This past weekend the Good Guys traveled to Texas to do battle against the reigning American League champions. The weather was quite hot, but the Mets bats were even hotter – taking two of three games. Here are the 3 Up and 3 Down.
3-Up
1) 22 Runs in 2 Days: On Saturday, when the Mets offense scored a whopping 14 runs, I figured they would be starved for offense for at least a week. But boy was I wrong as the guys exploded for 8 more runs on Sunday afternoon. Remember, this is the Met team that can’t score runs. they don’t have any “pop” in their line-up. Heck I’ll take 22 runs in 2 games all season long!
2) Gee & Niese: Jon Niese and Dillon Gee both had solid outings this weekend, despite pitching in some unbearable weather conditions. Niese went 5.2 innings on Saturday giving up 2 runs, while Gee went six innings on Sunday and allowed 3 runs. Considering the sweltering 100+ degree temperatures on the field, these two guys did very well.
3) Davey Johnson Returns: This may very well wind up being a “down” for us in the future, but Davey Johnson, the only manager alive to have led the Mets to a World Championship, has been named the skipper of the Washington Nationals through next season. The Nationals have a good young club, and Davey has a proven track record with young talent. All the best to him.
3-Down
1) Too Damn Hot: The big story in Texas, to me at least, was the extreme heat in which Saturday and Sunday’s games were played. The on-field temperature exceeded 110 degrees. If you were watching Sunday’s game on T.V., you would have noticed some fans sitting behind home plate with wet rags over their heads for some relief. The problem is that MLB catered to National TV who determined both games be played in the heat of the day, instead of at night. Saturday was the FOX game of the week, and on Sunday, ESPN had blackout rights, meaning if the Rangers played Sunday night, the game would have been blacked out. That’s too bad, because the heat was far too dangerous.
2) Reyes Trailing In All-Star Ballots: I don’t watch the All Star game. I consider it a silly waste of time, especially with the fans voting. To anyone who follows National League baseball, it’s crystal clear that shortstop Jose Reyes is having an MVP type year, so why does he trail Troy Tulowitzki? Sadly, the All-Star voting is a popularity contest with the best player(s) sometimes sitting the game out.
3) Silly Newspaper Stories: A big story in the local rags this weekend was that K-Rod said he wouldn’t mind a trade to the Yankees and being Marino Rivera’s set-up man. Here’s a newsflash, neither would I. The Yankees have a penchant for overpaying guys, they are always in the spotlight, and heck you’ll most likely make the post season with them. While the media pines about this, they are missing two key points: Why would the Mets trade anything of value to the Yankees, a team they battle for headlines, and secondly, what do the Yankees have to give the Mets in a trade? The way the Yankees pitching has been this year, if they had any decent prospects they’d be here already. So while the sports writers dream of K-Rod going the Yankees, those of us based in reality, don’t see it happening.
