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!

Eric Chavez is an Escort Catering to a Downscale Male Clientele

That is all.

R.A. Dickey

That is all.

Sweep!

Just what the Dr. ordered for the Metsies, coming off the disappointing series in Washington and the Bronx. 

Added bonus: Ike has gotten hot.

 Double added bonus: R.A. Dickey.

David Stern b-slaps Jim Rome

I've never paid much attention to Rome.  Listened to his radio shtick a handful of times.  It's tiresome, boorish, and (IMHO) second-rate.

So I can't say it didn't make me smile to read this transcript, where David Stern basically turns the tables on him and walks away unscathed, while Rome fumes.

Pitchers down on the farm

Here are our top prospects, all 3 of whom could be with the big league club by the end of the year:

Zack Wheeler
Matt Harvey
Jeurys Familia

Also, Jenrry Mejia is apparently healthy, and has been moved back to the pen at AAA to get him ready for a bullpen assignment with the Mets.  The story linked above has a good synopsis of Mejia's career to date, which may well be the poster child for mismanaged young talent (and apparently we can thank the Gangsta for that one).

Wilmer Flores

Our 3B of the future--or perhaps just trade bait--is having a breakout year in St. Lucie this year.  If you'd like to hear a bit more about him, try this link.

Another commit for the Johnnies

Chris Obekpa from the Island, a top-75ish player, will be playing for SJU next year.  Here's the story.

Kudos to the Yanks

After blitzing an obviously affected Santana, they eked out a couple of good wins by getting the key hits and key outs they needed late in games.  That's what makes 'em the Yankees.

Looking forward to round 2 in Citi.

Olney: Lots of good OF Free Agents this Fall

From ESPN:

Josh Hamilton: He'll be the most prominent name on the market, and nobody doubts his talent -- least of all the Rangers, who look at him as a game-changer. But what's the proper level of investment, given the risks suggested by his personal history? If Hamilton is going to be in line for a deal over $100 million, which teams, exactly, are going to compete with the Rangers?
The Yankees are now bumping up against their budget and already have other pressing needs -- most notably Robinson Cano's impending free agency in the fall of 2013 -- so it's highly unlikely they'd get involved. The Red Sox already are overstocked with big contracts. The Angels are loaded with outfielders. The Cubs are rebuilding from the ground up, so it might make little sense for them to throw out a huge deal to an over-30 outfielder when they're burdened by Alfonso Soriano's deal. The Mets have to deal with David Wright's situation first.
Baltimore could an interesting option, one GM mused. "But I don't think he's got a lot of places to go," in light of what his salary will be.
The big question about the Rangers' offer to him is going to be how many years will they guarantee. Two? Three? Four, with a lot of vesting options attached? We'll see.
Hamilton intends to use his free-agent dollars for philanthropic purposes, writes Randy Galloway.

Michael Bourn: He is having an excellent season, hitting .305 with a .357 on-base percentage, and he's on pace for a season of 210 hits, 117 runs and 43 stolen bases. And he's a center fielder.

Andre Ethier: Other Dodgers felt like he came to camp with a renewed sense of purpose, and it's showing: He's been mashing, hitting .305 with 48 RBIs, and is in line for a lot of top-10 MVP votes.

Melky Cabrera: He's a wild card, because of his explosive emergence as an elite outfielder the last two seasons. He had 201 hits for the Royals in 2011, and Kansas City, looking to free up center field for Lorenzo Cain, swapped him to San Francisco -- and Cabrera has generated more of the same, with a .403 on-base percentage and 25 extra-base hits among 87 hits. He left Thursday's game with a hamstring issue.

Shane Victorino: The Phillies' Gold Glove center fielder was offered a three-year deal in the offseason, and he's looking for five years. So far this year, he's hitting .249 with seven homers.

B.J. Upton: There has always been a sense among evaluators that Upton was capable of doing more than he's done. Still, he has hit 20-plus homers and stolen 30-plus bases and played an outstanding center field, and he's just 27 years old.

Carlos Quentin: Rival officials believe he could be the first prominent hitter dealt this summer, and he's been crushing the ball since being activated off the disabled list. But with the Padres' ownership in a state of flux, the team could look to slow-play this situation, and give the incoming owners -- whoever they turn out to be -- a chance to bid on him before he hits the market place. There are no ongoing talks, but some officials guesstimate that Quentin could be in line for a deal in the range of four years, $48 million; that could climb to
Jason Bay territory (4/60) if Quentin stays on the field and keeps hitting.

Nick Swisher: He's hitting .250, with eight homers and 35 RBIs, but typically, he has been an on-base percentage machine. Swisher is 31 years old.

Torii Hunter: He's reached the age at which he's not going to get a huge deal, but he's in great shape and is a nice alternative on a short-term deal.

Angel Pagan: He's hitting .321 this season.

Game over

Just when I thought Mets management couldn't get any worse... Maher joins the d-baggery and raises it to an entirely unprecedented level.

Put It In The Books!!!

I am almost without words. Thank you, Johan--you have lifted a terrible burden off of us all. As far as I'm concerned, you earned every single cent of your contract tonight.

RaeKwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... top 500 album of all time...

Top 500 yo, f' real

French Vanilla Butter Pecan Chocolate Deluxe

You rollin like Trump, you get your meat lumped

AK's black bust back like seventy Macs

NSFW- language.
Unless you work in the Shaolin son.

The metties....

Have a better record than the jankees. Suck it janks fans.

D. Right

Just logged onto espn.com and checked out baseball stats. Wow is wright killing it. Number one in BA and OBP by a mile. On a related note, not killing it: Jose Jose Jose.

Jets' Cromartie, wife expecting twins

Spreading his seeds...

Re: Previous Post--No Douchebags Here

As one of the biggest David Wright fans on the planet, I have to say I was utterly amazed (and thrilled) to see his reaction to being pulled from the game against the Brew Crew on Tuesday night. No one has ever questioned Wright's love for the game or willingness to play as hard as diamond--he's been borderline reckless with his health and well-being on numerous occasions that have put him on the DL in the past. But he has never displayed the fire that raged when Collins benched him to avoid David being the target of beanball retribution. Granted, I totally understan why Collins did it--Wright is the central cog and an early MVP candidate who has a penchant for getting his damn fool self busted up a few times a season on his own. So why risk him being sidelined due to some potential douchbaggery? However, this is exactly the kind of stuff Wright seems to live for--it's almost like he wanted to go out and get plunked... He was PISSED. And justifiably so. The team looks to him as a leader, on the field and off, and I give him a lot of the credit for the team's early success. He did everything right in the situation, saying he would not stand by and let someone else take a bullet meant for him, if they want to hit someone it should be him since Braun was the Brewers' victim. Not blinking when he knew what was coming and standing up for his guys. And even better, once the inital dust settled and he made his point in the dugout, Wright once again was classy. He supported Collins and did not try to subvert his authority by saying that he was pissed and did not agree with the decision but understood what his manager was doing to try to protect the team. Extend this guy's contract immediately--why are we even screwing around with it?

Where have all the douchebags gone?

With apologies to Paula Cole, they've up and left.

No Delgado, no Beltran, no Reyes, no Luis Castillo, no K-Rod, no Oliver Perez, no Sheffield.  Guys who couldn't be bothered to act like they cared, or else acted like fools or a-holes.  

Instead, we've now got a team of guys with a lot less talent and a lot more guts.  Not surprisingly, I heard on the SNY broadcast yesterday that Nickeas was saying that the guys on this team feel like have an unusually close team for the MLB level.  Everyone genuinely cares and roots for each other.  I don't find that surprising, not with young players like Murphy, Ike, Duda, Tejada, Nieuwehuis, Thole, Gee, and Niese who are not phenoms, but dedicated, hard workers.  And coachable.

Talk about addition by subtraction.  No one doubts Reyes was an irreplaceable talent, but he was a very replaceable teammate.  Without him around gathering all the attention and de facto leader status, and with Delgado and Beltran out the door, Wright is now the clear veteran leader on the club.  It suits him well.  He's off to a huge start.  And his younger teammates have a great example of a veteran who always plays to win and gives 110%.

Alderson deserves a lot of credit for putting together a bunch of pieces that are more in sum than individually, and Terry Collins has been superb.  He's got to be in the running for manager of the year at this point.  He gets his guys to bring it every day, and get over a tough loss, which isn't easy for a young team.

What happens when the guys believe in each other, and never say die?  They value every out.  Guess what that leads to?  A team that leads the NL in comeback wins, BA with 2 outs, BA with 2 outs and RISP, and 2 out runs.

Everything SHK has always loved about the Mets.

Let's be honest, based on the starting pitching and general talent level, this team can't really be counted on to challenge for a playoff spot.  But even if they were 4-under and not 4-over .500 as they are right now, I'd still say "Thank you" to Collins and Alderson for giving me baseball I can enjoy watching again.

Kings of Pain

The '94 Chargers that overachieved all the way to the SuperBowl have had more than their fair share of tragedy.

"Not again," former Chargers running back Natrone Means said to the San Diego Union-Tribune after one of the deaths in 2008. "It's crazy, just crazy, that we've had so many guys who have fallen. I can't make any sense of it. I've given up trying. You just hope you quit getting these random messages out of nowhere that another teammate has passed away."

The tragic list includes:

-- In 1995, about five months after the Chargers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, linebacker David Griggs died in a car crash. He was 28.

-- In May 1996, running back Rodney Culver died in a plane crash. He was 26.

-- In July 1998, linebacker Doug Miller died after being struck by lightning while camping. He was 28.

-- In May 2008, center Curtis Whitley was found dead of a drug overdose. He was 39.

-- In October 2008, defensive end Chris Mims died of complications from an enlarged heart. He was 38.

-- In February 2011, defensive tackle Shawn Lee died of a heart attack. He was 44.

-- In December, linebacker Lew Bush died of a heart attack. He was 42.

Then Wednesday, tragedy hit the team and the NFL community again when Seau was found dead in a bedroom of his Oceanside, California, home. A handgun was found near his body. He was 43.

RIP #55... a clip of JR...

Two weeks ago. #55

Let's be honest...

The Jets have totally jumped the shark. Revis threatening another holdout and saying the locker-room is in disarray. Santonio being brought back despite quitting on the team when all the chips were down. Undercutting the franchise QB for some cheap pub. Talking about trading up to the #3 pick to get a RB (never a good idea on football grounds), just to get people talking about anything but the cheap publicity (Tebow) they just bought a few weeks ago.

There is no long-term plan in place here, no disciplinary control of the team by the coach, no accountability of Rex to T, and an owner who seems to be the second coming of Steinbrenner (the bad one who could never win).

The Jets brought in a lot of talent when Rex came, added that to a solid core, scared opponents with a blitzkrieg style of D, but still needed to get better.

That will not happen under this regime. Period. In fact, chances are, they will start to get worse--quickly.

Woody's got to clean house, then remove himself from football decisions. He's a good owner from a resources standpoint, but better realize that what he's doing right now is not working, and will not work.

Add Phil Humber...

...to the list of former mets pitchers who pitched a perfect game or no hitter, just not on the mets.

.156, .211, .196

What are the averages of the 4, 5 and 6 hitters in the New York Mets lineup, Alex?

Met fans... remember Rick Ankiel???

Happy for the kid... his yips were over 12 years ago...

Break up the Mets

Or don't.  Either way I like beating Los Bravos.  If we can reel off 47 more in a row, we'll be even-Steven for the past 20 years.

Rockin' the stache

and having a superhero name. Bravo, Cal Clutterbuck:

How to choose a cigar... O/U Wins for Yanks / Mets?

I have 78 for Mets- one more than last year
I'll go a whopping 101 for Yanks on the heels of that Kentucky win... good things happen in Yankee land when Kentucky wins the National Championship!

How to choose a cigar.