Walling Takes One for the Team

Denny Walling fired? I guess the Mets thought he was the problem. I just do not buy it. Someone had to take the fall right? Not hitting with men in scoring position and just not hitting in general? Fire the hitting coach. After all, that is their job right? To make sure the team hits? Now, I never thought the hitting coaches had the same impact on hitters as the pitching coaches have on pitchers. Maybe they do, I will not pretend to know. Maybe if someone has a slight hitch or doing something hair off and the hitting coach does not pick it up, it can exacerbate the problem. However, these deficiencies seem to be more of the product that management put on the field coupled with some bad injuries. He was the goat. It is unfortunate, but that is what happens. Bobby V. was the got fired when it should have been Phillips much earlier than he did, but someone has to take the fall in management’s eyes. It is someone else's fault but never their own. It cannot possibly be shitty performances by hitters, an injury plagued year, or the team THEY put together. If Reyes was healthy, Floyd did not miss almost 30 games, Cameron's pinky was never injured, and if Phillips was not slumping badly (Walling was the hitting coach last year and there did not seem to be a problem with Phillips), Walling has job. How can he be faulted for bad luck and Cameron striking out habitually with the bases juiced. I guess only time will tell if this works.

"Sure, I'm disappointed it didn't work out," he said, "but that's part of the game. The thing that's the most disappointing to me is that I know the team is not that far from turning it around. I'm just sorry I'm not going to be a part of it"

Denny, I hope this team turns the hitting around too. It could get late very early if it does not.

With all that being said, I can really see Don Baylor's expertise paying off already! The Mets were ripping the ball and having no problems scoring runs at will. The game started off weird enough with Steve Trachsel getting called for a balk in two consecutives innings. When the hell is the last time that that happened? He recovered nicely to go 6 2/3 innings, surrendering eights hits, while giving up two runs. Hopefully he can get back on track now.

Everyone got into the action tonight, Piazza raised his average to .308 with a 3 for 4 performance, Floyd raised his average to .280 after a 2 for 3 performance, Wiggie picked up three hits himself and drove in two, Karim got off his homer skid by taking one deep to right field off of Davis for two-run shot, and Cameron even got in on it with a two run double in the 1st.

It was an all-around good game, however, Vance Wilson came up limp trying to score from second which is the only bad thing about the game. I'll be at the Matt Ginter vs. CC Sabathia match up tomorrow, so I hope the hot hitting can carry over. They will have a tougher time than they did last night. Sabathia is slight better than Davis.

My two favorite Capital City players were at it again. Lastings Milledge went 3 for 4, with three runs scored, two doubles, and an RBI. He is now batting .333. Capital City went off and scored 16 runs in total, but they really did not need much. My other favorite Bomber, Yusmeiro Pettit was just devastating last night. He had an incredible 14 K's in six innings, while only walking one, and surrendering two hits and no runs. He is 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA. It is safe to say he has low A-ball figured out.

Trying not to be out done by Capital City, Norfolk put on an offensive display of their own en route to a 15 to 8 victory over Syracuse. Although Heilman tried his hardest to lose the game, the offense would have nothing of it. Chris Basak who was in AAA in '03 and was inexplicably banished along with prentice Redman back to AA this season lead the way with 2 homeruns and six RBIs. The prodigal son returns for his second big game. David Wright goes 2 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI. Prentice Redman kept up his torrid pace with a 3 for 4 night with two doubes, two runs score, one RBI, and drew one walk. All of a sudden this Norfolk team has a formidable lineup.

David Wright moved up to #3 on Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet after his debut in Norfolk. I'm guessing he is going to be fixture here until he actually gets promoted to the majors. Lastings Milledge made his second in row, but dropped out of the top 20 and is only 'in the team photo'.

A movie star was on the mound last night. Kazuhito Tadano who stared in, ummm, an amature movie in his college days, pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

Indians minor league pitcher Kazuhito Tadano is asking for forgiveness for what he called a one-time mistake -- his appearance in a gay porn video in which he engaged in a homosexual act.

Through an interpreter, Tadano added: "I'm not gay. I'd like to clear that fact up right now."

....Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The Detroit Pistons completely owned the Lakers on their way to the NBA title. I usually do not care about basketball, but I do not particularly like the Lakers, nor am I fond of Shaq. Ben Wallace just wrecked them and it should have been Detroit in four. Congrats to MoTown, after what the Tigers and Lions did to them the last few years, they deserved a championship almost as much as Met fans do.

Kobe just played his last game in a Laker uniform. He is going to leave the Lakers and maybe join the Nuggets, but it is pretty apparent he will not be in LA. That was too much dedicated to basketball.