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.

Geez, what a morning. As the well rounded person that I am, I do socialize with Highlander fans and some are even close friends, so this morning my phone has been ringing a lot and my usual quiet ferry ride to Manhattan was disturbed by irate Highlander fans who hate their managers’ guts.

I was under the assumption that the manager of the Highlanders was named “Joe” Girardi but my Highlander buddies keep calling him “Fuckin’” Girardi, oh well. I’m just a sounding board for these folks, the same ones who find pleasure in breaking my balls as the Mets let season after season go down the drain. But in time of Highlander misery they reach out to me because they know they can’t help each other as Highlander fans are incapable of compassion and understanding but know Mets fans are the salt of the earth of baseball fans.

Do I turn my back on these fine folks? Of course not, it goes against my Mets fan nature and besides some of these fine Highlander fan folk are very handy with hammers and know how to run electrical wires, two things I’m clueless about, so as payment for my time, I will get two light fixtures installed in my home.   

I tell them how right they are that the Highlanders are facing three opponents, the Angels, the umpires and Joe “Fuckin’” Girardi. Then after they vent, I soothe them with gushing praise for Jeter and Mariano and talk about Alex Rodriguez’ becoming “clutch”,the more I say A-Rod’s clutch, the weeping subsides. I then go on about the Big Stallion, CC Sabathia going today (I don’t mention the 3 days rest because I don’t want the boo-hooing starting up again) and then I go to the tough love mode as I shout to them “COM’ON YOU’RE THE HIGHLANDERS GOD DAMNIT, YOU WILL RISE ABOVE THIS AND WIN THE SERIES” and off they go,  happy and confident and appreciative of their Mets fan buddy’s support. What they don’t know is, I’m downloading pictures of Howie Kendrick to hang up on my cubicle wall.

Speaking of Highlander fans, Lisa Swan, the Highlander half of Subway Squawkers included yours truly in a piece she wrote for The Faster Times asking Mets bloggers about our thoughts on a Highlander-Phuck Phace World Series.  I thank Lisa for including me in this piece.

Mike Silva writes about Scott Boras talking Texieria money for Matt Holliday. Here’s a surprise, Holliday would love to play for either NY team but leans more Highlander than Mets. What a shock (eyeroll) here’s a little advice for Mr. Holliday, you see how those fine folks in St Lou reacted to you misplaying that fly ball ? That doesn’t happen here. If you were a Met, it would be more you wearing sirloin underwear and we’re a bunch of starving Rottweilers. Do yourself a favor Matt, stay in the Midwest.

Rick Peterson is being fitted for a new Jacket with the Brew Crew. Good luck Rick and good luck Brewski fans with your Rick Peterson Decoder Rings.

Someone at Stub Hub is going to rot in hell for eternity, and rightfully so.

Jayson Stark had to have typed this story on last night Phuck Phace-Hollywood Bums game with his nose, as his hands were busy doing something else. Pull your pants up Jayson.

Another way I know I’m getting old is I remember when George Steinbrenner bought the Highlanders from CBS back in 1973. In his new book GEORGE The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built The Yankee Empire, (published by Wiley) bestselling author, Peter Golenbock tells the story of Boss George and his team only the way Golenbock can with extensive interviews and highly entertaining anecdotes throughout this book. No one knows the history of the Highlanders like Golenbock . Of course the Highlander fan would love this book but put aside your Highlander hating for a moment, this book is a history lesson as the Highlanders were down and out and love him or hate him Steinbrenner brought them back to prominence to the most valuable sports franchise in the world.

It takes a gifted writer like Golenbock to tell the story of such a complex man as George Steinbrenner GEORGE The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built The Yankee Empire is an informative and entertaining read.

It would be nice if Omar Minaya calling out his roster was the reason for this great Mets turnaround or the fan base calling out the players to “man up” as well, but as always it’s the starting pitching that has gotten this machine humming. Yes I am obsessed with pitching these days, I’m still stewing over 15 walks by my pitchers on Saturday this isn’t healthy for me or the kids. I’m lighting candles in church. The homeless in the ferry terminal are running away from me telling people “that guy there needs help he keeps muttering –low in the strike zone, pitch to contact- and is rocking back and forth; I’m trying to release my inner Mazzone. I’m leaving work early to day just to get my X-Box-ing, text messaging, girl infatuated, 13 year olds to the park today for some remedial baseball practice. I shouldn’t have shaved this morning as I do my best work when I look gnarly. But I digress…

Any game the Mets can get 6 innings at least from a starter the odds are they will come out on top now that the 7-8-9 innings are in the hands of the firm of Parnell, Putz and Rodriguez, the New York version of the Reds “Nasty Boys” (we need our own nickname for these three) plus the fact that this team is hitting and starting to score runs (how about tonight they put up some crooked numbers for Johan ?) so it’s nice to have no complaints about what’s going on in Flushing. Maybe my kids will turn it a round as well. Just once I’d love total serenity from baseball.

Even though his numbers are not pretty, it is kind of fascinating watching Livan Hernandez pitch. He went mostly with fastballs and change up and spotted his slider and curve, mostly the slider as he had trouble locating that pitch due to the very windy conditions. What I enjoy about watching a pitcher like Livan is he has a large repertoire of pitchers and he uses them early and finds what’s working and what’s not. He never panics when the pitches aren’t working he just goes with the one or two that are and tries to make the best of it. The results are not always favorable but I like how he thinks things though. Okay, no more about pitching.

Let’s go on to catching. Looks like J- Man has made up his mind by saying that Omir Santos “Isn’t going anywhere” not matter when Brian Schneider comes back. Maybe the team in the Bronx would have an interest in Schneider? Could the Mets and Highlanders become trade partners? Last they did I believe was in 2004 when the Mets shipped Mike Stanton to the Bronx for Felix Heredia. Problem is there is no one on the Highlanders the Mets want or need so it would have to be for prospects.

I know we all bleed Orange and Blue around here and you’re probably saying to yourself “why should I read “The Yankee Years” (Doubleday) by Joe Torre and TomVerduuci? Well if you’re a baseball fan and if you really want to feel better about being a Mets fan you’ll read this book.

Verducci does the writing here and that’s what makes this a first rate book. St Joseph of Torre adds in lots of inside the Highlander clubhouse stuff and the book does come off a bit like a tell all jilted lover story but the real big contributors to this book are bullpen catcher Mike Borzello, who is not afraid to let his feelings known like when he tells how the Derek Jeter-Alex Rodriguez War of the Roses spilt the team, David Cone and Mike Mussina who come off as straight shooters.

The book reveals how the Steinbren-ian way of just buying talent bothered Brian Cashman as the more he dealt with Billy Beane, Theo Epstein and Mark Shapiro, he wanted to run the Highlanders in the same new school manor.

Verducci also delves in the PED Revolution with Rick Helling comeing off as the voice in the forest pertaining to steroids and how they were rampant through baseball and needed to be controlled and both ownership and the MLBPA told him to “Sit down and shut up”

The book is a great read and just shows that The Yankee Way is really a myth as Verducci and Torre let us know that once his core guys (Bernie Williams, Chuck Knoblauch, Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neil and David Cone) left the team, they were replaced by guys who had no idea what it took to win and it’s a problem that the Highlanders still have today.

After reading this book I realized the New York Highlanders are not as regal or as highfalutin as my Highlander fan relatives, co-worker or next door neighbor will lead me to believe.

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.