3 Up & 3 Down: When Cali Came To Town

The California Angels and the Oakland A’s were in Citi Field during this Mets last homestand. The most encouraging thing I can say about it is that the Mets played .500, losing two of three to the Angels, while winning two of three from Oakland. Sorry folks, but these match-ups against the American League West don’t work for me. These games have been almost exciting as watching paint dry. But, these games are on the schedule, and we have to get through them.Here’s an expanded edition of 3 Up & 3 Down.

3-Up

1) Chris Capuano: I’m not much of a stats guy, but it seems to me that almost every time Chris Capuano goes to the mound he hands in a solid performance. On Thursday afternoon he went six shutout innings before leaving the game with discomfort in the left side of his abdomen. Let’s hope this is nothing major. But Chris has definitely been solid for the Mets.

2) A Walk Off Win: On Wednesday night, or was it early Thursday morning (I was asleep), Justin Turner got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, giving the Mets their first walk off win of the season. A win is a win, so I can’t get too excited about a walk off win, but the important issue here is, the Mets are finding ways to win games, instead of lose them as they did in past years.

3) Jack McKeon Returns: Jack McKeon at 80 years old has been named interim manager of the Florida Marlins. This is McKeon’s second go around as Marlins manager and at 80 years old you just have to tip your cap in his direction. By going back into the Marlins dugout, McKeon shows more heart, guts and love of the game then guys who are 50 years his junior. All the best to McKeon, except when the Fish play our Mets.

3-Down

1) K-Rod Blows Another Game: Wednesday night Frankie Rodriguez had his second blown save in recent series, this time against the A’s. I don’t expect Frankie to be perfect every outing, but I also don’t expect him to blow saves so close together. Come on Frankie, bear down.

2) No Ike: There are reports that Ike Davis may need season ending surgery on his injured ankle. You know the ankle injured falling on his rear end in Denver. I have looked at that play a few times, and I just can’t see where Ike twisted his ankle. On the surface it looks like the Mets medical staff mismanaged another injury.

3) Quitters: Edwin Rodriguez recently quit as manager of the Marlins. On Thursday afternoon we learned that Nationals manager Jim Riggleman quit on his team. I just don’t understand how or why a manager would quit on his team. There are only 30 MLB managerial jobs. It’s just amazing to me that someone would quit a job that it has pretty much taken him his entire career to achieve. What does it say about some of today’s managerial choices, what type of a message does it send to the clubhouse?

Interleague play continues with the Rangers this weekend, and the Tigers next week. Interesting storylines of course will involve Nolan Ryan, and Tiger’s manager Jim Leyland as Terry’s mentor and friend.

Please can we do away with the interleague play??