Another Case Of The Man Sticking It To The Little Guy

An email from a concerned citizen.

Could you please help out fellow Mets fans in central NJ who are served by patriot media and post this petition link to your site?

Patriot Media, the local cable company for about 80,000 customers in central New Jersey (Hunterdon, Somerset, Morris and Mercer counties) currently has no plans to offer SportsNet NY to its subscribers - which will eliminate the chance to see about 120+ Mets games this season. A petition requesting this channel has been started online at: http://www.petitiononline.com/SNYPM/petition.html Patriot Media was briefly mentioned at the end of this article in the NY Daily News. However, nothing was mentioned about the petition. Cablevision is obviously a bigger story since they have many more customers. I have called Patriot Media and spoken with a supervisor who said they are aware of the petition and that it is a good way to get the channel. If they see enough demand, they will take action. Remember, it is best to sign once per household - preferably with the name of the person who has the service in their name.

Thanks!

-Mike A.
Belle Mead, NJ

Sorry citizen. I doubt I have many people reading my site from the Patriot Media area, but good luck with all of that. We have our own problems in Cablevision land with an owner that thinks 'nanny nanny poo poo' is a good argument tactic.

* * *

Yes, Franco is old. Oh, he also makes statements best kept inside his head.

"I don't see what is this big scandal about taking steroids. It will increase your strength, but it will kill you early, too. You will die if you keep taking those garbage," Julio Franco.

I think the logic is slightly flawed there.

While on the topic of Franco, as much as I like the guy, using a roster spot for a clubhouse presence when you already had a backup first baseman is seriously flawed. This is not the American League. A better use of the bench is necessary.

Also, do all the writers get together and decide what they want to write about? There were about 2,000 articles on Julio Franco today. Really, really, strange stuff. It's like on college or high school when no one did their homework and just copied off one kid.

Ok, let's get plan B in place in case Pedro's toe is going to be a no go. What's that? Jose Lima is plan B? Niiiiiiccee.

Anger rising.

"I guess I'm a show-me guy, I want to see that David can keep making the adjustments," Randolph said Monday, leaving yet another clue. Fair enough, he doesn't want to rush the kid. But anyone who saw Wright tear up the National League after the All-Star break last year -- batting .333 with 16 homers in 273 at-bats -- would agree he became the Mets' greatest all-around threat.

I think Willie needs an IOS upgrade for his brain. The version he has is ancient and is seriously limiting his capability to operate to perform simple tasks. Bob Klapisch gets it. That's all I know.

Jose Reyes SS
Carlos Beltran CF
David Wright 3B
Carlos Delgado 1B
Cliff Floyd LF
Victor Diaz RF
Paul Lo Duca C
Kaz Matsui 2B

Get over the lefty/left combo in the four and five holes. If a good lefty is starting seperate them or give one a day off. If they put in a lefty at the end of a game, let your guys hit. They are good hitters and they are not horrible against lefties. Here are their combined numbers against lefties since 2003:

 AB   R  2B  HR  RBI  BB   SO   AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS
879 115  53  40  168  89  218  .255  .335  .454  .789

I urge Willie to put the Art Howe book of baseball down. If a Manny for Delgado deal had gone down, does anyone seriosly think Ortiz and Delgado would not be batting back to back?

Adam Rubin goes over the lefties vying for a bullpen spot. Royce Ring's walks were uncharacteristically high for him. I fully expect him to be solid big league reliever at some point. Hopefully he steps up. He showed he has some stones against the Phillies last year, I think he has something.

Ass.

I know all of the "experts" will be flocking to the Mets with their preseason picks. Who do you actually think poses the biggest threat to the Braves?
-- Mike D., Tucson, Ariz.

I love how this idiot put experts in quotes somehow suggesting everyone is off their rocker. While I'll admit some of the experts are leaving a lot to be desired, this is pretty plain to see the Mets have the most well rounded team in the NL East. I won't even examine the answer provide by Mark Bowman either because I want to keep my blood pressure in check. I'm not saying the Mets have the best five, they don't, but the Braves have two guys with a 4.5 ERA and a guy who needs to establish what happened in 2005 was not some more one year Mazzone magic. If you are comfy with that five and labeling them as the deepest, go ahead.