Rivera Blows Two

..and we are not talking about Jeter and A-Rod.

I never quite understood how Mariano absolutely dominated with throwing cut fastballs on the left side of the plate almost exclusively all these years. Gagne keeps batters off balance with four nasty pitches that change drastically in speed. At Mariano's advanced age, he may want to try and reinvent himself like Pedro. The Red Sox have him pretty figured out. His 3.70 ERA and .286 BAA since 2002 against the Red Sox is not exactly dominating or in line with his career numbers.

One funny thing that came out of the blown save was Michael Kay's accusation that the Red Sox were cheating. His reasoning that they were cheating was because they lefties were opening up so they can get a good hack at that inside cutter that he throws 99% of the time instead of having it in on the handle. I did not hear it since I hate the show and avoid it at all costs, but a person familiar with the show said Kay repeated the world cheating about hundred times. The question is was he refering to this cheating like when a third baseman cheats in when a bunt is expected, or was he is refering to this cheating as in the sense of the femme slap heard around the world. If he was referring to it as cheating as in modifying the stance because they batter knows where the pitch is coming, he probably would not of felt a need to harp on it.

Kay went on to say that you'd understand if you were a baseball fan, but I have no idea what he is supposedly talking about and I would consider myself a baseball fan. I guess the Yanks are not allowed to just lose and Yankee cronies are more intelligent than me.

* * *

Tom Glavine never ceases to amaze me. How a guy can just throw fastballs and changeups and work in the mid to high 80's is on the major league level is nuts. However, he was not successful yesterday. Joe Randa 6, Mets 5. I'd love to blame the shoddy umpiring, but the Mets did not do good. Despite Glavine's two strike threes that were called balls and resulted in all his runs, he was not sharp and did not pitch good enough to win. That Cincy lineup has some firepower and balls seem to fly out of the park. Mets are still looking for that ever elusive first win. No pressure Kaz, you only have millions of rabid New York Met fans watching you today looking for you to pick the team up and go at least six innings and bring back a win. A confident Kaz said, "I think I'm ready". I hope you are.

"I have no idea (what happened)," said Mientkiewicz. "I know one thing: I'm dumber for having gone through that. I thought I knew the game. I'll get a rule book tonight and see what's going on."

Dave Miley is a dick.

Victor Diaz is as cool as the other side of a pillow.

"It felt good," said the 23-year-old Diaz, who batted .294 in 15 games for the Mets last season. "I wasn't pressing. I was just playing."

Victor can rake. I was not up on the idea of him batting eighth due to his propensity to K, but the kid is bad ball hitter. He'll never be up there to take a walk, and he's not looking to cheat himself, but he can hit balls pitched anywhere.

"If Mike Piazza does not catch tomorrow, it will probably be Ramon Castro."
~ Fran Healy

Probably? Fran, who else would it be?

What?

Right-hander Gaby Hernandez, who is rated the Mets' No. 3 prospect by Baseball America, heads up the Suns pitching staff. Hernandez has a sinker that reaches 94 mph.

A 94 mph sinker, a mid 90's fastball, and great command.

Kevin Kernan has seen enough. However, being a Met fan means being part masochistic. I have not seen enough. I've seen that Koo looks like he can be good and an instant fan favorite, Hernandez actually looked really sharp, and Aybar could be a decent 6th or 7th inning guy. Why give up already? I think the pen deserves more than two shots. It was ugly, but it's not the end.