I Am In a DAMN BAD MOOD!!!

Down killer, as someone wrote on my Facebook wall.

Today was just one of those damn days.  I woke up with a slight hangover that I sweated out during kickboxing class.  I figured a "girl date" for Take Her to the Ballgame Day with my gal pal Zoe (who deserves a medal for putting up with my bitchiness today) at the good ol' CitiField (which is growing on me, finally) would change all that.  The slow ass "express" 2/3 train I took to catch the 7-train changed that.  F my life.

Not to mention, the line up, as Toasty Joe said, caused the game to be over before it started.

Where to begin?  First, I feel like a 30-something year-old woman shouldn't have to tell adults how to apply baseball etiquette.  But dammit, someone has to, and it might as well be me.

• First - to play on Ft. Greene Met Fan's take on tourists who just stop on the sidewalk in Times Square.  It's a sidewalk people, not a sidestop.  If you're in the concourse at CitiField, keep fucking walking people.  The game is not even going on.   Nothing to see here people.  MOVE.  Also, hasn't anyone ever heard of the two term "Excuse me?"  Helps sometimes when you RAM into someone and not even acknowledge it.  Assholes.

• Take Her to the Ballgame Day does not mean take your girlfriend who has no clue about baseball or sporting events in general and doesn't care to know.  Cannot tell you how many times Zoe and I had to move for clueless people ONCE the inning started.  There's this great thing people - it's called the third out which ends this other thing called an inning.  That is an ideal time to get your boyfriend to buy you that cute little pink cap that looks nothing like a true Mets cap.  Also I don't care if you are wearing a Mets jersey, when a Marlin hits a sac fly, that's really no good reason to cheer.

• Shake Shack was, surprise surprise, jam-packed so again no B&W shake.  I decided I was going to reward myself after a Jeremy Hermida 3-run jack with a Carvel cap.  I walked halfway to Brazil before finding a Carvel stand.  The line rivaled that of the Shack.  As I later told SNK, my patience = very thin.  And that says a lot, since I do not get riled up during traffic or long lines.  I figure, am I going to remember this is 10 minutes, 10 days, 10 years from now?  Probably not.  Doesn't affect me long term.  Boom.   Of course, I buy some Dippin' Dots which placated me somewhat.  Till I found out I could get a Carvel cap or cone at any frickin stand.  Once again, F-my life.

• Then because the Dippin Dots STILL did not do the trick, I thought I'd just get some good ol' Nathan's fries.  My stand was out of them.  Knish instead.  F- my life.

• Zoe couldn't get iced coffee.  They placated her with some iced hot coffee which she said was pretty good.  But BOOOOO for not having iced coffee for my hetero-life partner.

To add insult to injury this horrible game took FOREVER in the 9th to end.  Of course, with my luck, on a day I wanted to get the hell out of dodge, the game would go into extras.  But that didn't happen, so I guess that was a plus.

Oh did I mention the Z-line up played today and lost terribly to the Marlins?  F-my life.

Let's take the rubber game tomorrow.

Just want to note I had an awesome day with my girl Zoe.  My bitterness today has nothing to do with her.  We had fun.  Next time though - we will get Shake Shack shakes.  Oh yes, it will be ours.

But for now - I will have to settle for lots of red wine and Greek food.

And gym tomorrow to work it off. 

F- my life.

Get In Line for the MRI Shack

A play on the long lines at Shake Shack, Dykstraw, Fort Greene Met Fan and Duderino had a good laugh at the lines at the MRI booth.  And no, I'm not kidding.  On a day where Jose Reyes and Ryan Church both go on the DL, Oh Pea and Brian Schneider are still working on their shit in PSL, and Carlos Beltran (our rock, if you can believe i'm actually saying that) is out for a few days with a sore knee...you'd think F-Mart making his debut with the big team would be enough to make us happy.

I mean, I guess there are things to be thankful for.  Like Livan Hernandez pitching a complete game.  Gary Sheffield (with this three biggest proponents in attendance AND watching the game together there tonight) hitting a three-run jack that ensured NO instant replay would be needed.  And David Wright is still together.

It was funny though.  Looking at the lineup, you'd think there was a split-session game somewhere up North. Eh, but it wasn't.  But good news for the Mets, they played a team that's perpetually AAAA.

Some notes on the evening:

I will post pics later, but Dykstraw noticed a dude wearing an old Pedro Martinez #45 jersey...with a new #26 etched out in butcher paper and colored blue with orange highlighting for the NEW Martinez on the team.

I still get recognized at the new stadium, no matter how little I attend these days.  But unfortunately, someone called me "Co-Op."  Nope, not kidding, Dykstraw will back me on it.

It's always a good thing when the bullpen stays in the bullpen.

The Corn on the Cob at Taqueria is the best thing ever.  Don't ever go to the Catch of the Day stand.  Seriously, don't.   That way, there won't be lines like Shake Shack when you figure out that C-O-T-D has better fries than Shake Shack (whoops, I let the cat out of the bag).

Dykstraw advised me not to wait in line at Shake Shack, although I am still dy-ing for a black & white shake.  He said, by the time you are done, F-mart will be in the Hall of Fame.  Well, he may have been right.  But that damn shake will be mine.  Oh yes.  It will be mine.

What else?  The Mets won and the Marlins cannot be counted on for shit against anyone BUT the Mets.  Let's hope our team gets its shit together for the weekend series, and they continue to flounder (um, no pun intended).

Anyone want to use my Swiffa?  With Johan on the mound tomorrow, it's a distinct possibility.  SWEEP!

Boston X-Factors

Now, the Coop could go on a rant about what's going wrong with the Mets -- personally, I think a prolonged absence of Jose Reyes in the lineup would hit the team more than losing Delgado till the end of the summer -- but I am trying to think positively these days. Sure, a sweep by the Dodgers and a four-game losing streak sucks. But then - it's STILL ONLY MAY. I know, I will be saying on June 29 IT'S STILL ONLY JUNE, but what the heck. I'm trying to get my game-face on this weekend. And so should YOU.

So the pitching matchups seem to the favor the Mets slightly this weekend. Johan vs. Dice-K tonight, Saturday's Big Pelf vs. Beckett, Redding vs. Wakefield Sunday. The only guy I foresee the Mets having a problem hitting is Wakefield. He's their version of Oh Pea - when he's on, he's ON. When his knuckleball doesn't knuckle, guys like Aaron Boone hit walk-off home runs off him.

In any case, I think here are the X-factors for the Mets this weekend, brought to you by...a Red Sox fan friend of mine.

a.) Gary Sheffield. It's so funny how Mets fans were so against getting him. Now, he may be the X-factor in that if he sucks, well - he sucks. If he does well then EVERYONE will love him. Especially in this series. My Red Sox fan friend actually is SCARED of the prospect of Sheffield being on his game this weekend. And surprise, surprise - we need a DH.

2.) Daniel Murphy will not have to face the Green Monster in LF. That gust of wind you feel is the collective Mets fan base exhaling.

D.) Johan and Big Pelf. 'Nuff said. I also think that Redding will do well too - but he will still again not receive run support.

Otherwise...Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. When all else fails, the Nationals roll into town next week. At least we can expect some kind of win streak there. From which side...dunno.

The Ugly

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Coop, who loved going on road trips to follow her favorite baseball team, the New York Mets. This year was no different but as the stars aligned and realigned themselves, she decided it would not be a good idea to go to L.A., although Dodger Stadium to her is one of the holy grail stadiums she would like to see the Mets play at in her lifetime.

Well, I guess the stars were trying to tell me something, right? I couldn't even stay up to watch the game, but the replays and the box score are enough to drive me batty.

To think, I was initially glad that I would be missing a Redding start because I skipped the LA trip. Truth be told, he was not the problem and did a good job. He did was fifth starters need to do (or whatever the hell number he is, I've lost track) and keep them in the game.

I could wax intellectual about this -- I am no fan of Ryan Church, although I have named him a key to the season. Baserunning bloopers like his though make me not only less of a fan BUT give credence to the idea that he is a key to the season. A key to LOSING GAMES.

Angel Pagan. OK it's bad enough that Carlos Beltran is a little gunshy to call off a player who is calling his ball (Mike Cameron anyone?) - not that I blame him. I come down hard on Beltran every now and then but he's the best we've got. Now Pagan is back in the place that put him on the DL last year to begin with and he has a brain fart? I feel like that movie The Replacements.

Now, losing Delgado is a bitter pill to swallow. It's hard to replace his offense. I can't think though losing him for the season or the majority of it will be the be-all/end-all for the team. Beltran, Wright or Reyes is one thing. Delgado? Personally I thought it was a mistake to exercise his option for this season but meh - I'm sure we can do something in the meantime. Wow, I'm not jumping off a cliff for this. What the hell is wrong with me?

The best we can do right now is to dust off, move on. 'Cause losses like these do not show me much of the good, or much of the bad. It was all just ugly.

Let's take two.

Too Big To Fail

What is up with Jose Reyes? That is the question.

Most of the time, not having Jose batting lead-off in any game is a recipe for disaster. Or more apt the Mets' running game is completely thrown off and well, you know how the saying goes - as Jose goes, so do the Mets. And there is usually a correlation. Not sure if anyone has taken the time to map it but when he's having a good run the team usually follows him. But oy - he can make the team like the girl with the little curl when he is off his game.

So when he was benched last night, all the speculators came out to roost. Was he "benched" in the biblical sense of the word (meaning: Manuel has an axe to grind) or is his calf really bothering him (as he said that he could have played last night - but we all know how he is)? Either way, a message might have been sent intentional or not: That the Mets could win a game with speed and small ball, with or without Jose Reyes.

That was a topic over at Metsblog today about this theory and in John Harper's column in the Daily News. Basically, Harper suggests the Mets are at a crossroads with Reyes. While I believe the title is a bit hyperbolic journalism to sell newspapers, I have to wonder...if like AIG, Goldman Sachs and Citi and their excuses for getting government dollars...

Is Jose Reyes too big to fail?

While I am loath to trading an incredibly gifted baseball player in the prime of his career (and let's face it, he aint going ANYWHERE under Minaya's watch, it makes me wonder how they have to handle a simple benching of a player so delicately, if in fact that is the case.

It's one thing if he was truly hurt and Manuel did not want to deplete his resources any further what with Carlos Delgado and JJ Putz on the fritz now. I hate to say it but Delgado is sort of replaceable and Putz is well...he is sort of reminding us that somehow the ghosts of Aaron Heilman always return. Reyes is Reyes - he may not always be a sparkplug, but he is catalyst.

But in the Harper column, former teammate Jose Valentin said that Reyes is a non-negotiable. We can't have him NOT batting lead off or batting clean-up because we want to use his speed to our advantage. On the flip side, if he is making bone-headed running moves regardless, does it matter where he bats? Not to mention, as buddy Seat5 likes to say, we have our own version of Wesley Snipes on this team - and his name is Jose "Mays" Reyes.

But this article kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed like once again the Mets are using a local reporter as their own mouthpiece to push an agenda. Like back in the day, when a dude named Dick Young wrote a scathing article to chase our ace Tom Seaver, I wonder how much of this is to light a fire under Reyes' ass or better yet start a controversy out of a simple lesson in humility.

On the flip side, I wonder how much of this is because Reyes is too big to fail. David Wright and he (along with Johan Santana to a certain extent) are the faces of the franchise. To give up on him this season or next (keep in mind, he has a contract year coming up, since he re-upped in 2006) kind of suggests failure. We put a lot of hope into these two and if he were to thrive elsewhere it would raise a raucous like none other. We can lose Delgado and I believe that the team is strong enough to win with or without him (It is much easier to win WITH him in the line up though). We need Jose to be Jose. That sparkplug to be the team leader - not so much a spoken leader but a lead-by-example.

That's why I think he is too big to fail. If this Jose experiment were to fail, it would resonate throughout the whole team for years to come.

In any case, it is a must-read.

And on the flip side, if it were to show motivation that the team can do fine without him, maybe he will come out and be like those kids on Ritalin in the South Park episode.

SHUT UP AND STUDY!!!

Mr. Minaya...DL DELGADO NOW!!!!!

I'm not bent about yesterday's loss. A 6-2 home stand is nothing to shake a stick at.

Of course, I always love it when my team wins, but at least they fought back again and again. Sheff hit a home run to tie the game. Tatis hit a granny when Cox mometarily got spooked with his starter (I love it when stuff blows up in Bobby Cox's face, ha ha).

My boy Jonathon Niese has been demoted, and Figueroa is back up. I'm not concerned about Niese. Remember a dude named Mike Pelfrey? He was rushed up and had a tough time adjusting and he's doing fine now.

Jose Reyes is playing with his head up his ass again, and hopefully, Manuel will have him doing push-ups for his boneheaded plays that lead to Mets losses.

So now the Mets are going on a road trip. We all know what happens to bad teams on the road. But I have no doubt the Mets will have at the very least a .500 record but anything over a .500 record is definitely a win. Yes, I know that thinking is simple. But think about it - they will win the games they are supposed to win. San Francisco is not a good team. LA hasn't been the same without Manny. And Red Sox? If we win at least one, I know I'll be happy.

Aim high, right? But the Sox are a good team. And they are interleague, so take it as it comes.

But you know what does concern me?

Carlos Delgado. Or Carlos Delgado's hip.

See, yesterday, SNK and I (being working women) weren't watching the game on television but on Gameday instead. Actually I think she was listening to the FAN, but that's besides the point. On Gmail chat, all I know is we both remarked on how without Delgado, this team isn't much on the offense. This isn't three years ago when we absolutely needed his bat. But without him, the team is not as good as they would be. If that makes sense.

But here's my thinking. If Delgado can't play tonight, I think he should be DL'd immediately if not sooner. He hasn't played in a few days. It can happen retroactively and then they can make a decision as to what type of rehab routes to take.

But dammit, if this team doesn't screw up even the injuries of their team. Maybe with another ready bat off the bench (or another reliever besides Takahashi), they could have won yesterday's game. Alas, in 2007, Beltran not being DL'd contributed to a few Mets losses.

But it's not the first time in the last 12 months that this has happened. Do I need to bring up Ryan Church again? How about Oh Pea this year? Now Delgado? This is a west coast road trip. This is some serious shit.

In my best Ronald Reagan voice, I say to YOU, Mr. Minaya. D-L Delgado NOW!!!

Kenny Rogers' Karma

I thought of a lot of things tonight.

One is - I have never seen a walk-off walk before.  I've seen plenty of walk-offs in my time.  But never as a bases loaded walk.  Sweet.  I wonder if Mets Walkoffs can tell me exactly how many of these have happened in the Mets' favor in their history.

Two - I'm finally getting used to CitiField.  It didn't take me as long as I thought it would.  I highly endorse the corn-on-the-cob from the Taqueria out back in CF.  I will start calling it Corn on the COOP because I will probably get this every damn time I go there.

Three - I still fucking hate the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.  Okay, MAYBE hate is too strong a word.  But I still think it should be New York Baseball related or hey, how about this for a novel idea - a METS related history rotunda.  Do you know how many people don't know who Bill Shea is and what he did to bring National League baseball back to New York?  The Giants and Dodgers aren't coming back.  Hate to break it to ya.

I know - get off your high horse Coop.  But I gotta live in this place for the next forty summers at least.  Make me happy dammit.  And less social-study-esque, as Greg from FAFIF would say.

But back to the game tonight.  Of course, the Coop is very happy to see the Mets eke out a win.  Jar-Jar Binks Jurrjens is one of those potential new-generation-Braves certified Mets killer, so I was happy to see them pounce once he was taken out of the game.  I guess that was a plus.

But there were some stupid-ass mistakes tonight.  Mr. E and I were remarking to each other at one point that they were playing aggressive ball when THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO.  The times they NEED to slide, the times they NEED to steal a base, they play extra-cautious.  Tonight?  David Wright gets thrown out at the plate on a shallow "sac" fly (poor excuse for one).  He tried to steal a base too and that didn't work.  Jose Reyes tries to eke out a triple when it was CLEAR he would be thrown out.

Stupid.  Stupid.  Stupid.

Not to mention, I was second-guessing ALL of Jerry Manuel's moves.  I think Jerry is a good guy and has better-than-average managerial skills (better than our old fearless leader, Willie the Wonker).  But there was an instance when he had Gary Sheffield pinch-hit for Daniel Murphy.  Now, it didn't make much of a difference later on (since Manuel has at least perfected the art of double-switches and used the pitcher in that spot), but I was like - why?  They needed a baserunner with two outs late in the game, not some guy who was going to swing for the fences.  Sometimes I wonder what Jerry is actually thinking.  

Eh. Whatever.  We won.  It's all good.

Again, it's no longer 1999 - 1999, we'd have never won this game.  It's 2009, there may still be cockroaches and Chipper Jones.  But the Karma of Kenny Rogers has at least come full-circle.  And the Mets have finally beat the Braves in an anti-climactic fashion much like the Kenny Rogers' game.  

Put THAT one in the books.  

Excuses Are Like Assholes

Everyone has one...And they ALL stink!

Case and point: The Mets' explanation for the bats not showing up when Johan starts.

"He's facing aces."

Funny....how those teams are ALSO facing our ace, and seem to not be scared to do some damage. But yeah, these pussies have us believing that it's somehow different for them.

At first last night, I was not too concerned about losing the game. Sure, part of me says - Coop! You can't squander a Johan-start like that. But I just kissed it up to the sky, thought, oh well, Derek Lowe pitched his ass off, and it was a few bad breaks in the field that contributed to it.

Without that mind-F Reyes had after Johan was taken out would have gotten them out of the inning unscathed.

...Or I could take the whole pessimistic route and say - Jerry shouldn't have taken Johan out when he did and let him at least finish the damn seventh inning. Jerry should have stuck with Parnell. Blah blah blah.

But here's the kicker - NONE of this would have been necessary if the Mets PLAYED TO THE LEVEL OF THEIR COMPETITION!?!?!?

It's almost as if they know they are facing the "ace" of the staff and already think they are going to not put up a lot of runs or have a lot of opportunities?

What came first - the chicken or the egg?

Let's be fair - Delgado was benched last night so a lot of the offensive might in the line up was gone already. That still does not excuse the whole team - Beltran is hitting close to fucking .400 and is absolutely raking. Jose Reyes has yet to turn on his game, but David Wright has been. It's really fucking ridiculous that they can't string a few runs together against Derek Lowe.

Lowe is a good pitcher. He is NOT Johan Santana.

Granted - Johan technically did not give up those runs - they were all unearned and his ERA actually went DOWN.

But at first I was not upset about the game last night because I know we will not win them all. But damn it, I just hate missed opportunities like that.

Chicks Dig the Win Streak

It starts with a win. Then another win. Then another.

Then another.

Oooh there goes another.

And another. Including today, it's seven baby. Seven in a row.

And there it goes, boys and girls, it's what we call a WINNING streak.

Dykstraw calls these days delicious fucking icing. And it is. Oh, it is OH so delish.

Now, in a week, we've managed to complete three sweeps. Two mini-sweeps of the Braves and Phillies are one thing. Okay, that was fucking delish in and of itself. But the sweep of the Bucs speaks volumes to me.

a.) The Mets have beaten up on a subpar team. There are so many games we can look back at and say - dag, we shoulda won that game. Now? We can say - yay! We won that game!

2.) The Mets have SWEPT a subpar team. I mean, how many times can we say that in the past two years? Remember how many times over the past two years (see a theme here?) where they would steamroll the first two games, then sleepwalk during the last game? When I saw the Mets were losing in the first few innings, THEN they came back? Um, w00t?

D.) The Mets have played above and beyond the level of their competition. What was the major complaint of these early games? That they would not play above the level of their competition! How many games were lost by one run? How many games in this early season would they just not score any runs after the first? I would dread games against teams like the ones against the Pirates -- remember Flushing was where losing streaks came to die?

So...now what? Some very mentally important games against the Braves starting tomorrow. Tomorrow is the Showdown before the Lowe-Down. Lowe vs Santana.

A must-see game.

And I'm missing it.

But I can still enjoy this delicious fucking icing, regardless of where I watch the games.

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming...

For a breaking news report. Allegedly, Manny Ramirez has failed a PED test and will be suspended for 50 games.

Um, eek.

For one - The Dodgers have been on an absolute TEAR and are undefeated at home this season.

Heck, I could care less about that, being they are not in our division and we play them next week (hopefully, they come back down to earth - we usually do well at Dodger Stadium).

But I was crowing for Manny as much as the next person. Sucks to be the Dodgers. Sheff looks like a better and better option every day now!

Spinning Wheel

#What goes up, must come down

Spinnin' Wheel - Got to Go Round

Talkin' 'bout your troubles it's a cryin' sin

Ride a painted pony, let the Spinnin' Wheel Spin#

I remember a game earlier in the year, where Johan Santana pitched and it was 1-0 game based on an unearned run.  Except that result was a loss and I was in turn very pissed off about it.

Other times I've been angry this season - when the Mets would leave ducks on the pond, would swing at first pitches (I'm looking at YOU Delgado), when Oh Pea would pitch, Jose Mays Reyes swinging for the fences each time, Mets not hitting subpar pitching.  You know, the usual suspects.

But with players hitting over .280.   Pitchers with low-ish ERA.  A decent bullpen.  It was only a matter of time before the tides started turning in our favor.

Tonight that happened.  Johan Santana gets a well-deserved win after pitching his ass off.  Except the run that scored in the Mets favor was not only unearned, but it was scored ONLY after Chan "I Wanna Be A" Ho Park was out of the game.  The same Chan Ho "Down" Park that showed he had no business being on a major league roster against the Mets last week.  

And the irony is - Carlos "the Hip" Delgado scored on an error all the way from first base.  Eagads.

So you see, folks.  The law of averages has turned in the Mets favor.  We are now officially an "average" team at .500.  And the team wins on an error.  A win is a win is a win.  What goes up, must come down.  And all that hokey jive.

****************************************************

Oh Pea officially goes on the DL.  Thank goodness.  (Hat tip to the boys at Metsblog for the info)

And Jonathon Niese starts on Friday.  All we are saaaaaay-ing...is give NIESE a chance!!!!

As Well He Should...

Jo-jo's got his mojo back!

Now hopefully this is a precursor to his winning another honor at the end of the season.

Oh and...has a NL Player of the Month been announced? It should rightfully be Beltrans. But of course, I'm a bit biased.

Serenity Now

What a difference a day makes.  Or more apt, what a difference a rain-out, then a win makes.

Today, I witnessed a lot in the forums.  Lots of Mets fans placing the blame on someone.  It's Omar's fault.  It's the Wilpons' fault.  Jerry is a moron.  The team is soft.  

But whatever Omar Minaya said the other day about lacking an "edge" seemed to hit home for the team.  After tonight's win, things seemed to click into place.  Sure, John Maine might not have had his best stuff but he did last six innings.  The 'pen did what it was supposed to do.

Carlos Beltran proves why he was predicted as MSF's MVP candidate.  Even if he is a pussy, he showed he had "edge."  Even David Wright seemed to click into second gear, as May started and he started.  

I missed some of the game tonight but it was 3-0 Atlanta by the time I got around to it.  

Who here thought - no way we win this game?

Yeah, I thought it.  For a minute.  Okay, maybe a while.

The funniest part about the game wasn't even the game but the post-game press conference.  Jerry Manuel had to state over and over and over (and over) again about the fact that Carlos Beltran is a "leader" and has "great leadership qualities."

And then John Maine had to make it a point to say that they wanted to win this game.  There was a vibe in the clubhouse.  Blah blah blah.

It was funny to me because it was exactly what the fans want to hear.  I mean, are they reading our comments (or my latest Big Pussy Pick over at GBU)?  We want to hear their desire to win.  We want to hear that they don't want to take no for an answer.

We want them to win the games as much as we do.

*****************************************************

Dear Oliver,

I know, I dumped you last year, and you've been licking your wounds since.  But you came around and got strong.  Now I know you are troubled again.  

I just want you to know that though I've moved on, I still believe in you.

Well, I want to believe in you.

But I can't believe in someone who can't believe in himself.

Stop reminding me that Victor Zambrano once lived.

Thanks.

Yours very truly,

Coop dee Coop