Matt Harvey: The debut

Getting his first MLB start against the DBacks tonight at 9:40 EDT.

Let's End the Second Half!

I liked the first half better. Never thought I'd be pining for the return of Frank Frank.

The End of Linsanity

Jay Kaspian Kang at Grantland envisions how Dolan would play cards, and pretty much hits the nail on the head:

The failure to re-sign Jeremy Lin, despite months of guarantees, seems to be the latest in a line of silly, PR-inspired bumblings by a man who has continually thought, out-thought, rethought, and then un-thought himself.

Here's how Jim Dolan would play pocket aces in a game of Texas hold 'em:

Sweet! Pocket aces! Come on, JD, don't mess this up. … Why is this asshole dealer looking at me like that and why is that dude in the cowboy hat smiling? Oh man, I think he knows. … Nah, he doesn't know, he's so stupid with his stupid hat and his stupid accent. Shit. He does know. Maybe I should call Isiah? Nah, cause if they see me calling Isiah, they'll all laugh. Play it cool, Jimmy. What would be the only thing they'd never expect from you? What would Isiah do? WWID? Fold, Jimmy, fold!

DOLAN: I fold.
DEALER: Sir, it's not your turn to act.
DOLAN: Don't tell me what to do.
MAN IN HAT: Folded aces again, huh?
DOLAN: It was the right move, dickface.

Again, I ask: Why does anyone care how Jim Dolan spends his money? Unless Dolan releases MSG's annual earnings report with a manual and a DVD that explain exactly how much more expensive tickets will be if the Knicks sign Jeremy Lin, none of us should speculate ourselves into agreeing with Jim Dolan.

Dolan is the premium douchebag out there. Brimming with arrogance because he owns the "greatest arena in the world," he consistently values seeing his name in print, and chumming around with Big Manhattan Money, than he does with putting together a winning product. When his GMs tell him to step off, that he's valuing the wrong things (trading for Carmelo, for example, when he could have signed him in a year), he overrides them. He's like Bad George with less charm.

I bailed on the Rangers b/c I was sick of NYC, sick of the NYC attitude, and sick of Dolan's arrogance. Jeremy Lin was the first thing that made me pay attention to the NBA in years, and now Dolan folded his aces. He thinks it was the right move, but he just keeps proving himself to be a dickhead.

Well done, Mr. Kang, and eff you, Jim Dolan.

Wilmer Flores update

Kid has been promoted to AA after teeing off in St Lucie.  Through his first 16 games, he's hitting .390 with a 1.008 OPS and only 2 Ks.

This one is getting very, very interesting.

Lets start the second half!

The Mets are out-performing my expectations significantly this year, but will have some issues in the second half.  It will be nearly impossible for Dickey to continue to perform the way he did in the first half.  Santana needs to get better.   They will need a replacement for Gee, and they are highly unlikely to get anyone who can perform as well as Dillon did in the first half.

The bullpen is a steaming pile, and it's hard to see any quick fixes there, unless Mejia can reclaim form.

Of course, the offense could actually get better--Ike and Duda can both hit at a higher level than they did in the first half.   Lets go Mets!