The Metropolitans Food Review For Shea Eats

If you've ever gone to a ballpark other than Shea, most likely you'll find some interesting foods. Some of the food you will abroad would be pulled a pork sandwich, chipotle cheeseburgers, garlic fries, brisket sandwich, sushi, panani, slopilicious turkey legs, pierogies, fish tacos, Primanti Brothers sandwich (which has roast beef, cheese, cole slaw, and French fries between two buns), salmon sandwiches, bison dogs/burgers, baby-back ribs, bratwurst, Polish sausage, and fresh roasted sweet corn amongst other foods. Now you'll read some of the above things and think they could never be good at a baseball stadium, but that is just simply not true. Some of the above things taste as good in the stadiums as you can get anywhere else. The sausage and pepper sandwiches are the unofficial signature food of most NY sports stadiums, but they are really not very good. Outside of the hot-dogs, not much has been worth mentioning while watching your favorite New York fan at their home stomping grounds. When you are under the tyranny of Aramark, you come to expect less.

Now don't get me wrong, I go to the stadium and stuff my face. I love the hot dogs, I eat the fries, I've had the nachos, I've had the burritos, and just about everything else, but nothing made you want to slap yo' mamma in the past. This year, the Mets have made a few additions and subtractions to their food family. While I have been only at a few games, here is what I've discovered so far. As suspected, the Mets one year experiment with Quiznos and their two sandwiches are a thing of the past with their recent deals with Subway, which you may or may not know, but Subway has a few commercials starring Willie that you rarely see/hear during baseball games. Subway has broke onto the scene with four, count 'em four, sandwiches doubling Quizno's sandwich options. The only problem is, I do not want to come to Shea and eat what I can get on every corner of midtown Manhattan. The Mets did add Cuban sandwiches, which are not bad, but I suspect they would be even better if they are not frozen in the middle. My suggestion to anyone thinking about trying one is wait until the third or fourth inning before trying one. They are heated by heat lamps and then pressed on a grill, but not quite long enough for frozen ones. Down on the field level in the right field concourse, the Mets cannot find a food stand that actually sticks and this year should no different. They have added a place that serves Chinese food. Word on the street is the stray cat problem has gotten a lot better, so proceed with caution on anything they label "chicken". Me? I would never each that Chinese food...never.

Now, to the food rankings.

= Slap Yo' Mamma
= Slap Yo' Grand Mamma
= Slap Yo' Self
= Kick the Dog

The Mets dumped Khan's in favor of Nathan's hot dogs and aside from bringing in Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, bringing in Nathan's was the Mets best off season move. The hot dogs in the stadium are available jumbo or foot long. You can get either with chili and/or cheese amongst some other toppings if you so choose. However, the foot long chili cheese dog is completely and utterly unnecessary and painful. If you are not masochistic like me skip it.
Hot Dog:
Foot Long Hot Dog:
Foot Long Chili Cheese Dog: at first, negative later

In terms of ballpark food, I very rarely have anything that strikes my fancy enough for a round two outside of the classic hot dog. However, one thing did strike my fancy enough for a second round....a very greasy second round. I was drawn to the Nathan's concession stand because this is the only place you can find 20 oz. Miller Lite beer and short lines for beer. Once I go to the line to buy my beer, I saw onion rings, corn dogs, and crinkle cut fries. I do realize I just said I hate eating things I get just about anywhere, and Nathan's is in every mall in North Jersey, but corn dogs get a free pass. The paper they are wrapped in after they are fried is completely transparent after soaking up the grease of the beautiful hot dog that was dipped in cornmeal batter, and fried. Make no mistake, it is one solid food offering at Shea stadium and possibly the best.
Nathan’s Corn Dogs:

The onion rings are just as greasy and tasty as the corn dogs.
Nathan’s Onion Rings:

The french fries are much better than their other crappy fries they had last year.
French Fries:

The potato knish is very New York and very forgettable.
Potato Knish:

The sausage sandwiches, which always have big lines, are the food equivalent of Derek Jeter. Overrated.
Sausage Sandwich:

Subway is probably pretty good, but nothing about Subways says "at the ballpark".
Subway:…I’m guessing:

There is a place on the field level that makes a good Italian Sandwich, but like a women who does not nag and drives good, I have yet to see it. (No girls read this website, right?)
Italian Sandwich….I’m guessing:

The pizza, which tastes like a frozen pizza, is not bad. They moved to big single slices form personal pizzas to make you think they were making their own NY style pizza, but they are just fucking with you. It's the same stuff from a bigger pie. If you have a hankering for a frozen pizza, order away.
Pizza:

There are also nachos with cheese and salsa and fully loaded nachos with meat, sour cream, guacamole, etc. The former of the two versions of nachos is the way to go, but purely from a standpoint of being much less messy. Just make sure you get some jalapenos on the side.
Nachos #1:
Nachos #2:

The burritos are not bad, but they are not that good either. If the best thing I can say about something is that it is not that bad, it's probably something you can pass on.
Burritos:

They also have burgers, but for some reason they have something against adding cheese to them.
Burgers…I’m guessing:

There is also an Italian chicken sandwich which appears to be a plain chicken breast on a bun. I’m still not sure what makes it Italian…maybe it’s a female chicken with a moustache, hairy armpits, and hairy legs, but I'd steer clear of it.
Italian Chicken Sandwich...I'm guessing:

The Cuban sandwich….wait until later in the game.
The Cuban Sandwich: when cooked, and when frozen in the middle

Chinese food at Shea Stadium? ‘Nuff said.
Chinese Food…I’m guessing: negative

Nothing says fatten me up like a funnel cake. Aramark has stuck funnel cakes in all Nathan’s stand and though I haven’t had them, I’m guessing they taste like every other funnel cake in the grand ‘ole US of A.
Funnel Cake:

Hot pretzels are a staple of many sporting events, but getting one that is hot and not rock hard is not easy. If you must have one, wait for the guy in bright yellow shirt to walk by with one.
Hot Pretzels: from the vendors that walk around the stadium and from the vendors in the concourse

I’m sure I missed some crappy food, so let me know if I did.

So what does all this mean? It means the perfect day at the park is a hot dog, corn dog, fries, onion rings, and a pretzel with some 20 oz Miller Lites. Whether you want to eat all of that yourself is up to you, but feel free. However, whatever you do, avoid the smells of onions and peppers getting grilled for a supringly tastelss sausage sandwich.

* * *

How many 20/20/20 guys were there in the history of the majors? Twenty steals, twenty triples, and twenty doubles in one season. I have no idea, but Jose Reyes has a great chance of becoming one. There have been no 30/30/30 guys, but Jose Reyes would have to dial it up a notch to get 30 triples and it really is highly unlikely he gets 30 triples.

The Weaver/Angels negotiations seem to be at a standstill.

Said Boras: "If they want to talk to us, we're here to listen."

Said Stoneman: "This isn't a bluff. We're absolutely serious."

Classic.

Valent thinks he's the fall guy, but something had to give. Diaz has taken his spot on the roster and will be the starting right fielder until Carlos heals up, and Carlos should take as much time as he needs. When he comes back, he needs to be stealing bases and Cammy/Floyd/Diaz will be solid outfield in the meantime. Now, if somone can convince Willie to get Diaz higher in the lineup to see what type of run producing capabilities he has....

Harris raised eyebrows when he bunted for a base hit against Martinez on April 21, after the ace had retired the previous 13 Marlins, and with the Mets holding a nine-run lead. Martinez laughed off the bunt single after that game even though similar acts are considered in poor taste in baseball circles. Harris, .a universally liked player, said they smoothed it out yesterday.

When Martinez and Alomar repeatedly brought it up Thursday, Harris apparently was stung.

"I didn't think they were going to take it too far. Once, twice, okay, that's cool," Harris said. "But if you just keep saying the same thing, it gets old. I don't know if they were offended by it or what. . . . Screaming out of the dugout, I'm thinking I'm still back in high school. . . . I talked to Willie Randolph. He said he didn't appreciate that too much and he'd talk to them."

Try not to bunt down by nine runs next time.

The Mets, who beat the Marlins on Dog Night at Dolphins Stadium on Thursday, will have their own Dog Night in the picnic area at Shea Stadium on Aug. 20. ... The Mets are off Monday, so Victor Zambrano will be pushed back a day in the rotation.

I'd love to bring my dog, but she'd try and murder the other dogs.

Yusmeiro is going to be a dad. He is flying back to Venezuela to be with his girlfriend for the birth of their child.

Cliffy has more outfield assists this season than any other outfielder in the majors.

As long as Jose Reyes remains the Mets' leadoff hitter, fans should arrive early or risk missing what generally is regarded as one of the most exciting plays in baseball.

That would be the triple, and no one has hit them more frequently than Reyes in at least 36 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Doug Mientkiewicz will appear with Jennie Finch on an upcoming segment of "This Week in Baseball," which was filmed yesterday. Mientkiewicz wasn't sure when it would air. "Hopefully soon," said the slumping first baseman, "while I'm still in the big leagues." Otherwise, he said, the show might need to be renamed "This Week in Norfolk."

Pedro Martinez is my jheri currled daddy. Watching him pitch is an absolute treat for Mets fans that has not been seen since watching Doc Gooden or David Cone work back in the 80's. The way he picks apart batters and approaches that game is ridiculous. Martinez is without a doubt one of the top ten pitchers out there today even with his 90% torn labrum and fragile arm.

Minor update:

• Norfolk beat Ottawa 4-1. Diaz went 0 for 2, but managed to get on base twice via walks and scored one run. Steve Coyler went 1.1 scoreless innings and gave up two hits while walking none and striking out none. His ERA is down to 2.57.
  
• Hagerstown beat Delmarva 11-3. One of the many five tool talents in the Mets minor league system, Carlos Gomez, went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and one walk. Dante Brinkley continues to assault low A ball pitching and went 2 for 4 with one run scored and two RBIs. His average is up to .382. Mike Carp went one for five with one run scored, two RBIs, and one double. Carp does not turn 19 until the end of June an is becoming one of my favorites. He can take a walk, as evidenced by his OBP being more than .100 points higher than his average, and he is second in the league in homers with eleven and tied for fourth in RBIs with thirty six.
  
• Binghamton beat Trenton 8-6 off a two run homer in the ninth inning. Mike Jacobs continues to hit after a slow start and went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, a double, a homer, and two RBIs. Brian Bannister was effective going 5.2 innings, giving up three runs, and seven hits while walking two and striking out four.
  
• St. Lucie beat Clearwater 8-3. Cory Ragsdale continues to show some pop with his seventh homer of the year and went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, a double, a homer, and two RBIs (the same line as Mike Jacobs). Lastings went 1 for 4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. Milledge has a line of .285/.372/.400 so far this season and while his slugging is a bit of a let down, that OBP is impressive. Brett Harper hit his 17th homer in a 2 for 5 night in which he knocked in three RBIs.

Confidence

"Every team lives and dies with its No. 4 and 5 guys," Randolph said. "I'm going to stick with these guys [Floyd and Mike Piazza]. We don't have a lot of options."

Why must you continue to ignore the fact that David Wright is a legitimate Major League hitter?

I digress, I get sick of myself saying it daily, but what is it going to take for Willie to do something? Sure he made his way up to the sixth spot and I do not expect him to move down again, but he should be moved up further. In a future lineup shakeup, Cameron has now played himself into a leadoff candidate when Carlos Beltran returns. Jose Reyes will be used in the second, seventh, or eighth spot. So far in his career, Reyes' line in the two spot is .329/.371/.445 in 164 at-bats. Not that I think he would be on on base monster in that spot, but I think he benefits from having better protection and a guy before him on base. He bats lefty the majority of the time and a guy on base opens a hole for him on the left side, and that is a good thing because Jose is a groundball hitter. I think Reyes would excel in this spot and as much as he has looked like he has benefited from Cammy batting behind him at times, I think he would take off in the two spot.

When Matsui arrived last season, I was irritated Reyes was being moved to the leadoff spot because he just did not seem to be that guy just yet. If Randolph pulls this move, it could be the start of the Mets actually putting together their most optimal and productive lineup for what they have right now.

Cameron
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Floyd
Piazza
Matsui
Mientceiwcz

While Cammy has got his issues, getting on base with a .343 career clip and stealing twenty-plus bases best profiles as a leadoff hitter for this Mets club. Reyes will benefit and everyone else in the lineup will benefit from him in that spot. In the off-season, the leadoff spot is something Omar is really going to have attack, but for now, Willie has to make due.

Despite my griping about the Willie's inability to actually write a lineup card, that is not the biggest problem right now. The confidence factor is at an all time low. Cliff Floyd approached Willie Randolph to say he is killing the team and maybe he should move down in the order. That is something that you do not say if you are confident in yourself. Cleary he is struggling and clearly he doubts his own abilities right now. As for Piazza, the guy is incredibly streaky right now and hardly dependable. His torrid stretches tell me he can still hit, but those stretches are far between. Could his inability to hit the second baseman and the third baseman on a fly with a throw be affecting his overall game? It could be his age, but when he goes off and looks like vintage Piazza, it is hard to think he cannot contribute a little more consistently than he has so far. As for Dougie and Kaz, they are doubting themselves so much, I'm sure it has carried over to the bedroom. The Mets have four key components to this team that stand at the plate with seemingly no confidence. A simple hot streak of three or four games could turn it around, or maybe a few days off to think. Hopefully something gets this group of guys contributing like they can because this team can ride a win streak to close the gap if everyone is firing.

* * * *

With the Diamondbacks interest in Craig Hansen and Brandon Lyon's possible need for Tommy John surgery, plenty of speculation will be flying around.

In case you missed it:

Mets 2004 first-round pick Philip Humber continues to look for his first win as a pro, dropping to 0-4, 5.35 last night by giving up seven runs on nine hits over just three innings in high Class A St. Lucie’s 9-7 loss to Tampa. In his last three starts, Humber has allowed 14 runs in 13 1/3 innings.

I guess his quick ticket to Binghamton when it warms up is put on hold.

"We're pretty pleased with the way he's pitched," said Jim Duquette, the club's vice president of baseball operations.

If not for the abdominal strain, Humber probably would be on his way to Double-A Binghamton shortly, but the Mets plan to re-evaluate his progress at the end of June before making that decision.

Bill Stoneman on Jared Weaver:

“I know Scott characterizes things in a certain way,” Stoneman told the Times, “and obviously he’s going to put a spin on it to make it look like he’s made major concessions to get a deal done. But the fact remains that we’re still far, far apart, and what he’s asking us to do is bid against ourselves. We’re not about to do that.”

A blast from the past:

Left-handed pitcher Billy Traber, who underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2003, has been promoted from Class AA Akron to Buffalo.

Traber, 25, was 6-9 (5.24 ERA) with the Indians in 2003.

In five starts at Akron, he was 3-2 (2.65 ERA), striking out 27 and walking five in 34 innings.

Way to prove Omar wrong Al.

Leiter may be losing grip on spot in rotation

I think this was the best decision by Omar all off season. Imagine Al accepted their offer and the Mets had no Pedro? I'm curling up in the fetal position sucking my thumb as I think about it.

Leiter is 2-5. His 6.91 ERA would rank him fourth from last among National League pitchers if he had the innings to qualify. But that's difficult to maintain when you're averaging 4 2/3 innings per start.

Iron man in Japan. The Japanese JD Drew in the States.

As usual, Heath Bell pitches in a laugher or when they are behind and he is trying to hold a team. Despite striking out five batters in his two innings of work, Willie will make him earn his chops too. Willie really needs to understand older does not mean better. Older simply means older. They COULD be better, but I could also poke myself in the eye with a fork.

Javier Vazquez on the rumors that he wants to come back to play on the East Cost.

"It's B.S., man."

Insightful.

On a team that needs confidence bad, why not bring up a kid who exudes it? Diaz may be on his way up to help out th big club. If he tears it up again, he may never go back down.

Classic:

A guy who identified himself as "Billy" called WFAN's Joe Benigno and Sid (Sidiot) Rosenberg to say they reported the wrong "turning point" of Wednesday night's Mets loss.
"The turning point was when the (Mets') airplane touched down in Atlanta," Billy said.

This is the way it always seems to start, right?

Frustration turns to sarcasm.

Sarcasm turns to whining.

Whining turns to despair.

Despair turns to eyeing free agents to sign in the winter.

Story of Mets fans’ life.

T-Minus Twelve Days

Draft day is barreling down on us and while some people still could care less about the draft and players that may never amount to anything and they may never hear about, it is becoming more and more of interest to fans. We love to see what new prospect is coming aboard the train wreck we call the New York Mets. Trying to predict the draft is as unpredictable as the next time my girlfriend will decide to let me have sex with her, but we love to try anyway. There is a bit of a consensus on the first group that should be drafted with two major caveats that could alter seemingly solid predictions. What will the status be of Jared Weaver and Stephen Drew?

Scott Boras is saying that the two will most likely enter the draft and Baseball America is saying they will both ink. In their pre-draft blog, BA said there was "significant movement" in the Angels negotiations with Weaver now that his demands have dropped to a $6,000,000 major league contract. That means the teams are $750,000 apart from the Angels highest offer and Weaver's amended demands. If everything is true, this deal has a good chance of going through despite the Angels refusal to budge over their initial offer. They just seem too close to let it slip away at this point. If it does go through, it could serve as a catalyst between Drew and the Diamondbacks.

Drew is leading the Independent League in batting average according to Baseball America and he would rank in the top ten for players entering the draft should he actually re-enter. If the Diamondbacks do happen to sign him, they will most likely be looking a little cheaper on their number one overall pick and may be steering away from Justin Upton, who would cost them a lot of money, but also is a middle infielder that might project as a centerfielder. Between him and Drew, not only would they be possibly profiling at the same position, the Diamondbacks could be spending over $10 million dollars on the two if drafted and that would be a big bill for any team to stomach before they even moved into the latter rounds and the Diamondbacks do have a sandwich pick to think about as well. Fiscally, it may just not be possible. Baseball America also mentioned that Craig Hansen is still in the mix for number one overall pick and he would certainly come at a cheaper tag and the D-Backs seem to have heavy interest. The Diamondbacks could potentially walk away with two top ten players before the second team even picks.

If the rumblings from BA are true, and the D-Backs will possibly look towards Hansen if they ink Drew, the Mets picture is pretty muddy. Outside of Drew and Hansen, Jay Bruce has been the only other name tied to the Mets and BA ranks him at number nine overall in terms of best players currently available. As John Sickels pointed out during his chat at Always Amazin' yesterday, the Mets tend to prefer tools when it comes to position players and Jay Bruce supposedly have five of them and fits their previous draft tendencies when it comes to position players. If the D-Backs shake things up by snagging Hansen, Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Cameron Maybin, Troy Tulowitzki, and Ryan Zimmerman still figure to be off the board by the time the Mets pick leaving myself disappointed the Mets were not able to snag one of those polished position players or a close the majors closer. It will be interesting to see how this thing starts to materialize in the upcoming days

* * *

Jerry Manual is getting a shot at the Kansas City managerial position and he may not have much competition with Art Howe also being a candidate.

Willie speaks back.

"According to certain people, I put him in a slump because I sat him down," Randolph said, apparently upset about sports talk radio conversations back in New York. "Just so everybody knows, just to make it official because you guys run with [stuff] all the time, I didn't sit him down. [He didn't play] because he said his leg was bothering him. Why would I give a guy with a 20-game hitting streak a day off?"

Umm, because you put your best hitter in the seventh spot. Until you show common sense, people will assume you have none.

Just when Zambrano actually pitched a good game, things fall apart anyway. Sure the Braves offense is just as bad as the Mets, but you take what positives you can. Only 84 pitches through six innings for Zambrano is the equivalent of a no hitter in my opinion. However, once again, shoddy fielding and no hitting does the Mets in. Bad combo. There was however, a Heilman sighting.

DL someone and bring up Victor. Nuff said. This team needs something right now, some injection of life.

Willie is frustrated, but is rather reluctant to shake things up. Sometimes that what needs to be done to wake a team up. Too many people are doubting themselves on this team and confidence is playing a larger part in these losses and anything else in my opinion.

I'm not sure what is more amazing. How many DPs the Mets have killed their potential rallies with this year or the fact that there are six more National League teams that have hit into more DPs.

The last time the Mets won, Kris Benson was on the mound. Hopefully he can give them their first win in five games. At this point, their horrifying play is starting to affect me personally. If I have to stomach one more Yankee fan letting me know the Mets lost again while the Yankees won again, I may kill someone. Tonight, I will turn to my good friends Bass and Jägermeister to make these games more palatable. If the Mets lose, at least I'll be drunk....right?

Out of the Box

This is a continuation of my piece on Mets Geek from yesterday. Now that Doug is tied for the fourth highest double play total in the National League, including three double plays in a row spanning from his last two at bats on Monday and his first at bat last night, it may be time to give him a rest. I'm not saying bench him, but start working in other players at first while he is struggling. For one, Willie is intent on giving Miguel Cairo more playing time, so why not give him some starts at first? Doug has had a chance to work out of his slump, but right now, the team is floundering and needs as much punch in the lineup as it can get.

In a more radical decision, why not start giving Cliffy some starts at first base? The Mets had the Piazza experiment, which was an unmitigated disaster, and they might as well try the Floyd experiment. Can it really go much worse? I firmly believe it cannot hurt since the Mets really do not have many viable options at first base and though people Brian Daubach as an option, I am skeptical of what he can bring. Yes, he is killing AAA, but so did Raul Gonzalez when he hit .358/.431/.475 in 2003, so I have my reservations. In the off-season, Floyd volunteered to play first, which is a position he came up through the minors with until his early days with the Montreal Expos. Throw him in a couple games and see how it works out and if he proves to be a decent glove over there, think about bringing up Victor Diaz to play left field. Floyd is a good athlete and I have every reason to think he could be pretty good over at first. If Eric Valent and Jason Phillips can play first for first time in 2003 and 2004 respectively and do a good job, maybe Cliff can be adequate. What is the worst that can happen? The Mets lose three in a row?

It is time for Willie and Omar to get a little aggressive with this team and do what needs to be done whether it be in the lineup or the pitching staff. I understand their desire to keep Doug Mientkiewcz's glove in the game, but at this point, he is hitting like a pitcher. His .150 average in May is abysmal even if he is buried in the eighth spot from here on out. His .543 OPS is all too much Joe McEwing and not enough to warrant his name in lineup night after night for his glove. His glove does not matter much if the Met are not scoring runs. Randolph needs to start shaking things up and if Doug starts to come around, let him back in everyday. But right now, first base needs to start being rotated and other players, whomever they are, need to be given a shot. It really can only do good things for this baseball club.

* * *

What did David do to Willie? Did he steal his subway sandwich with double meat off his desk? Marlon Anderson hitting in front of David Wright? C'mon Willie, get your head from your ass. Your insistence in making David Wright prove himself while wasting scoring opportunities is out of hand. Maybe Willie wants a balanced lineup and does not want two or three easy outs at the bottom of the lineup, but he would be the only manager in the league that puts his best hitter in the all important seventh spot. Eventually Wright will be moved up because not even Willie can keep him down there forever, but what is taking him so long?

There really is not much you can say about Phil Spector's hair.

UPDATE: Thanks to SonnyD for pointing out Phil's uncanny likeliness to Gammo.



Even funnier though, when you do a google search for pictures on Peter Gammons, you get some interesting stuff. Check out the third picture down from the left.

Doug Mientkiewicz got locked in a hotel stairwell and had to descend six flights before finding an open door. Then the taxi he took to Turner Field had a tire blow out. "Other than that, my life's turning right around boys," Mientkiewicz said.

From the Star Ledger:

The Mets are 20-47 at Turner Field.

That is ugly, ugly, ugly.

What's a guy gotta do to get top 20 hot prospect status for Baseball America? In the first three games after coming back from his injury, Lastings hit .000/.077/.000 in twelve at bats. Since then, he has hit .429/.484/.589 in fourteen games with two homers and five RBIs.

Brian Daubach made an appearance as an honorable mention since is not actually a prospect.

Minor update:

• I'm not really sure what happened in the Hagerstown/Lexington game, but I do not really care. The scoreboard has the game ending with the home team not batting in the 12th of a tie game. I could probably look to find out who won or why it ended abruptly, but the only thing that matters is Gabby Hernandez's six inning, one hit, four walk, no run, and six strikeout performance. Gabby's ERA is down to 2.76.
  
• St. Lucie lost to the Yankees and Milledge went 1 for 4. Milledge has gotten a hit in thirteen of his last fourteen games.
  
• Norfolk lost to Pawtucket 3-2. Jae Seo continues to pitch ridiculous with a seven inning, four hit, one run, two walk, and eight strike out performance. His ERA is down to 4.14. Steve Coyler tossed a shutout inning in the game.

Kay Is Gay

Michael Kay was in attendance of the Saturday Mets/Yankee game at Shea Stadium. During his trip to Queens, the Shea faithful let him know that he sucks, started the chant Kay is Gay, Kay is Gay, and chastised him for the Miguel Cairo deal in his face after Cairo went deep. Classic stuff. He also mentioned that he was there with a very good looking girl. I guess simply stating he was there on a date was not good enough, he had to remind everyone he got a date with a girl out of his league simply because he is a hack announcer.

I mean really, what would any self respecting girl be doing with a guy who's head resembles a fruit best know for getting Absolute Vodka poured into it at high school parties so upperclassman guys can defile the underclassman girls?

I personally think he got off easy with the fact that Mets were beating up on a hapless Randy Johnson and he is a jackass. He should be so lucky that I was not around because all bets are off if you are a Yankee fan entering the Mets home turf. I've been known to taunt kids with single digits ages for making the mistake of wearing a Yankee hat by my seat.

* * *

Cliffy finds new ways to hurt himself year after year.

In case you missed this quote filled article on Pedro yesterday, here you go.

"Those things happen. I'm not upset at all," Martinez said of consecutive errors by David Wright and Jose Reyes that opened the door for the Yankees. "I'm not out there just to win. I would love to, but I'm out there to give my team the best chance to win."

and

"This time I had more fans behind me and less middle fingers pointed at me," he said. "Less hate words."

Horacio Ramirez has the same OBP as Jose Reyes.

I like John Mayberry, but a guy that can be viewed as a project is a mistake for the Mets who will not pick again until the fourth round.

“I see a guy who’s in search of his swing,” the AL scout said. “It looks like he’s trying to find something. I kind of like that about a player who’s trying to get something to work. If he had 16 bombs, we wouldn’t be talking right now.”

For the exact reason there are people that want John Mayberry Jr. is the exact reason Omar Minaya and the Mets dropped the ball on Kendry Morales. He did not cost any draft picks and strengthened the system with a 1B/OF who can hit for power. This one kills me every time I see his name.

The Mets are interested in Danny Graves and will wait for ten days when he will be officially released before looking at him seriously. As bad as Graves was, the Mets taking a flier on him is OK with me. If you are keeping score, the Phillies, Cubs, Marlins, and Devil Rays are also interested.

The Mets are also rumored to be interested in LaTroy Hawkins. If they give up a bag of balls for him it was too much. If he's free for a mid-level prospect, then so be it. It's worth a shot. Else wise, it is waste even if the Cubbies pick up the entire salary.

The true test for Tommy is tonight when he faces the Braves who he has a 1-7 record with a 9.36 ERA against. Going up against Tim Hudson does not help either.

"You go in there and try to play the game the right way," Wright said. "I felt it was a good, clean play. You never see that play called. In my opinion, that's a tough call to make in that situation. It was a clean play. I wasn't trying to go out of my way. I felt if I rolled over I could reach the bag."

Tough call here. He looked far from the bag, but it was not dirty like when Tony Womack pulled down Jose Reyes on Sunday, but I guess since he touched the bag he was allowed to do whatever else he felt necessary to impede Jose.

Dougie M knows he sucks.
"Put 'I suck' with a big picture of my face on it."

Owning up to it is nice, but production is better.

From the Daily News:

Felix Heredia's circulatory troubles have worsened and the southpaw isn't expected to return soon.

Why he has not been removed to clear up a 40 man roster spot is anyone's guess, but enough is enough already.

Minor update:

• Lastings Milledge continues to be on fire, though he is not really hitting for much power yet. He went 3 for 3 to bring his average up to .296 in St. Lucie's loss last night. More importantly, this season he has ten walks in 29 games and owns a .377 OBP. Brett Harper smacked his 16th homerun of the year and leads the league in homers.
  
• Hagerstown lost to Lexington 2-1, but Matt Durkin was solid in his 4.1 innings of work. He struck out six, walked three, gave up four hits, and one earned run in 4.1 innings.
  
• In Norfolk's victory last night, Victor Diaz went 2 for 4 with three RBIs, two runs scored, and a homerun. Jose Santiago got the start and went five innings, gave up three hits, one run, no walks, and K'd three.

Prospect Stuff

I have no time to do anything today, but Baseball America has some great stuff today outlining the top 200 prospects and the best tools of the draft.

On Cameron Maybin, BA had said his ceiling could range from Preston Wilson to Vladimir Guerrero. No pressure kid.

From reading that information, I'm still 100% behind the idea that Mets two best fits are Craig Hansen or Stephen Drew.

22's 'Norfolk Tides' Experience

After the Mets great victory yesterday in which Randy Johnson was very hittable, the Mets were relentless, and Koo doubled deep of RJ, there is not much to say. So, to change it up a bit, here is a loyal reader 22's account of going to a Norfolk game in Indianapolis last week.

At about 4pm Friday night it was raining fairly heavily here in Indianapolis, In. I bought my tickets for the Indy/Norfolk game a few weeks ahead of time and had been looking forward to the game. My heart was slowly breaking with every drop of rain that fell.
The Tides in Indy are as close to seeing the Mets in person as I'm gonna get.

After work I went to the batting cage. Dropped $10 for 160 swings and didn't feel like I solved anything.

The rain had stopped while I was in the cage. Maybe they will play ball...

I was the first one through the gates at 5:30pm. The very first one. The first thing I see is Jae Seo and other pitchers doing their "running." There was a baseball history film running on the big screen and most of the players "running" were actually watching the movie and laughing at Tommy Lasorda's antics.

It was a really cool feeling to be about 50 ft away from the players.

I was ridiculously early, so I walked around the concourse for a few. Victory Field has to be one of the nicest minor league fields in the country. It's absolutely beautiful.

I found the nights starting lineup. I was disappointed to see Keppinger was getting the night off. Happy to see Luis Garcia and Angel Pagan were playing. Scobie is the scheduled starter.

I'm halfway through my lap when I see two other Met fans. Of course I'm wearing one of my Mets caps and it was nice to see those two decked out in Mets gear.
We exchanged hellos and how thankful we were that we're not alone!

I took my seat about an hour before game time. It was interesting to see watch the ground crew take the tarp off the field.

How did a hot blonde in a tight T-shirt and even tighter/shorter pink shorts get on the ground crew?
Interesting...

I watched all of Scobie's warm-up session in the bullpen. I was surprised how quickly he warmed up.

Scobie was impressive for most of the night. He has excellent control and kept the Indians hitters off balance for most of the night. It didn't seem like he was throwing very hard, but he had a good idea of what he was doing out there. Despite facing a lineup stacked with lefthanders.

His only mistake was to Pirates prospect Ryan Doumit.
The big left-handed hitter took a Scobie breaking ball 420 feet. No doubter.

Angel Pagan certainly does have some skills. His first two at bats he hit the ball very hard for a couple of singles.

He was also picked off first both times in mirror image plays. Zach Duke, the Indians pitcher, is one of their better lefthanders with a decent move. Angel would take off to steal on first movement. 1-3-6.
Two times in a row.

After the second time he was picked off, Angel was obviously pissed. It's good to see that fire, but he was obviously affected.

I was impressed with Ron Calloway's leadership. After Pagan was picked off the second time, Calloway walked him out to Right Field. Calloway had his arm over Pagan's shoulder and was trying to encourage him.

I was very impressed with Calloway. Not only did he seem to be the leader on the field, but he made a few spectacular catches in Center. He also hit the ball very hard, including a double. Then a steal of third.

Difelice looked awful. He might have caught a hot streak for a while, but it isn't gonna last. He swung at pitches over his head and in the dirt. I can see how major league pitchers could eat him up alive.

Daubauch was just the opposite. He is locked in. You can just tell. It's surprising to me he doesn't have a major league job SOMEWHERE. I like that guy.

After Daubach grounded out on a pitch in on the hands.
He shook is "handful of bees" and looked directly at me. I smiled at him as if to say, "got one of the hands, eh? I been there..." He kinda smiled back at me. It was cool.

In the top of the eighth the rain started coming down again. Luis Garcia hit a hard grounder between 3rd and short. The Indians stalled and the umps decided to get everyone off the field.

Here is where the comedy began. Remember when the DC ground crew couldn't cover the field in time? This was the minor league version of that. It was absolutely HILARIOUS!!!

The crew was running with one end of the tarp. Just RUNNING hard...when the tarp just wouldn't go any further and SNAP!!! How there were no dislocated shoulders, I have no idea. The tarp just wouldn't move! They pulled and pulled and struggled, but they made no progress at all. They only had to cover the third base line and home plate, so they didn't have far to go. But the tarp just wouldn't budge!

And it's raining HARD at this time. The more the rain fell, the heavier the tarp became. The Indians players in the third base dugout were coordinating the efforts. "HEAVE....HO.....HEAVE....HO..."

And the blonde ground crew member in the tight shirt and pink shorts was now wearing a tight WET shirt and tight/short WET shorts. It was beautiful.

Eventually they got the baseline covered, but not home plate. After the rain had finally stopped 45 minutes after it started, the ump came out, saw the muddy home plate area, and called the game.

With no outs and a man on first and the Tides down by one run...

by 22