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.

Was last night THE GAME? Most seasons there is THE GAME, THE GAME you look back on when the season turned around, (or GULP went down the drain) THE GAME they do documentaries about, THE GAME that books are written about, Yeah THAT GAME.

For all the problems with empty seats, obstructive views and figuring out whether to eat at the Shake Shack, Mama’s or the Taqueria, last night was the first REAL Mets game of the $iti Field era. Yesterday on his bloviating radio show, Mike Francesa railed against the New Highlander Stadium that there was “no juice in the building” and the overpriced seats in the front row are unoccupado, well, Mets fans hold your heads high as the same can not be said about you at $iti Field last night.

Now I wasn’t there but on SNY it came through my TV like the crowd was totally into the game and why not, in the fine tradition of Seaver, and Gooden we now have the newest must see, can’t miss a start, starting pitcher in Johan Santana. If the Skill Sets are thinking of erecting a statue of the The Franchise outside $iti, they better save some bronze for The Franchise II, Santana.  

Why did J-Man take Santana out after 7 innings? I know his spot came up in the order with Sheffield on 1^st and 2 outs but the Putz was not available and Santana had only threw 101 pitches, in the 7^th he threw just 9 pitches (6 K’s) and the Mets took the lead and he was on extra rest, the adrenaline rush from the crowd would have put him over the top. God forbid he would be allowed to pitch a complete game and shut out our most hated rival. I don’t know about you but when I saw Feliciano come in to pitch the 8^th  I started think about the puke bucket.

I think the reason Jason Werth Mackey Sasser-ed the ball in right that arrived there due to Pedro Feliz error in the 7^th was he couldn’t tell if Delgado was running or standing still.

Enjoy your trip to purgatory Ollie.

Mike Vaccaro is my hero. It’s all about the FUNDIES. The most frustrating aspect of coaching is showing a player something and the player not able to execute it. I have kids with great arms that pitch for me but trying to explain the mechanic of pitching they just can’t grasp it. I’ve simplified it by just asking that they land on the ball of their front foot and bend they knee. When the do that they throw a low strike and look back at me in amazement. But on the next pitch, they go right back to the bad habit of landing on their heel and the ball flys right out of the strike zone. UGGH!

Nice to see Jon Niese get the start over Ken Takahashi. Niese’ record is nothing to get excited over (0-2  6.55 ERA in 5 starts) but it could be a factor of pitching for a very bad Buffalo Bisons team. One encouraging number for Niese is his 25/8 K/BB so maybe moving up with the big club will help him.

Not only does Denis POTVIN SUCK but he’s out of work as well. Hey Fishstick fans your boy is more associated with the Florida Panthers than he is if the soon to be KC Scouts LOL. 

As great as it was to watch are darling boy, D-Wright get an opposite field base hit to beat Puerto Rico, it all went to shit with the news that he fouled a ball off his big toe in game that meant NOTHING!!!!!! To make it worse, Wright is the lone 3^rd baseman left on Team America so he stayed in the game –clearly in pain- and has made it known that no matter what the Mets say, he will play this weekend in the semi-finals, even with only nine toes. Add that to OP and his mid season pitch count and that the returning Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are exhausted from this bullshit tournament, we of the Flushing Faithful are holding our breath that the Mets won’t have to add injury to the list of enemies to start the season.

You know you’re a red neck when…………………..

Anyone have Mackey Sasser’ phone number?

The Mets do not want to see Billy Wagner ever again. Forget about him coming back in September to fortified the bullpen it’s not happening. Remember how Wagner bitched and moaned about coming into non-save situations and not starting innings and not coming in for 4 outs saves so where exactly does he fit in here? He’s not going to close or set up a save hell, he isn’t even going to be the bridge to the set up man (that looks to be Bobby Parnell) so he doesn’t fit here anymore. It’s not personal, it’s business.

Au revior Chief, unfortunately your time has come as Livan Hernandez has won the 5^th starter spot in the Mets rotation. The back ups for the starting rotation are Tim Redding, Jon Niese, and Nelson Figueroa and if it goes any deeper than that it won’t matter anymore as we will all be looking for the start of NFL training camp if it comes to that.