Smile Like You Mean It

I can't believe that I ever suggested that the Mets should have been given a heroes' welcome when they returned from their quasi-successful road trip last week. That said, I was pretty adamant about if they won four out of six games. But you know what - they split the trip against one very successful team and one hot team. So that spoke volumes to me.

But this - a 3-4 home stand. This is more than I can bear.

Against the Reds. And the Nationals. Two sub par teams with horrible pitching staffs and no hitting. Do I have to bring up the Bronson Arroyo game again? Or you know, maybe I won't even bring up the fact that today Mike Pelfrey pitched his ass off for once in his life, and the team just mailed it in. You know, they have to travel to the Bronx tomorrow. That travel day fucks with their menstrual cycles.

And yet, I have to give props to Billy Wagner for calling out the veteran contingent on the team for not taking their lumps with the media. Let's face it - Wags is the man. If he outright sucks, he comes right out and says it. He can take it like a man. Get the rest of this team some testosterone pills. I'm sick of it.

The worst part is Billy is right - where the f#$% are these guys? That is unacceptable. A few weeks ago, Matt Cerrone over at Metsblog had a great survey on what the fans want to see out of the team.

And I think it was summed up nicely by - we want to see that they care.

It was obvious Moises Alou cared last night by getting tosses, arguing balls and strikes.

It was obvious Willie Randolph did NOT, since he refused to back Moises on his argument.

It was obvious that Claudio Vargas deserved a win at best on Wednesday night, a no-decision at worst.

It is obvious that Aaron Heilman is still the ringleader of the Big Pussy Posse.

It is obvious that guys like Carlos Delgado loaf in games like today.

And it is obvious that mentality is trickling down to the young guys with heart like Reyes and Wright.

That said, all I ask is what Mets fans around ask.

Play like you mean it. Make diving plays. Cut yourself up, get bruised. Play with the dirtiest uniform imaginable. Don't be afraid of walls in the outfield.

Oh yeah and fucking hit like you mean it. You want to get back at the fairweather contingent booing your sorry asses at Shea? Start pounding the ball like nobody's business.

We know you have it in you. But right now, the fucking Marlins - universally panned as the worst team in baseball - is making ALL of us look like chumps.

Go Mets. Yankees suck. Who's going Saturday?

Yeah, It's Gonna Kill Me

This team is trying to kill me....Where do I go - I don't know.

Um, well, I don't know.

I'm not too delusional to think that this team will win every single contest against every seemingly inferior team.

But when Bronson Arroyo starts and has a 1-4 record at game time...you expect to win. (And Arroyo had an interesting stat - he has had a career five compete games - two of which against the Mets. He had a chance to get #3 on Saturday, going 8 full innings).

When the Mets play the Nationals - eh, yeah, the Brooklyn Fig started. But Odalis Perez started. Who had a worse record than Arroyo.

But you still don't expect to see 8-3 in the 6th. And we all know what happens then - they lose interest. The don't put up a fight. Oh wait, it's 10-3 now. Sorry for Mr. E, who went tonight.

So the weekend ReCoop is as such.

I go to the stadium Friday - Metsgrrl says it all right here about what a pain in the balls it was to go all the way up to the game that was eventually called.

So I go back Saturday night - I don't even sit in the Coop seats, since I had no partner. See, everyone went to the GOOD game on Saturday -- since Zoe too was supposed to go Friday, I sat with her and CrazyMetGirl. Zoe has some cool pics here (Tracy is the one looking at the camera, I'm bopping around to her right). I was so bored, I actually participated in the 8th inning sing-along. Now that I think about it, that's probably why it's forced upon us.

Of course, I miss the Oh Pea game on Sunday - but here's a rant: my friend Sally and her daughter went as guests in the Coop seats. However, some lady claimed them as her own. And the ushers backed the lady whose seats were NOT rightfully hers because she had a bad leg.

I'm sorry - go get seats somewhere else. Is your name Coop? And seriously, the Coop name is on the plaque. It's a damn good thing I wasn't there.

Meanwhile, when *I* go, the ushers show up as soon as I sit down, ask to see my ticket, and expect a tip because I seat myself.

What dildos.

Anyway, I know I've been absent from here for awhile. I feel like I'm on the Tower of Terror again with this team. Except it's only May. HELP!

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And I'd like to point something else out. Today on Metsmerized, Joe D had a spot on how well the Church & Schneider for Milledge deal is turning out. While Milledge is still making immature mistakes and getting benched for being late, etc, as a result, Church & Schneider are two of the only members hitting over .300 on the Mets right now.

Does this mean the trade worked better for the Mets? For now, yes. But call my old-fashioned when I say that it's too early to tell.

The Church / Schneider reeks of "win-now" while Milledge still has oodles of potential in front of him.

I'm not saying it could be Ryan for Fregosi...but it's too soon to say it's Benson for Maine and Julio/Duque too.

So what does this mean? Well, quite frankly, I like Church. He is very replaceable though. As for Schneider, who I was convinced was the "guy" Omar wanted anyway - the whole idea of catchers needed or you'll have lots of passed balls? You could put a rooster behind home plate instead of Schneider because I have never seen so many pitches go past a catcher in my life.

Hate to be a killjoy - but we still have to figure that out. Shit, the Santana trade might even be a bad one down the road. Especially with CarGo hitting for the cycle the other night. That's a trade that works out for both teams.

The Nats trade? Still need time...

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BTW, David Wright just hit a HR so it's 10-4. Whoop-a-dee-doo.

Bring Us To Your Leader

Not sure what I can say about the brouhaha surrounding some of Willie's comments that showed up in the press today that Corey or Deb haven't said already.

But I can say that I took the ball and ran with it when I heard the comments about Willie blaming the fans for the Mets poor play at home that I named him the Big Pussy Pick of the Week over at GBU today.

But it goes so much further than Willie's comments about the fans. And again, I won't go into too much detail, since Corey did such a great job at calling the Mets and Willie out on everything including the lackadaisical play, our dollars being pumped in the Mets economy, our seats being sold out and season tickets holders left to hold the fabulous bag with our 20% increase after the worst collapse in baseball history.

But no. It was evident that Willie has lost any and all respect of the clubhouse when he pooh-poohed Tom Glavine's 300th win quest. And when Marlon Anderson, a dude who was only on the team half the year, felt the need to call a meeting when the Mets were free-falling into second place.

Now Willie has been the Met manager since 2005. He has been gifted with having an oer .500 winning percentage as manager in those three years.

In 2005, we gave him a pass when he was a rookie manager. And wasn't it cute when he messed up his double-switch?

In 2006, we gave him a pass because while he still had no clue how to run a bullpen (if you ask Willie, it's "into the ground"), the Mets won the NL East easily and so we loved him then.

In 2007, our patience was wearing thin. The Mets did have a winning season, but lost their heart by gift-wrapping the division to the hates Phillies.

The jig, as they say, was up for Willie.

In 2008, he still is around. But it's time for the Mets to clean house. And I'm not talking about firing Willie. I'm talking about getting rid of all the coaches, replace them and have these guys doing push-ups in a week.

No more carte-blanche to the vets anymore. And no more treating your best young players like they're cow flop. And learn how to handle a pitching staff. Because they don't like you anymore either Willie.

Let's clean house, get some new management in there, and finally, let's have someone else set the tone.

Just when I think I might have an iota of respect for Willie, he has the fucking brass cajones to tell the Mets fans we suck?

I say screw the Church Ladies and the Blue Maine Group. Let's get some fireman helmets and form the Fire Willie Department.

Too Early To Judge?

If the Mets come home from this road trip with let's say less than two losses, there is no reason why they should have a heroes welcome on Friday night at Shea.

The ways they win, though. That's troubling.

Although Friday night against the D-Backs was a blow-out in the truest sense of the word, and Saturday the same (but for the D-Backs), today's game was frustrating to say the least.

First, you think sending Johan Santana out on the mound, you have at least a fighting chance to win. And yes, Danny Haren was starting today, but let's face it: He's no Johan. And scoring two runs off him, well, that's nothing to shake a stick at.

But this team HAS to step up their game when Johan pitches. Another no-decision so early in the season? Thank goodness for Jorge Sosa (eek).

But here's the thing - no throwing error in the 9th, we all know the Mets are NOT going to win that game today. I am sorry. I know, they won, I'm being a killjoy.

But they are doing it again - and by "it" I mean, letting other teams dictate their success.

It happened in 2007, when they were depending on the Phillies, Braves and other NL East teams to do their dirty work when they couldn't seal the deal.

Letting other team's throwing errors decide games for them in later innings.

Now, am I allowed to get excited because they took two-of-three in a park they absolutely own...against a team that is arguably going to be the best in baseball this season?

I should be - but I'm not.

Now that the Dodgers' eight-game winning streak has come to an end today, I hope the Mets can take their momentum (whatever is left of it) and start kicking some Dodger hiney.

A few other things to glean from the series:

1.) Carlos Delgado - is he back? He had some significant hits this series.

2.) The 2000-year-old man (aka Moises Alou) came back but with little fanfare. I still feel like he shoulda started against Webb but hey, who the hell am I? Maybe we'd be talking sweep instead of orgasm-faking-quality wins like today.

3.) What the hell was up with like the 10,000 wild pitches from Johan today? Not to mention, I am still far from impressed about Brian Schneider. Ryan Church, yes. Schneider can go back to Washington as far as I'm concerned.

4.) I like when Jose Reyes is on. However, I wonder if he realizes his own power. Meaning, when he is on, the Mets win games. When he's not, the Mets have a tough time winning.

5.) I still think John Maine will the best pitcher in the National League at the end of this season. Mark my words. He's gonna surprise us all.

I probably won't catch a lot of the games this week - but I should have some commentary over at GBU this week.

The Maine Warrior

I think it's official: I love to watch John Maine pitch. I loved how he beat himself up on the mound, only to be talked down by Willie, and then come back and refuse to be taken out of the game at 100 pitches. Save a shaky second inning, he was pretty much lights-out the rest of the way. I'm looking forward to seeing him dominate the rest of the season (after all, I did predict he'd be the best Mets starter this year).

This is also official: Jose Reyes needs to get his head out of his ass for the Mets to win ballgames. (That's a fact) Almost missing the cycle by narrowly missing an inside-the-parker? Be still my heart.

Another thing: Ryan Church NEEDS to be hitting in the two-hole. Shit, he would be MVP batting after Reyes this whole season.

We can't deny: Arizona is a phenomenal team. With the ace of the National League (until Johan can officially take that title...or John Maine can...) leading the way in Brandon Webb, Danny Haren and Micah Owings solidifying the rest of that rotation, you can't shake a stick at the rest of the team either including young Conor Jackson, Justin Upton and stalwarts Byrnesie and Stephen Drew. Forget the Mets, the Phils or even the Braves - they can't hold a candle to the "real" team to beat. On paper, that is.

We have two more games to play this road-stand against them, and for the first time this season, I am excited to see how this pans out. Although Webb has to lose sometime (with his league-best 6-0 record), will it be against the Mets and Big Pelf? What about tomorrow, Danny Haren (the former object of Mets fans desires) vs. Johan Santana?

I'll tell you this - the Mets do have a good chance of winning both of those games. I'm confident we are going to see a different team this time around.

And good to see Moises back. He shoulda gone 4-4 and hit the cycle though...

I also like West Coast Friday night games. It means I can sleep till 1 pm the next day...

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I'm sure you are wondering why I have been so quiet about this whole Billy Wagner-calling-out-Oh-Pea thing. Honestly, I am a firm believer that whatever goes on in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse - but this was something that the fans, the media and Ollie needed to hear straight up.

People have criticized Wags - he comes in to pitch one inning. He hangs out in the 'pen the whole game. He's shown support for Mike Pelfrey when it was obvious he was rushed to pitch, and openly hated-on Lastings Milledge with the whole "Know your place, Rook!"

But I like him and am thrilled that someone has the brass to call the team out (not just Oh Pea - let's be fair - he called the whole team out). Not to mention, it's the bullpen that is getting killed every night from mismanagement, no support from the starters, getting no help from the offense that goes to sleep seemingly after they score what they perceive to be enough runs.

The truth is - Oh Pea needs to step up. He has to stop being a card-carrying member of the Big Pussy Posse and play up to his potential. Why did the Bucs give up on him? Why does it seem like the Mets were the only team willing to give him a contract extension, when he's so iffy, even Jason Jennings with his lifetime 5 ERA and career 1.56 WHIP seems more reliable (cause at least you know what you are getting out of him). You don't know which Ollie is going to show up.

And last but certainly not least, I applaud Wags for calling out Willie and his continued mismanagement of the 'pen. You can't put every single one of your guys out there every single night. Saying "it's not the 7th game of the World Series" but clearly the pressure is on you to win and you manage it like it is Game 7.

Look, I am a big sour puss when the Mets lose. Especially with a 12-run difference against the motherfucking Pirates. But let's be fair here. I know they will lose at least 50 games per year. I know they will win at least 50 games. It's the other 62 games that matter.

They need to stop all the talk, however, and win some motherfucking ballgames.

I Can't Believe That I am Actually Going to Try to Be The Voice of Reason Here...

I know yesterday was horrible. A catastrophe. And the night before was a tad less worse -because though the Mets actually won, it was a game they should have easily won but did not. But think about the ekers they've won this year. They all seem like - well, at least they won. The rest of the team just looked asleep at the wheel. Believe me, I rant about it here. (I was mean, but deal with it) - and well, Billy Wagner also said his peace too. Notice I have not put Billy on my BP list yet. I think he may just be my new favorite Met.

But my point being, it's May 1 today. We go on the road to face a red-hot Diamondbacks team. Then on to L.A., who were having troubles of their own but have been on a good streak lately.

Open this here link to see what I saw this morning: Save Arizona, the Cubs and the Angels, the rest of the teams everywhere else are not faring all that well either. I mean, they have OK standings. But Florida Marlins are in first place. FIRST PLACE. They just lost five straight. Nuff said. That bloom is off the rose.

Take a look at the Yankees. They are not at .500, and their star 2007 MVP is out on the DL and their young "future ace" pitcher is also out.

On the Braves, Smotlzie is out and talking about moving back to the bullpen. Glavine is also out for the first time ever in his long distinguished career on the DL. Not to mention Mike Hampton's woes. Chipper Jones is out every other day it seems. These Braves are not the 1990s Braves.

Even the Phils, who were gift-wrapped the NL East by a flailing Mets team, didn't make it out of the playoffs with one win and are also going through their own issues.

The Nats Cordero? Also out. For a month.

My point being - look, as Mets fans, we are restless. The sky is falling. And I acknowledge they have not been better than a .500 team since last June, I do say this.

Maybe .500 is all they need to be a good team in the East.

Not to mention that we don't hear this kind of clamoring from other teams who are far worse off than we are. I mean, Alou is due back this week. Schneider may need a few more days off, but he should be back to be Pelfrey's personal catcher (That kills me. It does). BTW, I need more answers on how he got a staph infection?

Yes I know they've played .500 ball since last year. Yes I remember the collapse.

But we are not doing them any favors by bringing it up every chance we get.

I think the worst part of the collapse is that we fans are making it a hell of a lot worse.

Who knows - maybe they will kick ass on the road to show us fans.

Then they come home and suck, ha ha. Somebody has to step up and be like - these fans hate us and rightfully so. We need to come back and throw it in their faces that we are good.

I'm going to wait till May 31, personally, for my take on the team. Until then, you won't hear any sky-is-falling comments from me. Although you will see my Big Pussy columns once a week.

Chicks Dig The Longball...

...and so did the Mets today, as there were many hit today!! Raul Casanova joined in the brigade with his first one of the season (ever? hee hee...) and lo and behold, Carlos Delgado hits not one but TWO dingers today!

Metsgrrl was an esteemed guest of the Coop box today - we realized early on in the game though we have been in attendance at many of the same games at Shea, we have actually never sat together at a game there. Weird. We have sat at more road games than homes games. I digress. For both home runs I think we were both in shock. I mean, as soon as he hit them, you knew they were gone. But we were both looking at each quizzicly like - Carlos? Delgado? Really?? ^Shrug^

Although I do have to say, at the time, I didn't know what to make of his non-curtain call appearance. I heard that Gary and the others were talking about it on SNY today, but I think I agree with him not taking the call. He was getting boos (and I mean, loud boos) during introductions. But I have to say today's crowd was not nearly as hostile as it was on Friday night maybe even Saturday, although I think that yesterday was not even as bad since he technically did drive in a run...on a groundout. But still, he drove in a run.

As Dykstraw said, he was about halfway around the bases before he stopped booing him and start cheering him.

But Mets fans, I implore you. Please stop the booing. You make us real fans look bad by being so mean.

But again, Carlos Delgado is a man of principles. And I think that his not coming out for a curtain call was not a Carlos Beltran pussy-esque attempt at snubbing us, but that this is not something deserving of a curtain call. I agree. Wait until later in the season.

But could it be...might it be...that the team is turning a corner?

I promised myself that I would not say that here just yet. It's not even freaking May yet. But like I said yesterday, the Marlins can't possibly stay in first place all season. The Mets can't be as bad as they have been. And heck, the Braves and Phils, whom everyone predicted would come in first and second respectively over the third place Mets, are barely keeping their heads above water. Brandon Webb and Jake Peavy have to lose a game sometime this year (well technically, Peavy did lose today against Webb). Barry Zito has to win a game eventually. It may not be this month. But point being, the standing aren't going to stay the way they are so far.

And hopefully, Carlos Delgado will be able to help out. After all...it doesn't look like Moises Alou will be back to take any diggers at first base anytime soon. YEESH. But again, like we didn't see this coming from a country mile away.

Be at Jets night tomorrow night! I am not doing five games in a row again anytime soon. What's sleep?