The on-field behavior of the Mets, particularly Jose Reyes, again has been called into question by a an opposing player, this time Cole Hamels, the MVP of the Phillies’ World Series championship.

Kettle, you have a call from the pot holding on the black phone…

In an interview on WFAN Thursday morning, Coles, in an indirect manner, said Reyes show-boats, but also said the Phillies considered the Mets “chokers.” Hamels gave the interview while promoting the Phillies’ World Series DVD.

I don’t get to listen to WFAN much, just Mets games on the radio usually, but it seems to me they go out of their way to have people Mets fans hate on their airwaves. Just sayin…

Hamels explained, saying “I’m hoping I don’t hurt too many people right here with this … When Jose Reyes hits home runs, he points his finger up like he won the game. And he might have hit in only in the first inning or the third inning. Well, when Shane did it, he did the same, exact thing. So we were ‘Hey Shane, this doesn’t win the game. We still have a lot of game to play.’ Ya know, why are you trying to be like Jose Reyes? And so that was kind of where it came from was … ya know … even though you hit the big home run, you don’t need to pimp it. You just need to run around the bases and just kinda get the game started.”

Said the man with an 0-2 6.54 in 2008 against the “Chokers” of the NL East.

Look, I don’t want to get into to defending Jose Reyes or his homerun trot, but has Cole Hamels ever watched anything Ryan Howard or Jimmy Rollins do at any point during a baseball game? Rollins is the biggest showboat in the game, bar none. How many times can you remember off the top of your head have you seen Rollins point up with two hands while coming into a base or the plate?

Hamels did not back away from the comments later, reiterating: “For the past two years they’ve been choke artists.”

Hamels continued, “I mean as long as they aren’t facing me, then, they’re freaking awsome and not because I’m an absolutely mediocre pitcher who is completely overrated. Er, um…Look over there!”

When reached for a response, Lonestar Mets rolled his eyes, made a wanking motion and reiterated “Cole Hamels has been an overrated douchebag in need of a severe beating his entire stupid life.”

I’m so sick of the Phillies and their preseason posturing. I just hope the Mets don’t say or do anything until May 6 (the first Mets-Phils game of the season) and whoever takes the hill drills the leadoff batter in the head with a fastball.

I don’t condone violence unless it involves Shane Victorino getting punched in the mouth. Repeatedly.

UPDATE: The Strawdawg has the right idea. Drill em.

Almost all the top venues are sold out. The Mets and Yankees have been playing to capacity crowds almost all season. And don’t forget about the Garden, where the Knicks and Rangers still get capacity crowds, despite the fact the teams don’t play up to par.

And let’s not forget football where Giants tickets are on a 25-year waiting list.

But there’s a reason why sports is so popular. Winning teams laced with stars bring the fans out in droves. On the Mets, homegrown players like David Wright and Jose Reyes electrify Queens, while the Yankees sign players like Alex Rodriguez, making games at the Stadium more like Young Frankenstein tickets.

With the Yankees new stadium opening up, they will sign many free agents this offseason, while the Mets have the young players like Dan Murphy and Jon Niese to move into Citi Field, while dipping into the market in order to compliment them.

By keeping with that business model, the baseball teams will be solid over for the foreseeable future.

Greetings from Houston! It’s freaking hot here. Game one didn’t go as well as a Mets fan could hope. Homeruns did us in as Heilman couldn’t hold a 3-3 tie. That and having the bases loaded with no outs and not plating a single run, which seems like a lingering problem. Sooner or later, this team is going to start hitting with RISP by sheer law of averages.

I still hate that stupid Astros train. I was surrounded by the most uneducated ignorant baseball fans on the planet, who among other things:

-Suggested that the Mets were pitching around Brandon Backe.

-Were incensed that the Astros wouldn’t bunt over a leadoff runner with no outs in a tie game with the number five hitter at the plate.

-Couldn’t understand why a hitter would take on a 3-0 count.

-After every pitch yelled “you knew that was coming!”

-The Astros fans trash talk has fallen off quite a bit. The most common “jeer” all night was a thumbs down and “boo Mets.” I’m not big on trash talk, but I would hope I could come up with something a little better than that. Still I guess it’s better than the profanity laced threats of violence that were prevalent here after 1986.

On a separate note, Mrs. Lonestar Mets hatred for all things Astros is starting to scare me.

I did have the pleasure of meeting a fellow blogger as well as TBF. Getting ready to head to Minute Maid right now to see the Great Santana. I’ve never seen the Mets lose more than one game in Houston and I don’t plan on starting now.

I am going to see the Major League debut of Dan Murphy. The last MLB debut of a Met i saw Jose Reyes’ at the Ball Park in Arlington. Let’s hope Murphy has the same success.

The heat index is at 110 today. Thank God the Astros put a roof on Minute Maid Park.

As far as cab service in Houston, every experience I’ve had has been a poor one. Cabs are not plentiful and are usually obtained by calling the cab company. Whether the cabbies we unfamiliar with the city or elongating the cab ride was unclear, the fare was always more than parking in downtown. If you fly in from out of the area or head to Houston on a road trip, a hotel within walking distance is the way to go.

“As a teammate, I know, I see when somebody’s not happy and I didn’t think he was happy,” “I tell him ‘I want you to be the Reyes that you always have been. ”

“We’re happy he’s doing it again. We don’t care if other teams get offended.” – Carlos Beltran

I think Carlos has stumbled into this year’s marketing slogan:

The 2006 Mets: Our Team, Our Time
The 2007 Mets: Your Season has Come
The 2008 Mets: Fuck’em if They Can’t Take a Joke.

Last night’s game was the Mets baseball I’ve missed for the past dozen months. The Mets played the way a division contender plays. Maine wasn’t dominant but good enough to win. The bats did their share and our leadoff man reminded me why he’s my favorite player. The trademark ear-to-ear smile was desperately missed.

Here’s the chip on our shoulder, we dare you to try and knock it off.