Sad day in Metsville

Some it hurts to be a Mets fan. There's a cool FB page about that. Today, it's just sad to be a Mets fan, for a few reasons. Let's start with the mundane.

Last night, the Mets lost a painful game to the Phillies. The scrappy Mets battled back from 2-0 against Roy Oswalt, and took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh. The reliable bullpen faltered, surrendering that lead in the top of the eighth (Izzy, whom I root for a big way). But, Izzy stranded Rollins on third with one out, and things were looking up a bit. Then came T9, and K Rod was hurling. With first and second and one out, Murphy lets one get by and the Phils go on to score 3. Move to B9, Mets have one in, and first and third with one out. Who's up? Murphy, with a chance at redemption. But he goes 4-6-3, game over. Ugh.

Sad point number 2...33,000 at Citi last night, many wearing that dreadful crimson. There was a day when Philly would be littered with blue and orange, and they have turned the tables and stuck it in our face. They take over our place, and usually, they win. And then there's all the news of the week, most troubling is the "bleeding money" part, and the constant talk of dismantling the team. Wow, there's even talk that Einhorn's money will be needed to keep the team viable. Baseball, in New York, with viability concerns? OMG.

Then, there's the most real, and saddest, news of all. Gary Carter may have malignant brain tumors. When heroes from your youth show their humanity, it really gets to you. I was in San Diego, watching the Mets, in 1985. Yes, everyone has a story like this. But I was at a bar after the game, and Gary Carter walks in. The Mets had won the game, so I congratulated him, told him I was from CT, out there to see the road trip. He asked me to sit with him, and introduced me to Rolf Benerschke, a kicker for the Chargers who had joined Carter at the bar. We talked baseball for 5 minutes, and I excused myself, not to over-stay my welcome.

Fight this, Kid. Be strong. You're not only a HOFer, you're someone who made the game better because of your contributions to it. Prayers are with you, number 8.

What the hell is going on?

I looked at my calendar, and I was right. This is 2011. It's not 2009 (yikes, it hurts to even refer to that awful year). So, what in the world is going on with all these injuries? Today, RA goes down, and this one does not sound good, kids. RA bravely says he'll make his next start, but not by the looks of things in Chicago today. And, Ike is not close, though he's eligible to come off tomorrow. He's still confined to the pool. DW is "progressing", but who knows if he'll be off when he's eligible next week. Johan is throwing from the top of the mound, but...?

$200 million is coming in, with young Mr. Einhorn taking on 30% of the club. Great, but then you hear that half of it goes to pay down debt. How much of it goes to keeping Reyes? That's what the fans want to know. The latest rumor has Jose going to SF, as they need offense more than ever with the injury to Posey. Doesn't it suck to constantly hear about plans to turn the Mets into a small market team?

As for matters on the field, the 2-4 road trip is not what we expected (especially after winning the first one). They're 7.5 out, with three against the Phils coming up. Then 4 with Pitt, followed by three with the Braves, all at home. Many are saying that this stretch will determine if the fire sale takes place or not. Again, it's getting old to hear about the metaphoric vultures that are circling the team.

Final note...Dana Brand, ardent Mets fan, passed away this week. I never met him, but he was kindly remembered by Coop, Ed, and Steve from the EKS today. From what I'm reading, the Mets community lost a good one.

Dare I say, "It's nice to be a Met fan"?

Yes, today it is nice to be a Met fan. Why? Well of course, it's because they beat the Evil Empire last night (thanks, Larry Luchino). And it's nice to be back at .500 after a putrid start. But, it goes beyond that. This team is essentially drama-free, scrappy, and just pleasant to watch.

We all know that it will take an unabashed miracle for this team to be playing in October. But isn't is nice to know that Assistant VPs are not challenging minor leaguers to fist fights? That GMs are not accusing reporters of pining for their jobs? That the customer base does not have bellies of anger to be unleashed at an awful pitcher, and decrepit second baseman? That closers are not punching out middle-aged men?

Yes, the problems are NOT over. Sandy faces some serious issues in the next 8 weeks. Does he trade this one and that one? Of course, all the geniuses on sports radio say that it's a forgone conclusion that the Mets will be shattered, and be the Pirates for the next 3 years. If nothing else, the improved play gives the self-annointed baseball scholars pause. I hope it gives Sandy pause, too, and I ask you, Mr. Alderson, did you see the game-saving play by Reyes on the A-Rod ball last night? Had to get that one in...

Final benefit to winning last night. WFAN is full of Yankee callers, outraged at the audacity of their team to lose a game. Get King Felix for a POG (pile of garbage). MLB requires that the Yankees get whatever they want, for whatever they want to give. HAHAHAHA!!!! And Joe D just called. In addition to the fact that he can'r speak English, it's great to hear that tool angry at his Yankees. LET'S GO METS!!

This time, it's pink eye

Carols Beltran sits today, with what is believed to be pink eye. I could go down the "what's next, chicken pox" route, but I won't do that. But come on, doesn't it seem that this team just has plain bad luck? K Rod had pink eye last year, and when was the last time you heard of any other MLB player having pink eye? I'm still shocked that Ike is on the DL, after what looked like the kind of bump you may experience in the office if you round a corner without looking. The next night, Robinson Cano was hit in the head with a fastball. Cano is fine, Ike goes on the DL. Maybe we need more garlic at Citi Field.

Some of the injury news isn't so bad. Pagan is beginning baseball activities, and Beato is throwing, and may be close. And even Johan is throwing from the slope of the mound, butI'm getting way ahead of myself.

The Dickster was bad today, and he's been bad pretty much all year. I'm a little concerned by his post game comments, that they've been hitting weak ground balls that find holes off of him. Hey, RA, you've got to be better, plain and simple. He's actually been the weakest of the starting 5, and that was not expected. Tomorrow, Capuano goes for the "two out of three", and I think it's really important to get that game. Houston is a bad team, and the Mets have to continue the march to .500. I just said "march to .500", it's nice to have such high expectations!

Rut-Roh

Chris Young has a re-tear in the shoulder. Whether it's rehab or surgery, he's likely done for the year. This is the same injury he had last year, when he chose to rehab it. Too bad, as he was pitching to a 1.88 ERA. Dillon Gee, you have a TALL order here, go get 'em.

I want to kick some Colorado butt this week. It was less than a month ago that they (or should I say Tulo) embarrassed the Mets at Citi. How about a 4-2 trip guys, Houston is up after Colorado and can be beaten.

Mr. Alderson, you've got some 'splaining to do...

Did you watch the game last night, Sandy? Did you see Jose Reyes play? Two triples, a double, stellar defense....did you see all that? And can you tell us how, with $40 million coming off the books, and a new, minority owner, you can't at least offer this guy $15 million per year before you trade him, or he goes FA? Are you kidding?

I'm sick of the vultures swarming over this team...Reyes will go, Wright will go, blah, blah, blah...I always tell people (in self defense) that we have the smartest front office in baseball (all we need is a Yale grad to round out the set). The smart guys had better see that Wright, and especially Reyes, are not part of the problem. The are guys you build around, not without. Not to mention, you have to sell some tickets. Maybe someone should give Sandy a highlight reel (strange word) of Mets baseball, '78 and '79, post Seaver. Don't look at the horrid play on the field, look at the empty seats at Shea. Citi will look exactly that way, if you don't do this correctly. You're a smart guy, use that education.

So the Reyes rumors have started...

The Giants are in town (painful loss last night, BTW), and since they're allegedly a suitor for Reyes, the rumors have begun. I guess that's to be expected. Some people say "go ahead and trade him, they haven't won with him". That statement makes me want to pull my hair out. Here's why:

Yes, they haven't won with him

That means that they need more than what they have with Jose to win

Take Reyes out, now you need more than what you had with him, PLUS you now need to replace .280, 10 HR, 40 RBI, and 50 SB, not to mention stellar defense

Essentially, lose Reyes, and your road to respectability gets longer

None of this matters, because Alderson will make the call, and he's the one who counts. Financially, with all the money coming off the books, they can afford Reyes. And they don't have a backup plan-PLEASE don't tell me Tejada is a viable replacement. He has Ordonez written all over him. That great glove is wonderful, until the first time he leaves 6 in scoring position and they lose the game by a run.

This may be a long summer, in more ways than one.

Get on the roller coaster

The 2011 New York Mets. They're up, they're down, and they turn you upside down. These guys will motivate, frustrate, and infuriate you. After a 6 game winning streak, they've now dropped 3 in a row. Yesterday, they lost to Halladay. They were supposed to, so that's not so bad, right? Well, maybe it was.

They had Mr. Wonderful on the ropes in the 4th. They had a run in, and runners on first and second, after 3 straight singles. All of this with no outs. But, they let Halladay off the hook, on a fly ball, a K and a ground out. It's no mystery that you have to cash in against guys like Hallday when you have a chance, and they didn't. Predictably, Niese surrenders the lead in the seventh, and the Mets go on to lose. Tonight, they try their luck against Cliff Lee, to try to avoid a 2-4 road trip, that started out so well after 2 wins in DC. I think I'm getting motion sick.

What's up with Bay? He's seen Halladay quite a bit, and looked lost in key spots yesterday.

Someone said this was the run of Cy Young winners, with Hallday, Lee, and then Lincecum on Wednesday. They're already 0-1 on this "run".

Rumors are that a minority investor is close. Reports say that $200 million is on the way. Good, we may need to have a safety inspection of this roller coaster.