It seems Highlander fans have selective memory. Yesterday I went to the Brooklyn Cyclones-Little Highlanders game at the Richmond County Bank Ball Park in the Land That Urban Development forgot A/K/A Downtown Staten Island. Of course I was decked out in my Brooklyn attire because (a) the Cyclones are of course a Mets farm team and (b) I still consider myself from Brooklyn, I just happen to have a home in Staten Island and to tell you the truth I don’t know who Staten Islanders despise more Brooklynites who moved to the Island or Muslims but I digress. As I went into the ball park the Highlanders were leading the Mets 4-0 after a Mark Teixeira Granny against the suddenly ordinary Johan Santana. When the game ended the public address announcer comes on and asks for everyone’s attention. Now I’m thinking that since it was getting very dark and windy, looking as if a huge thunderstorm was on the way he’ll anounnce that  all the folks out in the open seating area should prepare to go to the concourse in case of severe weather, no that wasn’t the announcement. The big announcement was the Bronx Bastards beat the Mets 4-0 thus taking 2 of 3 from the Amazin’s.

Now a Highlander fan next me looks over and says “Well, now we know who the best team in NY is” so I say “We do? The season series  is now tied at 3 wins apiece” Mr.  Doodle Dandy (in his JETER 2 shirt of course. I swear to God, you can always tell the dumbest Highlander fan by what shirt the wear and it just seems like the biggest assholes wear JETER 2 shirts) looks at me and says “this is the only time they played each other this year” of course I say “Au contraire my simple minded friend, the Mets took 2 of 3 at Citi Field back in May” Then Mr. Doodle Dandy gave me the line of the day, week, month, year, decade and I’d add the century:

“I don’t pay that much attention to the team until October”    

STUNNING!!!!!  

By the way the SI Highlanders beat Backman’s Boys for the first time in this first three game series.

Saturday ramblings in no specific order:

While I applaud Jerry Manuel for yanking John Maine the other night and showing that if you don’t perform you’re gone, Manuel went a bit too much and it show how much he really can’t stand Maine when it was reported to Manuel that Maine said “he wanted to pitch so badly he’d go out and throw left handed” to which Manuel said with his Gangsta’ laugh “That’s not out of the question , he might have more stuff lefty” funny line but said at the wrong time. There’s nothing to joke about here with this team. The only fans buying tickets to Mets games at $iti Field are the opposing teams fans.  If you’re a Mets fan why would you want to sit in $iti Field and get ridiculed for three hours. Mets fans have been on an island the last few years, the players and management couldn’t care less that everyone who knows us as Mets fans repeatedly asks us the questions about the team failure and get the badgering for the failure of this team and organization. I don’t mind it from friends and family but it’s the front running douchebag Highlander fan who’s knowledge of the team goes as far as wearing a 2 JETER t-shirt and that the organization has won 27 World Series and if you’re a true Highlander fan that person should embarrass you as well.

David Wright has argued more third strikes this past month than he has his whole career combined. At some point the home plate umpire needs to tell Wright, “it’s not me, it’s you” The “hasn’t been good since the beaning” theory is starting too look spot on after each Wright at bat. Maybe it’s not Hojo’s fault but I just wonder if a different voice would help Wright at this point ? It’s just too easy to pitch to David right now. Start him off with an inside pitch and work your way outside, he won’t stride toward the outside at all. The ground out he hit against Rivera to finish the game was the pitch he used to go to right center with, now with this too long swing of his you get a little fart of a ground ball.

Benny Agbayani left the Chiba Lotte Marines because of the way the treated Bobby Valentine. Mike Hampton on WFAN yesterday said Valentine was the best manager he ever played for.  John Franco and Mike Piazza have said the same about Bobby V. You think any of the current Mets will have such loyalty to Jerry Manuel when he’s given his walking papers?

Let Bob Melvin or Terry Collins finish the season and then bring back Bobby V in 2011.

Kevin Russo ? Who the fuck is Kevin Russo? Now every year when this played out Mayor’s Trophy series is played we’ll have to read a Where Are They Now feature on Kevin Russo as he works as a valet parker at the Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Welcome back Uncle Elmer.

So Roy Oswalt has agreed to be traded, good for him, would he be a fit on the Mets?  Hummm  tough to say. At first glance you’d say of course but he’s 32 yrs old with a history of back trouble and his contract runs through 2012 with $15 mil for this year and $32 mil the next two years but there is a $2mil buyout in 2012. It’s not the money that would scare me off but the back issue would and the fact that Oswalt is a countryboy and played in a city that watches baseball until football training camp opens so that would be a concern as well but what would it take personnel wise to bag Oswalt ? Would the ‘Stros take a big bag of junk like Ollie Perez and Luis Castillo ? Or Perez and Fernando Martinez (can we all agree it just isn’t going to happen for this kid?)  and a low level busher?    Like I say the point is moot the Skill Sets won’t pay the money.

It may be ridiculous that the Highlanders have this ban on iPad’s and laptops by fans coming into The Mall on River Avenue and they are ridiculous with their law and order policies on what you can and can not bring into the park (I want to know how much of a kickback security gets from the bowling alley across the street for holding bags? What’s the number for NYC Consumer Affairs ?) but really why do you need to use a laptop or iPad as a fan during a game ? Sit back and watch the game don’t make a job out of it.

Time to finish things off on the parquet floor starting tonight, as pissed as I am over the Mets who cower under the bed when things get tough, I have to make a 180 degree move as a Celtics fan. The C’s are so confident they border on cocky but when Paul Pierce looks in the camera and tells Celtics fans that “we’re coming home to finish this off” and ends it with a wink , I believe him, I mean he is The Truth right? But what I love is the way the team leaders are not afraid to call out anyone on the team, I still laugh at Big Baby Davis after fouling in a bad spot in the game and getting called out from the bench by Kevin Garnett yelling “ I know , I know I fucked up, I fucked up”   Can I get David Wright to do that just once?

Go to hit the road this morning for work as I have a training class to attended so I just want to send out a reminder that tonight at 10PM ET I’ll be hosting THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on BLOG TALK RADIO.

My guests will be Dave Payne and Aviv Blasbalg of Sox vs. Pinstripes. Dave is the Red Sox fan/writer and Aviv the Highlander fan/writer. We’ll look at the season so far for both teams and the race in the AL East and look ahead to the weekend series at Fenway Park between the two teams.

As always, if you can’t join us live you can listen later from our show page on BLOG TALK RADIO or right here at Kranepool Society (click on the widget on the lower left side bar)

Quick hits:

That was one tough game to watch last night between no one in the ball park (announced attendance was 14,350. They must have counted 350 in the seats and 14,000 driving by the ball park), Ollie with his walks and the offense stagnant, by 9PM I bailed not just because the game was dragging but it was time for 24. Just for one day, I want to be like Jack Bauer, I mean what could be better than to grab someone you can’t stand by the neck and say “Do you know who I am” and have them shit themselves.

Big Pelf went for an MRI because he felt tightness in his shoulder.   The MRI came out fine and Pelf said nothing to worry about. I guess when he books a flight to Birmingham, then I’ll panic.

First it was booing Santa Claus, then it was cheering as Michael Irvin was laid out unconscious on the field, then it was a jail at the Vet, then it was fans vomiting on children and now cops using stun guns on fans. Welcome to Philadelphia America’s Most Uncivilized City.

The sun is a risin/most definitely  

Maybe all those who jumped off the Mets bandwagon will end up like a European tourist stuck at JFK, while those of us who stick by our team, through good times and bad, in pulled hamstrings and very rare good health till death or utter disgust do us part, can feel a little better about our favorite baseball team. It was more than the debut of Ike Davis that has put a spring in my Mets fan step this morning, maybe it was the opponent, the Cubbies, Sweet Lou Pinella, whose every day personality was similar to an Icelandic volcano has turned docile. This is Pinella’ last season on his managerial contract and he’s acting like a guy who is ready to go back to Florida and hit the Golden Corral for the 4PM early bird special. It’s kind of sad to see the man who once as a player for the Highlanders challenged Earl Weaver and the whole Baltimore Oriole dugout to a fist fight turn into a guy hoping Walgreen’s is open late so he can pick up his Flomax prescription.

Sure the marquee story today is Ike Davis and how nice is it to see a Met on the back page of the newspaper this morning and word to the Highlander fan, your team did not invent the shaving cream pie to the face, that ritual is as old as Yogi Berra’s tired stupid sayings, and besides A.J. Burnett started his pro baseball career with the Mets so he could have learned that skill way back then. I know most of you Highlander fans didn’t know Burnett was once a Mets farmhand. Most self-centered blowhards never look beyond what’s in front of them. (as I type this I’m listening to Beningno and Roberts first call they take is a Highlander fan who went to the Mets game last night and claimed he wore his Highlander cap to the game and was impressed by Ike. It just proves my theory that Highlander fans will drop their allegiance to their team in a Manhattan minute when things go sour and jump on the Mets bandwagon.  You Highlander fans who troll this site know I’m right. The Highlanders biggest fear is not the Red Sox, it’s the Mets. That’s why that fan base loves to ridicule us and act the fools that they are because of fear, they fear that someday the light switch in Flushing will go on and the Mets will become a contending team and take over the town. It will happen. There are far more Highlander fans that go to Mets game than vice versa and you don’t need to interrogate  them a la Jack Bauer for them to tell you our ball park is where the cool kids hang out unlike their shrine to pomposity)

Jon Niese showed what the “spit tobacco juice in a cup” baseball guys like to say, a lot of bulldog. When a pitcher has all his pitches working and is in command for most of the games, fans go overboard with praise but for me when a youngster like Niese pitches a game where he gets into jams, doesn’t panic and gets out of those situation more on the plus side and not, that is the true test of a big league pitcher. Niese threw a lot of pitches in a limited amount of innings but he threw strikes, got more ground balls than fly balls and only three line drives.

Angel Pagan has done the only thing that could stop J-Man from using GMJ, he has produced at a high level. Hopefully it continues as Carlos Beltran is off to Colorado to get his knee checked and even if he comes back with a positive report I doubt we’ll see him back until after the All-Star break.

Welcome back Jason Bay

Sure I’m overly giddy today after last night’s game, I don’t apologize for it and your right it most likely is a premature ejaculation of optimism but I just hope our baseball season started last night. Mets fans just want to have fun!!!!!

Sure we are all giddy about the Mets 2-1 win but if you sit down and think about it for a moment, yesterday/last night’s game should have your Blue and Orange blood near a boil and not just because we had to endure nearly seven hours of Tim Mc Fullofshit.

While everyone is killing the Stinkin’ Genius for using position players on the mound over men who make their living at the art or for sending those artist to hit in key spots, what those actions screamed out to me was, LaRussa has absolutely no respect for the New York Mets. We all joke on how TLR tries be Belichick like in his approach to baseball but can you tell me if he was playing the Cubs or Phillies he’d have managed the same way? Hell no.

TLR showed you what he thought of the Mets offense by using Felipe Lopez and Jeff Mather to pitch and pitcher Kyle Lohse to play LF. LaRussa was getting killed on Twitter last night and speaking of Twitter I believe I set a Twitter record for most un-follows in a single day as I just about told every Highlander fan who follows me and was rooting for the Cards to tie the score in the bottom of the 19^th inning to go fuck themselves.  That’s why Highlander fans are the Ass Hats of Baseball Fans.

Oh yeah where was I, yes TLR getting his ass handed to him on Twitter because he lifted Matt Holiday in the 10^th but it seemed that Holiday was weak from the flu and just could not continue. This is crazy, me defending TLR so let me get back to reality and skew his ass for letting Yadier Molina catch 20 innings and not using backup Brain Anderson earlier. However I hope Molina has temporary paralysis today and can’t get out of bed. My sympathy for Yadier Molina has a shelf life of five minutes.

Now to our resident genius J-Man. Nice job having Frankie Rodz warm up for eight innings and have him leave his best stuff in the bullpen. As for the Seth Everett report about Mets players not happy with J-Man, don’t kill the messenger. Every player that Everett mentioned did have a beef with the Warlord. Johan Santana, who was not only outstanding on the mound yesterday but gets bows and salutations for remaining on the bench for the whole game and he even wore a rally cap. Big Pelf had his on to but I think he wears is hat like that all the time. Jerry Manuel skipped over Santana for an extra day to let Ollie Perez pitch, rightfully so, Johan was not happy. You do not skip over your Ace unless said Ace request the extra day. Knowing Santana, he’d like to start every other day. Jose Reyes was named in the report as well. Reyes just back from missing just about all of last season and the later part of spring training and is not 100 % at the plate. It would have been best to let him play a few more extended spring games but these are desperate times in Metsville so Reyes did not get much hitting rehab done. So while he tries to get his stroke back, Manuel floats the idea to hit him third. Reyes won’t come out publicly and say what he feels but with trying to get back into baseball shape that last thing he wants or needs is to be moved to the most important spot in the lineup at this time. The thing that makes you wonder about Manuel’ thinking is when Luis Castillo said he was not comfortable batting 8^th J-Man stopped hitting him 8^th. I would think Jose Reyes carries more clout than the Tree Stump. John Maine, disgusted with himself over his piss poor pitching performances hears from the scribes that his pitching life is on the line as per the Warlord. Finally showing some piss and vinegar, Maine marched into Manuel’s office for some answers. Good to see a pulse their John Boy. As for Frenchy? He just a yenta he can’t help himself. Frenchy reminds me of the old ladies on my block as a kid who would open their windows all the way and put a pillow over the sill and watch everyone’s comings and goings and report the news of the street to the other house frows . That’s Frenchy. All that’s missing are humongous boobs and a house dress.

Now this not to say that Seth Everett broke a story here like the Yenta said, he was never in the locker room or at the ball park so most likely Everett is reading all the Mets blogs for his info and of course he’ll never give us credit.

How about the heart of the Mets batting order, Wright-Bay-Yenta going a combined 1 for 20. I’m pretty sure if Jason Bay struck out for the fifth time in the game, his contract would have automatically voided. After Alex Cora’s great catch at in foul territory, John Rico and Sandy Johnson had to tie up Omar Minaya as Omar was ready to extend Cora’s deal for five years.

Judging by Ruben Valdes running the bases yesterday I guess the idea of sliding pits never reached Cuba.

Angel Pagan went 3 for 6 yesterday, the best hitting line on the team, look for GMJ to play the next three games.

Lost in all the hubbub of yesterday was that this was the third straight game the Mets got a top starting performance from a starting pitcher. How about Big Pelf and win and a save in the last three days. I’m rooting hard for John Maine tonight, because with all the bullshit aside it comes down to this team getting pitching. The bullpen has been great but overworked if the starters get deeper into games the next week or so to give the pen a little time to rejuvenate this season can get turned around. See this what happens when you watch a 2-1, 20 inning, 6 hr. 53 min baseball game with Tim McFullofshit talking out his ass, you suffer from McFullofshit Fatigue Syndrome.

That’s why it was damn shame yesterday/last night’s game was not on SNY just to hear Keith Hernandez bitch and moan and of course it would have been the best opportunity for him to scream out a profanity.

  9 days until pitchers and catchers

I’ve had it uptohere with everyone panicking over the impending snow storm heading to NYC by tonight. Yes it is going to snow and snow a lot, about a foot and yes all the assholes will attack the local supermarket to buy 10 gallons of milk and 15 loaves of bread because we all know a snowstorm in NYC is worse than an earthquake in Port A Prince. 

Its fucking incredible how people shit themselves when they here of a snow storm coming. It snows, you shovel, it piles up and guess what? IT GOES AWAY!!!!!!! In the fifty-one years I’ve been breathing and living in NYC THIS HAPPENS EVERY WINTER. DDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL WWIIIIIITTTTHHHHH IIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT !

Now that I got that out of system, The Mets will now slice the center field wall in half to a new height of 8 ft. Also the player’s moms will be responsible on a rotating basis to provide orange slice for each home game.

Marcus Thames (as pointed out by our resident Highlander fan Michael) has signed a minor league deal with the Bronx Bastards. I called Omar Minaya for to ask about the Mets having any interested in Thames or any other free agent still on the market. Here is a transcript of our conversation:

EKS: Omar, with the team not making many moves this off season and basically going with the same starting pitching staff that was dreadful last season, is there any interest in a pitcher like Jarrod Washburn?

Omar Minaya: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

EKS: Marcus Thames signed a minor league deal with the team in the Bronx. A pretty good righty bat who can play outfield and first base, did you have any interested in bringing Thames into the Mets fold?

Minaya: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

EKS:  Thanks for your time Omar.

Sorry I got to go now and head to Shop Rite before all the olive loaf and liverwurst is gone. I don’t know if you heard but a BIG FUCKING SNOW STORM IS COMING!!!!!!!

shout out to The Ropolitans for this pic

Sorry for no posts this morning but it’s been a busy day. So busy that I forget all about the David Wright sit down with the Sports Bloviator. I caught the tail end of the sit down as I traveled back from Brooklyn and I guess you could say it was typical David Wright. All positives and nothing controversial.

It looks like it’s a foregone conclusion that Bengi Molina will be the Mets #1 catcher this coming season. Again this looks to be another move where Omar was told to sit in the corner as the way the Mets have made Molina sit and stew is very un-Mets like. Same with Carlos Delgado who I think the Mets brain trust only went to Puerto Rico to see just to get away from freezing cold weather in NYC. Think about it, if the Mets were strictly an Omar Minaya Production, Molina, Delgado and Joel Piniero would be celebrating their multi year deals by now. Looks like those days are over.

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Art Rust Jr. who was sportstalk radio in this town back in the 1980’s. Rust hosted a three hour call in show on WABC and unlike WFAN he actually talked ALL sports. In fact I had called in to his show because a young Mark Messier came on to talk hockey and agreed to take calls from fans. Rust was a great baseball historian and a huge Highlander fan but his real passion was for The Sweet Science and he had all the big time boxers on his show.  R.I.P. Arthur George.

Well, thank God that’s over. Because I work in Lower Manhattan, I had no choice but to suffer through that awful parade yesterday. I had thought about taking the day off and not subject myself to the pageantry of douchebags that would be on display but then I thought why should I waste a vacation day on a bunch of jerk offs? It’s good thing I did go in yesterday because the entertainment was hilarious.

I’m on Church St so the parade route is up one block to Broadway and over several more blocks but I guess the suburbanites from East Bubble fuck were lost as most of them just clogged up Church St. There were some fans who I guess were long time Highlander fans but for the most part it was your typical bandwaggoners which is basically the overwhelming majority of Highlander fandom. Now that last statement will piss off a few of the Bronx Bastard disciples who come here to this site as they are obsessed with what we Mets fans are up to and I want to thank them for that as it’s the highest compliment we can have. Now I’m not saying all Highlander fans are clueless. The majority of the Highlander bloggers I’ve been around are so smart and sophisticated it makes me wonder what happened in their life that led them to the dark side. But for the most part Highlander fans can not recite their history the way Mets fan can.

Sure thye all know Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Berra and all the players who were on the Championship teams but how many of them can tell you about guys like Stan Bahnsen, Shane Rawley, Roberto Kelly or Steve “Bye-Bye” Balboni ? Just the hard core fans which are a minority.  Look I know Mets fans like you and me are hardcore but if I mention the name Mackey Sasser or Mike Vail or Glendon Rusch more times than not I will get a “ah yeah” smile from a Mets fan about players from yesteryear.

See the big difference between Mets fans and Highlander fans is that we have a passion and love for our team, the Highlander fan has a love and a passion for Championships.  Now that’s not to say we don’t love a championship you bet we do and we get angry and sometime nasty when we don’t win but after about a week of being pissed off, we go to Mets.com looking for next season schedule to see when opening day is and the first home game so we leave that date open to make sure we’re either at $iti Field or in front of the TV to watch our Mets.

Reading some of the stories today most Highlander fans were talking about how great the day was but now we need to win Championship 28. How fucking ignorant are you?  Can’t you just enjoy the moment?

Mets fans are funny because as we bitch and moan about our team and the price of tickets while we’re either writing a check or pluging a credit card number into a web site to make a purchase.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see the Mets win two Championships, maybe it’s just experience as I thought after the each one, the World Series trophies would come in droves. Well I learned they don’t. I thought Gil Hodges would the Mets manager forever. He wasn’t. Of course Tom Seaver “The Franchise” would be a Met 4 Life. Didn’t turn out that way. Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were going to walk in Cooperstown together. Nope. Add in losses to the Dodgers in the NLCS in 1988 and to the Cards in 2006 and of course the recent collapses if anything you’d think I’d have turned my back on the Mets and crossed to the dark side. NO FUCKING WAY!!!!!

After watching the people at that parade yesterday and listening to Highlander fans calling WFAN and talking out of their ass I must say it has made even prouder to be a Mets fan and to associated with the Mets fans.

I don’t know what moves the team will make this off season but hopefully they make enough to put the team back into contention but no matter what I’ll be at $iti Field on opeing day and so will you because you’re a Mets fan and you should be proud of  that.

OH WHAT A NIGHT

Where were you on October 25^th 1986? I was in my living room in our brand new railroad flat in Bay Ridge watching one of the great comebacks not only in Mets history but all of baseball history.

We haven’t seen a Daniel Murphy post in a while so thank you John “Metsradamus” Coppinger for bringing up Murph and remember what will happen when you mess with The Murph.

A Mets minor league pitcher Rafael Castro died of a heart attack at the Mets Venezulan academy. It’s sad when anyone dies like that but the fact that Castro was 18 years old is stunning.

The TV remote will get a good workout tonight as Game 6 of the ALCS goes up against the New York Football Giants and the Phoenix by way of St Louis and Chicago Cardinals at Giants Stadium.

If the Angels can get ahead of the Highlanders early like they did in Game 5, then it will unleashed the panic stricken Joey G to go one pitcher per hitter and deplete his bullpen. If you’re a Highlander fan you have to be concerned that the Great Mariano has to sit down with Phil Hughes and give him a pep talk as it’s clear Hughes has that deer in the headlights look about him and that the total clusterfuck that is the Joba Chamberlain Experience has been ineffective to the point, if you’re the Angels the key here is to get to the Highlander pen.

Not to break balls or anything but the baseball fan in me wants an Angel win tonight just to have some Game 7 drama.

Maybe the collars of the Highlander Nine are loose and comfy but that’s not the case for some of their fans. Most of the Highlander fans that I grew up with or the ones I know who are my age or a little younger, are still very feisty. When I mention 2004 to them, I’m greeted with a narrow eyed reply of “THAT AIN”T HAPPIN’ THIS YEAR YOU STUPID ASS METS FAN” Now, I tell them, “That’s what I want to hear” I want to hear you believe in your team. But the younger more inexperienced Highlander fan who jumped on the bandwagon late in life and thinks they are owed a parade down Broadway every year,  are really, really scared about tonight’s Game 6.

Last night just reading all the little Tweets on Twitter from the Neophyte fans of the Bronx Bastards, I was shocked, SHOCKED by the pessimism of these youngsters. Hey kids, your conduct is very unbecoming of a Highlander Groupie, in fact it’s down right embarrassing. Don’t you youngsters watch YES and don’t you listen to the Highlander Gospel according to John Sterling? Com’on put your boots on and put on your Swish-O-Licious shirts and root for your team and stop questioning your leader Joey G, especially for the way he has handled his relief pitching moves, they are right out the Old Torre testament. And how about some of you going out and buying some 43 MARTE or 91 ACEVES t-shirts to show what real fans you are? Shit, anynone can wear a JETER 2 or TEXIERIA 25 but it takes a real fan to wear a MARTE or ACEVES. And stop complaining about Joey G taking Alex Rodriguez out for a pinch runner, sure it was the asshole play of the series but you guys hate Rodriguez anyway? What? Oh alls good with A-Rod, Really? You’re sure? See it’s hard to keep up with you guys on who sucks and who is a living legend. See I thought Swish-O-licious was the greatest thing to hit the Bronx since Grandmaster Flash but word on the Grand Concourse is he FUCKINSUCKS. Eh, what can you do? I got to go, the Rally Monkey is hungry I’m going to Hunts Point to get him some plantains.