I have been invited to attend  a presentation of Bloomberg Sports new baseball statistic and analytic tool that will be offered to fans and a more intense version to all 30 MLB teams.  I hope to be giving some updates at this event through TWITTER so check out my Twitter account during the day tomorrow if you’re interested and if you’re a fantasy baseball player this is looks like a product that will interest you very much.  Check out this article by Paul Greco of Baseball Digest Daily who got a look at the product at the winter meetings this past December.

Mario Lemieux has made an offer to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates. Could Mark Messier make an offer to buy the Mets (PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!)

Over at Bugs & Cranks they want  to help find out if you have a “baseball problem” so they have seven events that you could watch instead of  watching  a Cincinnati Reds-Florida Marlins game at Golden Girls Stadium. Of the 7 questions, I answered Reds-Marlins to 5 of them. The only two events I chose over the baseball game were watching UConn- Tennessee  women’s basketball game (Gino Auriemma and Pat Summit are two of the greatest coaches in sports history) and Fulham @ Aston Vila in the EPL.  So I guess I have a serious baseball problem.

I’m getting a little worried about my Boston Celtics. KG is not close to his top condition, Rasheed Wallace has no conscience at the 3 point line, and the corrupt NBA refs are all betting against the C’s in every game. At least no one has pull a piece in the clubhouse yet. Tomorrow is a big game as the Lakers ship off to Boston, if there are three NBA refs not on the take I hope the league assigns them to this game.

Hey Johnny Damon, shut the fuck up! You want to blame someone for the reason you’re not employed by the Bronx Bastards any longer? Look in the mirror caveman.

I don’t hide the fact that I’m a Daniel Murphy fan and I take a lot of shit for that. But it’s nothing compared to the abused I took for my support of Gregg Jeffries.  It wasn’t until I met Jefferies that I realized what an asshole he was. I’ve told the story before where John Franco brought Jeffries to a club in Brooklyn one night where my friends and I were at as well and Jeffries tried to pick up every girl in the place not caring who they were with. Not the wisest move to make at a club in Bay Ridge.  It’s good to see an older and wiser Jeffries as I read in this piece by Kevin Kernan in the Post. Best thing that ever happened to Jeffries was leaving the Mets.

We’ve always paid our gas bill to the Brooklyn Union Gas Co., in fact my dad’s first job in NYC was laying down gas pipe for the Brooklyn Union Gas Co. out in the wilds of Canarsie in the early 30’s. Then one day the gas bill came in with the name Keyspan on it, no more Brooklyn Union but Keyspan was the name of the new ball park in Coney Island so I was cool with Keyspan. Then one day the mailman delivered a bill from National Gird. What the hell is National Grid? National Grid is what Keyspan and Brooklyn Union were but now since there is no more Keyspan and I guess the folks at National Gird are not baseball fans, the name has to come off the ballpark in Coney Island and a new name is needed.

The Mets who own the stadium could do the right thing and name it after Gil Hodges or even rename it Shea Stadium but I doubt they will.

On Twitter yesterday I mention how a good ball park name would be Egg Cream Stadium or get Fox’s U-Bet Syrupto buy naming rights. In fact, why don’t’ the Cyclones (forget the Mets doing this as they can’t even put a deli in $iti Field where I can get a good pastrami or brisket sandwich and a Dr. Browns soda. I think a lot of my Mets anger would go away with a good brisket and a Dr. Browns Cream Soda at $iti Field) put in an Egg Cream Bar at the Coney Island ballpark?

I hope I don’t lose my good standing with my fellow Mets fans after I tell you about my day today.

As I have told you guys, I am a big time Boston Celtic fan, since I was kid watching Celtics on the Game of the Week with Chris Schenkel and Jack Twyman on ABC. So when the C’s are in town I try to get to both the Garden and Meadowlands to catch them live (I watch every game on TV with the NBA Package as well) and I make it a point to get to the arena early because unlike any other sport, when you go to a basketball game you can get up close and personal with the players.

So as my son and I line up under the basket on the Celtics end of the arena (not where my seats were by the way, much to my son’s disappointment, we were in Section 420 where there were a lot of Celtic fans )  I got to say hi to Craig Dickerson of CSN-New England, who is the Kevin Burkhart of Celtic telecasts and I get a wave from Tommy Heinshon and Mike Gorman ( I wanted a Tommy Point by the way) so the day was off to a great start. I was wearing my Celtics t-shirt with RUSSELL 6 on the back because Bill Russell is not just the greatest basketball player and Celtic who ever lived, he is one the greatest figures in team sports but I digress, as Kevin Garnett came on the court I shout out to KG and pound my chest right at my heart and point to him and KG returns the gesture and I’m beaming like I just got asked to the prom. My son, as he usually gets when I engage in a PDA over a sports figure, takes a few steps back and mutters “That’s enough fanboy” .

So now as I basked in my bromance with KG and the C’s, I hear a commotion coming from my right close to the where I’m standing. A big cheer goes up and when I turn to my right, standing next to me is Joe Girardi the manager of the New York Highlanders. So what do I do? What would you do?

We both looked at each other and all I could do was put out my right hand and say “Hiya Joe” and shake his hand. Then my son did the same thing. I did feel kind of funny I mean what’s the odds of me, my kid and Joe Girardi standing side by side at MSG? Nice man that Joe G.

Right after that Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg stood next to me as they were at the game filming a scene for a movie they’re doing (the same on that Derek Jeter played a homeless guy in) and my son said “Dad look it ‘s Will Ferrell” and I said “whose the fanboy now”?  I didn’t shake Ferrell’s or Wahlberg’s hand as I couldn’t care less about those two, they don’t hit game winning baskets in OT to beat the Knicks like my guy KG!

Old School Dan Werthen feels that Johan tried to get back faster than he should have because he had ideas of pitching for Team Venezuela in the WBC and if that is not enough to end this ridiculous tournament what else is? If there were no WBC Santana would have come to camp working on getting to opening day but instead he pushed himself to much in early training and now there is a good chance we won’t be ready for opening day. Yeah Bud your doing a heck of a job.

 

Yesterday before my son’s basketball game, I sat in the stands with a couple of other fathers who are fans of the Bronx Bastards. Some are the typical fans that think it’s their god given right to have a parade down Broadway every year, and one or two are somewhat reasonable to the point where they can complement the Mets for fixing the biggest need the back of the pen. So any way, my first question to the group was “WOW, what do you think of A-Rod”  as soon as I got the Rod part out, I sat back and watched the fireworks display. Mr. “the only baseball is Highlander baseball” was enraged not that a confidential test was leaked to a reporter or that Rodriguez has told three different stories or even what the effects will be on Rodriguez health ,no his main concern was “this was done to sabotage the Highlander season”  he went on to rant about how all the teams in baseball were “out to get “ the Highlanders and the Red Sox and Mets were two of the teams that are the most jealous of their success and just stupid comment after stupid comment.

It was at that point it dawned on me that has there ever been a more perfect marriage than Highlander fans and Alex Rodriguez? They are two of the same. They are both “me first” types, they never give credit to the opposition, and they believe they should always get what they want. Is there more of a douche than a Highlander fan who says “Anything short of a World Series Championship is unacceptable”?

See I kind of like hanging around Highlander fans as it makes me appreciate being a Mets fan. Our team and organization is far from perfect but it sure beats the shit out the alternative.         

  

Seems there was a very nice turnout in the cold for the last day of Shea wake. Dave Singer at NY Sports Dog has a clip of those in attendance singing my favorite song. It looks like by the end of the week Shea Stadium will be just a pile of rubble. After looking at the clip of the folks singing Meet The Mets it occurs to me that the Skill Sets are not worthy of such loyal and passionate fans.

I see where the Rays have signed LOOGY extraordinary Brian Shouse to a two year deal which seems a bit much for a 40 yr old lefty but now there is a logjam in the Tampa pen and they are looking to move Chad Bradford. Bradford is up to make $3.5 mil in 2009 and how would he look in the Mets pen in the 6^th or 7^th inning? Damn good if you ask me. I think I’ll just slam my hand in a car door now and save me the pain for when Omar tells us the Mets have no interest in Bradford.

I missed St Joseph of Torre on Larry King last night ( I was at Devils-Pens game more on that in a minute.) But a couple of things about this book. Torre didn’t get involved with this book for the money or for notoriety this was his revenge against the Highlanders for the way he feels he was shoved out the door by Two Packs A Day Hank, Shallow Hal and Pee Wee Cashman. Make no mistake St. Joe is one scorned ex-employee and he wanted the world to know it. As impossible as this may seem I know a few people close to the Highlander high archy and others who have dealt with St Joe and they inform me there are Two Joe’s, public Joe who is gracious and suave and then there is down and dirty Joe who lets all the Brooklyn come out of him when you rattle his cage.

With that low rent asshole David Wells coming out with his dumb ass statements against Torre (remember Wells got his ass kicked by a Guido midget in a Manhattan diner so I doubt he has the onions to punch Torre in the face) it reminded me of a story my Highlander operative relayed to me.

One Old Timers day, Wells was not scheduled to pitch and during the regular game decided he wanted to go up to the owners box and hobnob with the old timers while his teammates were engaged in a game. As he was trying to finagle getting a cocktail he saw the Highlander Clipper, Joe DiMaggio and struck up a conversation. After a while Wells took off his uni top and undershirt so he could show Joltin’ Joe the faces of his kids and mom he had tattooed on his upper torso. Needless to say, the sight of a shirtless Wells did not go over well with the old timers and swells in the Bronx Robber Barons Box. At that point the phone in the suite rang and on one end was one angry manager as word got to St Joe that Tons o’ Fun Wells was up in the owners box swillin’ and chillin’. Wells was told to get back to the Highlander bunker and when he arrived, St Joseph of Torre morphed into Brooklyn Joe and had to be restrained for giving Wells a good old fashion Brooklyn ass kicking. No wonder Torre laughed when he was told of Wells’ comments for St Joe knows who the real “punk ass” is.

 

Went to the Prudential Center last night for the Devils-Penguins game a good one as the Devils came back from 2 goals down to tie in regulation and win in OT on Jamie Langenbrunners second OT winner in two nights. I really like The Rock. It has great sight lines and the wide concourses make it very manageable to get around but I have (of course ) a few issues. First, the area around the arena is mostly office buildings and the streets are the darker than the other side of Mars. There aren’t any places to go get something to eat before the game so you either eat at home or eat at the arena which is your standard arena/stadium fare. The area you enter to get into the arena is small and when there is a big crowd on a cold night the open doors create a wind tunnel and you freeze your ass off waiting to get in. Then when you get in they have security guards who use a wand on you to search for weapons which for some reason cracks me up as I say to myself ‘are you kidding? This is Newark” Who doesn’t have a piece on them”? Add to that the guards all look like they just got out of the Rahway State Pen. Forget President Obama, when a black guy in a “doo-rag” and gold teeth is patting my pasty white ass down looking for a shive well that my friends tells me there really is Change in America. One last thing, how can a concession stand that is one of the biggest I’ve seen in an arena run out of hot dogs and pretzels after the first period of a hockey game?