I had planned to write a first half report card for the Mets today, but since there were already about two hundred of them out there from local newspapers, obscure magazines and other dubious Mets blogs, I said the heck with that. I would advise you to skip the newspapers and magazines, and check out the other Mets bloggers if you want a real fans point of view.
Let me just say that John Maine, Billy Wagner, David Wright, Pedro Feliciano, Jose Reyes and Ruben Gotay all made Honor Roll and that Carlos Delgado, Scott Schoeneweis, Guillermo Mota, Mike Pelfrey and David Newhan have to report to detention by the end of the day. Everyone else gets a passing grade. Class dismissed.
Now for some good news…
As you all may have heard (or read) by now, Lastings Milledge may soon be playing left field again for the New York Mets. (insert woo hoo here) He has been hitting the ball with line drive power at St. Lucie and Binghamton, and even his timing is back faster than anyone thought. He has had no setbacks and he seems good to go. Look for Lastings to join the team as soon as Thursday. I for one, will be glad to see him take over in left field, at least until Alou gets back.
The Mets have also received some great news on Oliver Perez who seems set to be activated from the Disabled List on Sunday. As you all know, I love Perez and I can’t wait to see him jumping over the foul line again. Perez allowed two hits yesterday, struck out seven and did not walk a batter in his rehab start. Nice!!!
Incidentally, I think we are all agreed that Tony LaRussa blew the game for the National League on Tuesday. Right? Leaving the leagues most feared slugger in Albert Pujols on the bench, and allowing Aaron Rowand to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning was as irresponsible as it gets.
If he really wanted to win the game, he would have left some of the real bashers in the game rather than taking them out for Rowand, Orlando Hudson, Freddy Sanchez, and Brian McAnn. All he cared about was giving all the scrubs a chance to play.
If he really cared about winning don’t you think Reyes, Griffey, Wright, and Utley would have been there in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings?
Don’t you think Jake Peavy and Brad Penny would have pitched more than one inning each?
That’s why I don’t think home field advantage should be decided by a game that nobody takes seriously and a game that features the most bungled managerial moves in all of baseball.
I can’t blame La Russa for playing the game to please the players rather than pleasing the fans, who want nothing more than to win. He is only doing what other dim witted mangers have done before him. Since 1990 the All Star game became just another way for players to earn a ton more money in bonuses and also use their appearances as leverage in future contract negotiations. The managers pander these players and in doing so take away any vestige or semblance of dignity for a game that was once revered by all and nicknamed the Mid Summer Classic. Believe me, there is nothing classic about the All Star Game these days.
Incidentally, maybe they should have called the game the Barry Bonds Show. Was anyone else beside myself, turned off by the three hours of constant babbling about Barry Bonds? Leave it to FOX to make such a polarizing figure the highlight of their broadcast. It’s not like we haven’t seen this before from all of Rupert Murdoch’s other "fair and balanced" media conduits.
Finally, why should a guy like A-Rod make a $100,000 bonus for making the All Star team? When you get paid $25 million dollars a year, shouldn’t you be expected to be an all star? In all fairness, shouldn’t he be giving his team back $100,000 when he doesn’t make the All Star team?
I’ll leave you with that.
