwill of most Americans by trying to dismantle every social program that most Americans have relied on, just to appease the right wing neo-con artists whose whim George Bush seemed to obey. So yeah, I want the Democrats in control of Congress just to at the very least force Bush to use his veto pen.
I can't vote this time so I'll have to accept the consequences regardless of the outcome. I can't complain because I will not vote or can I?
The last time I failed to vote was in 1994. That was the year the Republicans took over Congress for the first time in over 40 years, much to my chagrin. To add insult to injury I had just moved to Federal Way, WA and my congressman, a moderate Democrat named Mike Kriedler had lost to a right wing wacko, Randy Tate. It was a bummer that year so I wonder what kind of karma is gonna happen this year.
I, of course would like the Democrats to win back Congress and yes, it's mainly because I can't stand George Bush and I want the Bush agenda to be stopped. That should be reason enough. He lost the popular vote in 2000, and yet he took over the White House as though he had a Reagan84 like mandate to do whatever he wanted. In the first months of office he smeared the Clinton administration with lies like supposed vandalism on Air Force 1 and the White House. He ignored the Clinton administration's warnings about terrorism, Instead he wanted to revive the failed Star Wars missile programs from the 80's years after the Cold War ended. He eliminated history's largest surplus and replaced it with history's largest deficit. He caved in to the Chinese when they captured one of our spy planes. He allowed his campaign supporters to have a joy ride on a nuclear submarine that killed 9 Japanese tourists. All this was BEFORE September 11th...
After September 11th 2001, Bush had the opportunity to define himself but he squandered the goodwill of most Americans by trying to dismantle every social program that most Americans have relied on, just to appease the right wing neo-con artists whose whim George Bush seemed to obey. So yeah, I want the Democrats in control of Congress just to at the very least force Bush to use his veto pen.
I can't vote this time so I'll have to accept the consequences regardless of the outcome. I can't complain because I will not vote or can I?
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Mets Win! Yanks Lose! It's A Good Day.
Baseball is the only sport I follow with any enthusiasm. On Saturdays in October most people turn their TVs on to College football. Not me, it's always baseball, especially when the Mets and/or Mariners are in it. I'm also a dedicated Yankee hater. So, I'm happy today.
First, let's talk about the Yankees. The Yankees lose the division series to the upstart Tigers, who everyone felt had no chance to even win a game against the mighty lineup of the Yankees. The Tigers were probably the weakest of the potential opponents the Yankees had to face. Even though everyone knew the Yankees had shaky pitching, surely it would be enough to allow their awesome lineup to take care of business. The problem was the Tigers pitching was deep but who da thunk that the Yankee bats would go so quiet, even against Kenny Rogers who never won a post season game and had a 8.85 in 20+ innings in post season play.
So what went wrong? Too many superstars and their egos. No one in the lineup other than Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon played situational baseball. They took their swings, hoping for the big hits that did not come by after Johnny Damon's home run in game two that gave the Yankees the last lead they would have. They also lacked in pitching between the time their starters were done and when Mario Rivera would come in to save the day. Rivera has to be used if the Yankees want to win. He was used in their only winning game but not in a save situation.
The Mets on the other hand took care of business and they did what they had to do, which was sweep the Dodgers. They didn't need to sweep them to prove they were the real deal but they had to sweep the Dodgers to hide the fact they were vulnerable with their starting pitching. The three starers averaged less than 5 innings per outing, with Glavine the only one to qualify for a win. This would be disastrous if it were the Yankees but the Mets have an incredible bullpen mix, and Willie Randolph was not afraid to take out his starters early. The bullpen performed well with two minor exceptions but hey there was always someone else in the bullpen, they carried 11 pitchers or was it twelve?
The Mets egos were more humble too, players who didn't get a chance to start a game came through when they did start. They played situational baseball, took advantage of Dodger mistakes and came back to score runs when they went behind or when the Dodgers tied things up.
So, now the Mets go to the next round and the Yankees go home. This is the first time the Yankees get to watch the Mets play after their season's over since 1988, the year the Dodgers beat the Mets in League Championships.
It's good to be a Mets fan, now bring on whoever wins the Divisional series between the Cardinals and the Padres.
First, let's talk about the Yankees. The Yankees lose the division series to the upstart Tigers, who everyone felt had no chance to even win a game against the mighty lineup of the Yankees. The Tigers were probably the weakest of the potential opponents the Yankees had to face. Even though everyone knew the Yankees had shaky pitching, surely it would be enough to allow their awesome lineup to take care of business. The problem was the Tigers pitching was deep but who da thunk that the Yankee bats would go so quiet, even against Kenny Rogers who never won a post season game and had a 8.85 in 20+ innings in post season play.
So what went wrong? Too many superstars and their egos. No one in the lineup other than Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon played situational baseball. They took their swings, hoping for the big hits that did not come by after Johnny Damon's home run in game two that gave the Yankees the last lead they would have. They also lacked in pitching between the time their starters were done and when Mario Rivera would come in to save the day. Rivera has to be used if the Yankees want to win. He was used in their only winning game but not in a save situation.
The Mets on the other hand took care of business and they did what they had to do, which was sweep the Dodgers. They didn't need to sweep them to prove they were the real deal but they had to sweep the Dodgers to hide the fact they were vulnerable with their starting pitching. The three starers averaged less than 5 innings per outing, with Glavine the only one to qualify for a win. This would be disastrous if it were the Yankees but the Mets have an incredible bullpen mix, and Willie Randolph was not afraid to take out his starters early. The bullpen performed well with two minor exceptions but hey there was always someone else in the bullpen, they carried 11 pitchers or was it twelve?
The Mets egos were more humble too, players who didn't get a chance to start a game came through when they did start. They played situational baseball, took advantage of Dodger mistakes and came back to score runs when they went behind or when the Dodgers tied things up.
So, now the Mets go to the next round and the Yankees go home. This is the first time the Yankees get to watch the Mets play after their season's over since 1988, the year the Dodgers beat the Mets in League Championships.
It's good to be a Mets fan, now bring on whoever wins the Divisional series between the Cardinals and the Padres.
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