NOTE: This Post has not been approved by Buzz Bissinger

I love Tim Marchman. He’s one of the best Mets writers out there. Because I respect him and enjoy his work, I can say that this is knee-jerking overreaction at a Tommy shooting Spider proportion:

It’s time for the Mets to fire Willie Randolph. They should fire him if his team sweeps the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. They should fire him if his team wins all three games by a total score of 27-0. They should fire him if his team puts on such a display this weekend that the greater Phoenix area literally burns to the ground around them, lit by nothing but the intensity of their passion and brilliance. The man’s time is up, and nothing can change that.

The Mets first month of play can hardly be deemed as dominant or brilliant. The bullpen has struggled, the bats have run hot cold (mostly cold) and Perez has been the Mr. Hyde version of himself. The defense has made bonehead plays and Delgado is seemingly a shell of his former monster self. But it’s May 2; we’ve played 26 games so far. The Mets are 14-12.

05/02/07: 16-10
05/02/06: 17-9:

IF the Mets sweep this weekend their record will be 17-12.

05/04/07: 18-10
05/04/06: 19-9

I know we’re all used to hot starts (and I love hot starts) but if the Mets were 15-11 at this point would there be a fire Willie Bandwagon? I can understand why this sentiment is out there after last season. I really don’t see what Willie is expected to do to change anything. He’s too old to play. Throwing equipment and losing his cool would come off as disingenuous and insincere at best. I guess he could shake up the lineup some more, but really how much more could it change and what good could come of that? Who else is going to leadoff; hit in the three hole; cleanup.

I hate to be the one to bring this up, but Alou is expected back. I wrote a piece about the folly of relying on a man that played less than 80 games last season; Omar made that decision in the off-season, it’s too late to go back, and now that he’s healthy the Mets will benefit from his limited service until he inevitably goes back on the DL. The way Church has been hitting, Alou coming back to take the five hole will drop Delgado to seventh. Even the staunchest Delgado critics will admit, even in his deteriorated condition, he’s a pretty good seventh hitter.

I have been at the very least a Randolph critic and this is a tired excuse; the Mets got hit by the injury bug early. It’s a tired excuse but not one without merit. Ask yourself, did you know who Raul Casanova or Gustavo Molina were in spring training, aside from the fact that Gustavo was not Yadier’s brother? They’ve filled in admirably but they are replacement players at best. The number two started went out after 3.1 innings. 14-12 is not dreadful.

And who exactly is going to take the reigns if big Willie is shown the door? We have some options, I guess, Gary Carter, maybe? Buck Showalter? Frank Robinson? I don’t think any other manager could hit the ground running.

Don’t get me wrong, Willie’s job is on the line this year. This is Willie’s season to win the World Series. If he doesn’t win the NL; I don’t see the Wilpons keeping him on. Yes, last season was a monumental collapse and if the Mets were going to fire him, they would have done it in November. This is the Willie we know; bizarre moves in situations attributed to his gut feelings; hairs on the back of his neck or intuition. We’ve won with Willie and we’ve loved him for it.

This is Willie’s ship; there’s no one else to man the helm. Come November; that’s a whole other story.

With the Mets off today, Mets fans are treated to a much needed break of Santana surrendered solo shots and Aaron Hielman appearances deteriorating with each belt-high middle-out pitch. The good news is the Mets are headed to Arizona where even the coldest Met bat historically has at least a 3 for 5 day.

(Thank god for Grand Theft Auto IV. I’ve only put in around 20 hours of game play so far, but this may be the best game ever made, period.)

Alou is scheduled to make his season debut on Friday and should provide some added pop at the plate, not to mention a stronger bat than Ryan Church to protect Beltran. (Note: Offer valid for a limited time). Ok that was a cheesy joke, but if Alou plays the rest of the season without a trip to the DL I’ll wet myself in shock.

After a fall from ahead, come from tied game against Pittsburgh, the 13-1 depressed me. The Mets shouldn’t get beat like that with Perez on the mound, even if it’s schizophrenic Wildman-walk-em-full Perez and even on Getaway day. The rain shortened another series so it’s hard to use the standard “win two of three” metric to judge success. Right now, I’m not sure what to make of this team.

I’m sure the Mets are so tired of hearing about last September or the phrase 7 with 17 to play they’d give half a year salary if they never heard it again. The only way that will start to happen is if the Mets rattle off a 9-1 or 10-2 string of hard fought games to take the lead in the division.

Hard fought games are exactly what lies ahead in the next two series against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. It’s time to turn it up a notch.

Let’s Go Mets!

The site’s been down, the database server went down. Regular programing will resume.

If you’re just too content with the way your life turned out or if you’re contemplating suicide but lack the perfect motivation, there’s good news. The 1988 Dodgers World Series DVD Collectors set comes out on March 25 on DVD. It contains seven discs that include Game Four of the 1988 NLCS and Game Seven of the 1988 NLCS or as I call it; October 12 1988, “the day that ruined my childhood.”

The mere glimpse at the sets cover, filled me with an instant ache, a repressed memory pushed away by my subconscious only to materialize out of the blue. For an eleven year old Lonestar Met, the 1988 NLCS was Game Seven of 2006 and the last day of 2007 rolled into one excruciating series. I had followed the team all year via the box scores in my local sports paper and watching live on WGN, TBS and the precious times they were a national game. I even ended up down in Houston for a game, catching David Cone pitch in the Astrodome. The Mets looked to win their second World Series of the decade and begin their anticipated National League dynasty.

To this day I’ve never watched one second of film from that series. It still hurts too much. I remember being forced to bed during game six (a school night), after watching the Mets fall behind early and getting nothing going on the board, I left for my bedroom with the Mets trailing six to nothing. I cunningly and subtly switched on my clock radio and found the broadcast, hoping, nay, praying the Mets had one more miracle left over from 1986. Even down to the last out, I stood on my bed, still dressed in my complete Mets outfit, my fingers crossed up against my Mets pennant. Unfortunately, Hershiser was untouchable and there was no two out hit to keep the inning alive, much less anything equivalent to a little roller up along first, and the Mets season was finished.

I think at that moment my baseball heart was crushed. I was still a Mets fan, though not nearly as fanatical. Nothing remained as great as it was on October 12 when the Mets looked to be a dynasty in the making. Instead, the Mets went dormant for the next eleven years, putting lousy teams filled with quick fix free agents and unexciting players until 1999 when, unexpectedly, I would make my peace with the same man that tormented my team eleven years earlier would join the Mets mid season and make one of the most exciting playoff runs imaginable.

I haven’t watched the DVD set, nor do I want to, but since it was one of the most disturbing memories in my young life and it’s seared into my brain, I can review it for you:

Put that on the box.

I’ve always wondered why the 1988 NLCS isn’t more of a scrutinized moment in the lexicon of Mets history the way Rogers’ Ball Four, Carlos’s looking KO and even Glavine’s soiling of the mattress are viewed as watershed moments in franchise history. Was it that after 99, the Mets would make the Series the next year? Is it still to painful to recount the 1988 NLCS; the last moment in the sun, an abrupt and unwanted goodbye to the heroes of 86 and a steady and all too rapid decline into a decade of mediocre to pathetic baseball? Is its lack of notoriety stem from being committed against an usual group of villains, ones not clad in pinstripes or wielding tomahawks?

Eleven Days until Opening Day and we see our boys back on a Major League field facing Major League opponents and the outcomes finally matter.

A couple random Mets topics:

What to expect of Delgado? He won’t be the Delgado of years past. Like many aging players, I predict he would be reminiscent of Mike Piazza in his last years as a Met. A shadow of what he was, but still a rather looming shadow. I would hope Delgado will put up similar numbers as last year, but I expect to see slumps interrupted by commanding blasts reminiscent of what he once was, and an aching reminder to leave us pining for what he no longer is. He’ll win a few games, carry the team on his back in a few but unable to contribute drastically on a daily and consistent basis. Don’t worry, the man on the other infield corner should be ready to shoulder the load.

The Trade that never came. Apparently the imminent and essential trade for a corner outfielder speculated to include everyone from Coco Crisp to Barry Bonds is now neither imminent nor essential.

In case you were wondering, Sidney Ponson’s promising spring results for the Rangers, along with a general lack of common sense, have kept Nelson Cruz in a Rangers uniform. The hard on is over, there’s no outfield help on the way [Editor’s note: I have no idea why I just wrote that.]

The Mets are likely going with some combination of Damian Easley, Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson and Angel Pagan. Don’t pencil in Pagan as the April and May everyday leftfielder just yet. He is having a promising spring, but on March 31 the minor leaguers go back down and Pagan comes back to earth. Not to mention Willie doesn’t like to play young talent over veteran players, even at gunpoint.

[Editors Note: Anyone who writes the headline “Angel in the Outfield” will be sodomized with a pipe wrench and set on fire. Twice.]

Reserve your Blue and Orange BP Jersey today. We got the All-Star Game in 2013. First of all, I am not ready to let go of Shea just yet to be jazzed about this. Secondly, I put Mets fans in attendance at around 35%. The coolest thing about this will be the All-Star Batting practice jerseys in blue and orange. I’ve already decided to buy one. There’s no way to tell who’ll be representing the Mets five years from now, I just hope the Mets have more than one to choose from.

Behind the Plate. Ramon Castro and Brian Schneider are both experiencing hamstring problems. Doug Mirabelli is available. Sure he hit .202 in 114 at bats last year, but that’s .198 than Mike DeFelice’s lifetime average. There’s Mike Nickeas, remember him? We got him and a broken bat for Victor Diaz. It’s him, Robinson Cancel, Raul Casanova Salomon Mariquez and Gustavo Molina. Since all those names annoy me, I choose Nickeas. That was easy. Mirabelli would be an inexpensive insurance policy and less unproductive than Mike DeFelice.

Good God, I hope Mike Pelfrey is the real deal. I think El Duque’s done. Marty should have called this article they know who did it but they just can’t figure out why.

On an unrelated note, No Country for Old Men was one of the best movies I’ve seen in the past 5 years. If you haven’t seen it, buy it. It’s a modern classic. I bought it, sight unseen, on Blu-Ray (yeah, I’ve got that kind of money) and have already watched it several times. I went to college in West Texas and the accents of the characters made me feel like I was back in the Llano Estacado.

I’ve never heard of half these guys, and the ones I have are way past their primes.
This guy’s dead!
Cross him off then

I realize Spring Training is for the benefit of pitchers and that it is important that younger players get exposure to the organization in general. I am also quite aware that half the team is in casts and walking boots but none of that changes the fact that it’s all really boring. Come on, admit it. You’re not fooling anyone.

Since I haven’t posted today, and since we likely won’t see any of these players this season, maybe not even next season, I thought I would take the opportunity to randomly nickname Friday’s starting lineup:

LF Ezequiel “Tia” Carrera
SS Anderson “Black Powder” Hernandez
CF Angel “Gay-bo” Pagan
DH Olmedo Saenz- He was funny on SNL
C Raul “Sneezey” Casanova
RF Fernando “Buckshot” Martinez
1B Robinson Cancel –Doesn’t he play for the Yankees? I think they made this name up.
3B Dan “Motown” Murphy (every group needs a Motown)
2B Argenis “One-time” Reyes

Scoff now, but in 2010 you’ll be a Citi Field when the PA system booms, “Now batting, number 32, Argenis Reyes” and you’ll yell, “Let’s go One-time!” You can thank me later.

Let’s face it, the big story “Santana in Mets Camp” has grown tired. What this year’s Mets camp needs is a “feel good” story. Like a handicap square dance caller trying to make the team despite only having one leg and being legally color blind. He can’t judge pitches or see the base coach’s signs and has difficulty taking a lead without getting picked off. Also, he can’t field very well but his effort and sheer determination earns him a spot on the opening day roster along with the nickname, “Old Hoppy.” He’d earn the respect of teammates and coaches until, after being five minutes late for a team meeting (the meeting was help upstairs), he gets cut on April 2nd for violating team rules. Endless mocking from opposing teams, for instance “hey, your first baseman only has one leg!” leads the Mets front office realizes how ridiculous it is to carry a player with one leg on a Major League roster. But what a ride it would be!

March 31st can’t get here soon enough…

For me the three best days of spring are, in order, the following

Number One: Opening Day- Yeah it’s a bit corny and only one regular season game, but I love opening day. I once stayed up until 4:00 AM in 2000 to watch play the Mets play the Cubs in Japan. Rey Ordonez made an error.

Number Two: Pitchers and Catchers Report to Camp- It’s great to see the guys in uniform after a long winter. I love how David Wright seems to show up in Port St. Lucie around Christmas to play catch with himself until pitchers and Catchers show up. It really is exciting to see the guys in camp…for about five minutes, then it’s a month of exhibition games. Yawn, wake me up for opening day.

Number Three: Video Game Debut Day- This may only apply to my generation so some of you older folks may want to stop reading now. From Micro League Baseball (Seriously, email me if you’ve played that game, I have never met anyone who has) to RBI Baseball, to Bases Loaded, to Triple Play, to MVP Baseball to today’s champ, MLB The Show 2008. (Excuse the cover)

Since I am a big-time internet celebrity, I received MLB the Show 08 early. That and because I am a eagle-eyed and unscrupulous Wal-Mart shopper that talked a confused 90 year old lady that works electronics into selling me the game by convincing her I was the devil offering promises of eternal youth and daily calls from her grandkids. Ok, mostly it’s the latter.

Despite having the second ugliest cover of any video game ever (Roger Clemens Baseball being the first) MLB the Show is the best series out there. If you haven’t purchased a next gen console or haven’t seen what’s new, MLB the Show is greatness. For those of you that haven’t made the leap to PS3 or Xbox 360, rosters are automatically updated so you don’t have to spend hours with a season preview magazine making trades or creating players.

The headset works now, which kind of worries me. I’m pretty sure that it’s a crime to swear at a 14 year old Yankees fan that tried to steal third with two outs. Look for the incitement of a Texas man for 134 counts of using profanity towards a minor.

If you have a Duel shock and I do (jealous?) the vibration works and is the strongest of any game I’ve played to date. Runners in scoring position makes it vibrate slightly, I’m not sure why.

The picture is amazing, in between pitches is fantastic, The Show is just a visually stunning game.

The sound is amazing, if you’re like me and have a surround system hooked up to your PS3 (Hey Girls!) you’ll really appreciate the sound detail. A fouled off pitch behind the plate is echoed in rear speakers.

Mets Gripes

Could they not find a picture of Johan in a Mets hat? I watched the press conference as they gave him his hat and jersey. I’m pretty sure I saw a guy there take a picture. He’s only the best pitcher in the game.

Olmedo Saenz is apparently made the Mets roster and is the team’s DH. Who knew? Maybe they know something we don’t.

The crowd seems to boo lineup slots rather than pitchers. Why would a Shea crowd boo Ryan Howard and not Jimmy Rollins. I don’t see Shea boo birds jeering Lance Berkman and not making a sound for Kaz Matsui.

Mike Pelfrey, Marlon Anderson and Scott Schoenweis are in triple A. Do two wrongs make a right?

Mets Raves

Citi Field is in the background of Shea. I’ll be really impressed if Citi Field’s completion in the game mirrors real life Citi Field.

Pitching with Johan in a Mets uniform. No it has nothing to do with the game, it’s just awesome.

The Texas Rangers have a public relations problem. The same problem they’ve had for years. The signing of Alex Rodriguez for a Major League record contract was the last time anyone in the Dallas Fort Worth area felt really good about baseball. Devoted fans became causal fans, casual fans became apathetic fans and apathetic fans became fans of other teams or other sports. Rangers fans, past and present have come to think of the years from 1996 to 1999 as “The Golden Years” of Rangers baseball.

Baseball is known as “the talking sport” where everyone has an opinion of what direction the team should take; win now versus rebuild, to gear toward Pitching and defense or win with the long ball. But even the diehard fans, the ones who still hold out hope all agree on one single fact; Tom Hicks has been a disaster as the Rangers owner. That’s been the majority opinion in the Dallas Fort Worth area for the past four years. Even the Dallas Fort Worth Media has begun to cover the Rangers with the same zeal they cover local high school sports and if Arlington could hold a recall election, Hicks would surely be voted out of office by a 99 percentile margin. If a poll was conducted asking who was the worst owner in baseball, Tom Hicks would lose only to Peter Angelos, though not on Merit; He would lose because Oriole fans still care enough to vote. Tom Hicks has damaged the reputation of the Texas Rangers beyond repair, and with the mighty Dallas Cowboys moving in just to the west, the Ballpark in Arlington stands to appear smaller and smaller with every luxury box Jerry Jones erects next door.

(more…)

Hi, I’m surefire Hall of Fame Pitcher Roger Clemens. If you want to win 300 games like I did, chances are you’re going to need a little help. I recommend HGH, but if your old school, you might go the steroids route. Both options are great; I would have been out of the game in the mid 90s without my either one of my little buddies. But make no mistake; you need to cover your tracks. Well you’re old buddy Rocket has you covered. In this video, you’ll learn the secrets that will help you get away with it, lets get started shall we?

(more…)

Last night, my white haired, crazy eyed scientist friend named Doc revealed to me that he had invented a time machine out of a Delorean. We traveled to the year 2030 where I saw an antique store and purchased Grays Sports Almanac in order to make 100% accurate predictions here on Lonestar Mets. I thought I would share a passage from it that my readers might find interesting. Have a look:

  (more…)