Swellicious / Hell Yeah Bitches!

There is one team that has not lost in October. Care to take a guess who it is? The Mets are now 6-0 in October if you include the last two regular season games and this team can do no harm. Glavine was absolutely sparkling again and has yet to give up one run between his two playoff starts. I'm not ready to say I have a man-crush on him, but it's getting close. Dangerously close. As for Beltran?

What Michael Jordan was to the Cleveland Cavaliers ...

What Troy Aikman was to the Buffalo Bills ...

What Tiger Woods was, and is, to the golf-course architects of the entire universe ...

That's what Carlos Beltran is to the St. Louis Cardinals.

They can't stop him. They can't even hope to contain him. Not this time of year, anyway.

Thursday night, in Game 1 of the second National League Championship Series of Carlos Beltran's life, he did what he does every time he sees some Cardinals pitcher firing a pitch in his direction in a month we often refer to as "October."

He launched a baseball that needed its own air-traffic controller.

He launched a baseball that didn't come down until it had nearly wiped Tom Glavine's number off the scoreboard (which happened to be minding its own business, 430 feet away, at the time).

He launched a baseball that turned a 0-0 pitcher's duel into a 2-0 victory for his latest employer, the New York Mets.

And let's just say this is getting to be a more familiar story line than the one about the CSI crew unraveling another crime-caper mystery.

This was Beltran's eighth career postseason game against the Cardinals. They have now served up five home runs to him in those eight games, in just 28 at-bats. He now owns as many October homers against them as singles.

El Tigre Del Noche's shot was a no doubter and Encarnacion and Edmonds barely even moved after it was hit. I'm not going to start calling him the new Mr. October just yet, but that blast was unreal. If you missed it, you have to check it out on Mets.com and revel in it's glory.

But the real swellicious thing that has been going on for me, wasn't pitching and it was not offense. You can hear something about ballplayers around the league, but you really do not get the full effect until you watch them. When I have checked out the Oakland Athletics play this post season, Eric Chavez's defense was jaw dropping. The guy looks as good as anyone I have seen at third base and this guy can play shortstop in the Majors and probably be one of the better ones too.

As impressed with Chavez as I have been, I have been equally impressed with David Wright. I've been to two post season games so far and I've seen both of Tom Glavine's starts. In each start, David Wright made plays that made me want the punch the kid in front of me in the back of the head because I was so pumped. He made two gems last night and one that probably preserved the victory in catching a screaming line drive and doubling the runner up at second.

He had some hiccups earlier in the year in regards to throwing the baseball across the diamond late in games, but the kid is a tireless worker. Simply amazing how good he is and defensively, the Mets left side of the infield is as good as I've seen and there is still tons of upside. You can say what you want about the Mets starting pitching and I know I've been redundant these days, but I cannot help it. This team does everything so well from defense to relief pitching to base running to offense....they have what it takes to overcome a weak rotation. They have been coming up with the big hits when the need them, the big plays in the field when they need them, and the big pitch when they need it.

Cardinals fans like to believe the pressure is on the Mets because they are the favorites, but the pressure is now squarely on the Cardinals. Their ace is going tonight and if he does not win tonight, the Cardinals will have to find a way to dig themselves out with Suppan, Reyes, and Weaver. Yesterday was a must win game for the Mets and today is a must win for the Cardinals. The Mets rose up to the occasion and now we'll see what the Cardinals are made of. Something tells me they are not made of much though.

* * *

Adam Rubin has some nice tidbits on the Mets in his blog today.

Carlos Beltran's home run in the Mets' 2-0 victory was his fifth against the Cardinals in postseason play. That broke a tie with Lou Gehrig, Al Simmons, Jeffrey Leonard and Lance Berkman for the second-most postseason homers vs. St. Louis. Only Babe Ruth hit more (seven).

Pedro might not be able to pitch, but he is making his presence felt. He is helping out Guillermo Mota and he has just been a savior for this team. He filled in a void that we did not think could be filled and it baffles my feeble brain how he did so bad in the AL. The guy is electric.

It looks like Floyd season is over. I cannot see him coming back after this and I would not be surprised if he mulls over retirement at the end of the season. The big guy's body is just breaking down.

With Valentin's deal with the devil wearing off, should the Mets give Anderson Hernandez a few starts? With the defense he brings to the table, it is tempting and I say give him a start and see what happens. He was looking better in his September call-up than he has ever looked before at the plate.

Albert Pujols? Douchefuck. He's a big fat douchefuck and now this series should be personal.

Asked about the effectiveness of Mets starter Tom Glavine, Pujols, who lined out twice, said, "He wasn't good. I thought we hit the ball hard but we didn't get any breaks."

He made you look stupid in that first inning strikeout.

"I say he wasn't good at all. We just didn't get some opportunities and that's it. . . . (Glavine did the) same thing that he always does. Throw a changeup, fastball and that was it. I just think we should've done a better job than we did."

He's being doing it all year.

Lo Duca extended the sixth inning with a two-out single, setting the stage for Carlos Beltran's two-run homer, which proved the difference in the Mets' 2-0 win over St. Louis in Game 1 of the NLCS in front of 56,311 at Shea Stadium.

"It's all about placement, that's what I was telling everybody," Lo Duca said. "I just found the hole. [St. Louis starter Jeff Weaver] was tough tonight. He was throwing his sinker, and I just happened to find a hole and get on base, and Carlos put a good swing on a pitch and that was the difference in the game."

It does not surprise me that it was Lo-Duca who set the stage for the big hit. He might be a Met for only two seasons and then done with the organization, but he will be up there on a lot of people's all-time favorite Met list.

Kevin Mulvey gave up two runs in two innings for the Mesa Solar Sox as they tied Grand Canyon 7-7. Michel Abreu went 1 for 4 in the game with a run scored and Fernando Martinez went 0 for 2 and is 0 for 5 on the season.

Uh-Oh

St. Louis Cardinals? Lucky.

Which means that now, not only are John Maine and Oliver Perez regulars in the Mets' playoff rotation, but there's a chance that the Mets would have to bring Darren Oliver out of the bullpen to start Game 5. That, or use Game 1 starter Tom Glavine on three days' rest instead of his regular four.

Mr. Graziano brings up a valid, valid point, but I do think that this decision should be solely based on what the situation is. If the game is a must win game, you have go with Tom Glavine. If the Mets are looking for one game to close it out, give Darren Oliver a go and try and win one of the last three with your two best pitchers on more rest. You can look at the disturbing fact of how beat up the Mets rotation is, but at least they have four starters. Given what they went through, it is hard to believe they even have four serviceable starters to run with.

Is Oliver Perez or Darren Oliver ideal? Fuck no, but they have the ability to do it. Darren wouldn't be asked to go seven innings and throw a shut-out and neither is Perez. The road will certainly not be easy for the Mets and at this point it seems that Anderson Hernandez being included on the roster instead of Dave Williams looks like a regrettable move, but it is what it is. A stretch of games in which a rookie is pitcher, Steve Trachsel is pitching, Oliver Perez is pitching, and possibly Darren Oliver, this bullpen is going to be in for a workout. Hopefully Chris Woodward hurts himself tying his shoe or something because another arm would help.

Inexplicably though, it seems as though the Cardinals are sticking to their regular rotation.

Still, La Russa said last night that he was inclined to keep his rotation as it is, with Jeff Weaver and Jeff Suppan pitching at Shea in Games 1 and 2, and Carpenter pitching at home in Game 3.

"I don't think there's a benefit to changing with Chris," La Russa said.

Of course, anything can change, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The Mets are in dire need of taking the first two with how their rotation is shaping up in the following three games. Sure, Carpenter will still only get two games in the series no matter how you shake things out, but having him on the bench as they get eliminated in game six would certainly make LaRussa's decision a colossal blunder. The other thing lost in all of this and you hate to look forward, but with the way the Tigers are playing, the Mets might have to face a well rested team with sparkling pitching in the World Series should they move on past the Cardinals. The Mets pitching will most likely be beleaguered after this series with the Cardinals so going forward it is going to be a true test for this team.

* * *

I don't value anyone's life over anyone else's and I'm not going mention how small the game of baseball is because we all know it's a game. Everyone gets it. It is horrible when anyone dies regardless if they are a ballplayer, actor, Brazilian hooker, or an accountant. I feel horrible for everyone that was connected to everyone who died and this type of stuff happens. However, the news sickens me. Especially the local news. I get the fact that tragedy is much more interesting to report than happy news, but here is an example of one news tease:

"A Yankee pitcher dies in a plane crash, news at 11:00."

Cory Lidle is a name that 90% of the public won't know so if they say his actual name in the tease, it's a non-story for a lot of people because most people do not care when non-famous/uninteresting people die. Jon Hooker was a minor league ball player that died and it went largely unnoticed. I had two people ask me yesterday that are not baseball fans ask me if he is good as if that makes a difference. If it was Derek Jeter, the news would have JFK Jr.-like coverage with millions in mourning. But it was Lidle, so they had to keep it vague in hopes more people tune in. In reality, the coverage was excessive. It was a tragic death and hearing how his wife was flying back to LA and had to be met by Homeland Security to get news was disheartening. However, Local News has lost perspective and is totally irrelevant in the world at this point. Overall, news is now based on fear mongering and sensationalism and throws integrity out the window. Who needs integrity anyway?

On my way to work, some guy had this one his car:

IF YOUR CHILD DOES NOT HAVE THEIR SEATBELT ON YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE.

Asshole was in large letters in case you were wondering while the other words were in lettering rather small, so you had to tailgate to read it. I'm perplexed as to what would drive a person to actually put that on their car.

Cliff is a solid citizen.

"This is a huge time and you just want to be a part of it to help this team win," Floyd said. "It might be my last season playing with the Mets, so I don't want to go out that way."

I hope people don't remember his as the oft-injured player he is, but the tremendous teammate he has been and the effect he has had on this current Met team, especially David Wright.

Pedro is feeling good and looks to be recovering nicely.

"I'm very, very optimistic and very happy about the results," Martinez said. "Right now, the doctor just told me today that I looked like a month after surgery - and it's only been a week - because of the way everything is moving around and the way that I'm feeling and the way my flexibility is reacting to the surgery. That's more than good news."

Secondary pitches be damned, Mike Pelfrey was named as the #3 prospect in the Eastern League by Baseball America.

3. Mike Pelfrey, rhp, Binghamton (Mets)
B-T: R-R Ht: 6-7 Wt: 210 Age: 22 Drafted: Mets '05 (1)
Like Garza, a fellow college righthander drafted in 2005, Pelfrey made a quick ascent to the big leagues in his first full pro season. The last first-rounder to sign, accepting a $5.25 million big league contract in January, he was starting at Shea Stadium six months later.

Pelfrey's command is not as good as Garza's, in part because he rotates his lower half too much in his delivery, but he too pitches off his fastball. It's a 70 pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale and one of the best fastballs in the minors, more for its late life than its velocity. It has heavy sink when it's down in the zone and comes in at 93-95 mph, touching 97.

Pelfrey needs to improve the consistency of his secondary stuff and have more conviction in it. His changeup is his second-best pitch and has the potential to be an above-average offering. His curveball remains slurvy, though he throws it at 82-86 mph.

I still believe, but I believe in Phil Humber a bit more at this point.

8. Carlos Gomez, of, Binghamton (Mets)
B-T: R-R Ht: 6-4 Wt: 190 Age: 20 Signed: Mets FA '02
Gomez is the youngest position player on this list as well as the toolsiest. He skipped high Class A at age 20 and got better as the season wore on, coming back strong after missing three weeks with a back injury near midseason.

Gomez has pop in his bat, plus speed, a well above-average arm and good defensive ability. His approach is too aggressive and he needs to improve his situational hitting, but he recognizes pitches well and drives the ball to all parts of the field. He already is an accomplished basestealer, swiping 41 bags in 50 tries.

"He swings out of his ass. He really takes a hellacious cut," a scout said. "But he has a natural swing path and maybe the best bat speed in the league, well above and beyond Lind and Casto. This guy excites me."

I thought Gomez would be high and he really opened some eyes this season. That quote was a curious one, but I think I'll take it.

As for the International League, Milledge stopped in at #2.

2. Lastings Milledge, of, Norfolk (Mets)
B-T: R-R Ht: 6-1 Wt: 185 Age: 21 Drafted: Mets '03 (1)
Milledge's improved plate discipline with Norfolk earned him his first major league promotion when Xavier Nady went to the disabled list in late May. While he didn't set the world on fire as a rookie, Milledge showed flashes of what he can do. Scouts agree that it will take him time to apply all his talents.

Milledge's bat just rips through the zone and will allow him to produce for both average and power. A plus runner, he should improve as a basestealer (13-for-23) once he learns to pick his spots better. He has slightly above-average range and a solid arm, and while he's capable in center field he'll probably play on the corner with Carlos Beltran on the Mets.

I still believe in Lastings, but it seems the ability is not going to be his biggest obstacle but him understanding his place in the world of baseball and on the Mets. How much is overblown by the media and is true? Who knows, but it seems clear there is at the very least a little something going on with him.

Marquis out...Reyes In

LaRussa is going with the youth.

The Cardinals made just one change to their roster from the Division Series to this week's National League Championship Series, but it was a significant one. Left off of the NLCS roster was Jason Marquis, with Anthony Reyes taking his place.

That means Reyes is the likely starter for Game 4 of the series at Busch Stadium on Sunday. Neither pitcher got a start in the Division Series, with Marquis kept on the roster as a potential reliever or emergency pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. The NLCS schedule, however, will require the Cards to use a four-man rotation, rather than three. St. Louis will carry seven relief pitchers.

What does it all mean? Not much. That fourth game was a crapshoot anyway. Anthony Reyes didn't pitch all that well in the second half as evidenced by his 5.90 ERA and .299 BAA, but as his first half ERA of 3.86 and BAA of .202 shows, the kid has stuff. The Mets have not fared well historically against Jason Marquis (4-2 in six starts with a 3.40 ERA and .234 BAA from '03 to '05 and 1-1 this season with a solid start and a stinker). I would have rather of faced him, but I think this game depends more on what Oliver Perez shows up as opposed to what pitcher the Cardinals have on the mound.

The Time Has Finally Come

The Yankees learned yesterday that a top free agent, the right-handed starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, will be available this winter.

As expected, Matsuzaka’s Japanese team, the Seibu Lions, agreed to post him for major league teams, who will submit sealed bids for the right to negotiate with him.

Wow, I hope the Mets find out about this too, Omar and Fred might be interested in Daisuke. Matsuzaka broke into the Japanese League at 18 years old and has been dominant since day one. He owns a mid 90's fastball and owns a career record of 108 - 60 and has a career ERA of 3.07. Daisuke was 16 - 7 with a 2.83 ERA in 2003 and he started 19 games. He struck out 215 people in 194 innings while walking only 63. In 2004 he is 9-6 with a 2.96 ERA. His strikeouts were down that year and his walks were up, but he rebounded a big way in 2005 when he set a career low in ERA. That is until he laid waste to the league this season and set a career low in ERA with 2.08, career high in K/BB with 6.06, a career low in BB/9 with 1.59, and a career low in WHIP with 0.92. His 6.71 h/9 and his .199 BAA were just sparkling.

The intriguing thing about Daisuke is how dominant he has been on the international stage. In 2004, he was dominant in the Olympics. Against the eventual Silver Medal winning Australians he went 7.2 innings giving up five hits, one earned run, three base on balls, and struck out thirteen. Against the eventual Gold Medal winning Cuban team Daisuke went 8.1 innings giving up seven hits, allowing two earned runs, walking one, and striking out seven. His performance was well documented this season in the World Baseball Classic as he won the MVP award while helping the Japanese team win the entire tournament. For Japan, Matsuzaka went 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA, a .85 WHIP, and ten strikeouts in thirteen innings. He was only one of six players to win multiple games and the only player to win three games. In case you have not figured it out yet, he's good.

On the negative side of things, he has missed a lot of games due to arm troubles. At one point he threw 250 pitches in 17 innings against a team in the quarter finals of the 1998 summer high school championships. Baseball Prospectus had pointed out that Daisuke threw 149 pitches in 2004 and him throwing 140+ pitches is not exactly a rare occurrence. He has topped ten complete games in each of his last three seasons and in 2006, he topped 130 pitches eight times including two 140+ pitch games. That was before he added a 137 pitch performance in the playoffs on October 7th in which he struck out thirteen in a complete game shut-out. His arm may be a bit of concern in terms of mileage, but the fact is that he has only topped 200 innings twice in his career and still has age on his side. Getting him to the majors where he would be on a shorter leash will probably extend his career and you can be sure he will get used a bit differently in the states.

So, who will get him? You can be sure that he will have plenty of suitors despite the fact that Scott Boras is his agent. The Mets will give a look, the Yankees will be all over him like stink on a Cardinals fan, the Dodgers are always interested in Japanese players, and there will be more. Per season, he will undoubtedly cost less than Zito, but it will cost a pretty penny to get that privilege to sign him. The battle for his services will be with the heavy weights only and throwing his name into the ring just ups the Mets chances for getting that ace they sorely need in the off-season. Him coming to the states is good for the Mets whether they sign him or not.

* * *

If you missed this rundown of game #1 between the Mets and the Dodgers by Bill Simmons, check it out. There are too many great lines to start quoting them, but you should give it a read.

Good times for all.

Seriously, I cannot tell you how big a smile this brought to my face. It never...ever...every gets old.

Brian b found a really cheap place to buy the 1986 World Series DVDs...if you are interested, this price looks as good as it is going to get for a new set from a quasi-reputable source.

In a strange turn of events, Kevin Mulvey will be sent to the Arizona Fall League despite just 15.1 innings of professional work. However, he was very impressive in his limited work and should be able to handle it. With a good AFL, Mulvey could really pump up his prospect status as the Mets new top ten is starting to look really, really impressive lately. After the top ten? Not so good.

Zito got jacked, but don't believe he still is not worth the boatloads of money (as much as any human being can actually be worth that much) that will get thrown at him in the off-season. Everyone gets knocked around, but that knee-buckling curveball would be extremely welcome in Queens.

The Mets need someone to step up and be the ace this post season. Tom Glavine has gone through a lot as a Met, but if he steps up and leads the Mets to a World Series victory, I just might be able to sell my Glavine jersey.

To pitch to him or not to pitch to him, that is the question.

"Hopefully we don't," Mets slugger Carlos Delgado said. "He can lead the series in walks, that's not a problem."

"So much of it depends on the game," said Game 1 starter Tom Glavine, who has given up nine hits, but no home runs in 20 at-bats to Pujols. "Albert is a great hitter and the guy we're obviously going to identify in their lineup as trying not to allow him to beat us. But what's the saying? The best-laid plans go awry sometimes."

During the season? Go after him. In the post-season? All bets are off. The Mets have a secret weapon they can use on Pujols in big spots though.

The Oliver Perez vs. Dave Williams debate is over and Oliver will get the ball in game number four.

Manny Acta and Jerry Manuel are expected to be token minority candidates for open managerial jobs, but if they are snatched up, hopefully Howard Johnson gets a look to be a coach for the Mets.

Coaches Manny Acta and Jerry Manuel are expected to draw interest from the Giants and Nationals regarding their managerial vacancies, while Acta also figures to be a candidate with the Rangers. Those teams have sent back-channel signals of their interest to the Mets, but haven't formally asked for interviews, according to team insiders.

The Daily News says Orlando Hernandez could be available to pitch in the World Series should the Mets get there. Ordinarily, I'd say that is a bad idea. However, The Duque is the type of guy who can take four years off without throwing a pitch and comeback and throw a shutout in his first game back.

Things are looking up for Cliff.

"He had a nice little workout, swung the bat well in BP, and we're going to just wait until [today] to decide when he comes in," Willie Randolph said, adding, "I'm optimistic it will work out fine. We have time to wait, see how he feels when he gets up [this] morning."

Cliffy is not quite as optimistic as Willie, but he can sometimes get a bit frustrated with his never ending barage of injuries.

Fluff piece on Rick Peterson? Check.

La la la la la...I'm not listing...la la la la la...I can't hear you...

Looper is out...Wainwright is in. Of course none of that matters, Looper is good reliever and not an incapable closer. He was injured in his final season with the Mets, but overall, the Cards pen is weak.

Praying for Rain

This is from a Cardinals message board that I yanked from the Metsgeek.com comment section.

New York could be in shock after the NLCS

The weather forecast for the NLCS is rain on Wednesday and thunderstorms on Thursday. I’m hoping one of those games is rained out. Here are two scenarios of how the Cardinals COULD win this series, especially if one of the first two games is rained out:

Wed. Weaver (on extra day of rest) loses to Glavine, in a close game, even though Jeff pitches very well

Thu. Suppan (on regular rest) loses to Maine, in a close game (or wins this game but loses game 6)

Sat. Carpenter (on extra day of rest) defeats Trachsel easily

Sun. Reyes (or even Marquis, on a short leash) defeats Perez

Mon. Weaver (regular rest) loses to Glavine in another close game

Wed. Suppan (extra day of rest) defeats Maine this time

Thu. Carpenter (regular rest) defeats Trachsel.

Cards win NLCS 4-3

ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO, WITH A RAINOUT IN NEW YORK THIS WEDNESDAY OR, MORE LIKELY, ON THURSDAY:

Wed. or Thu. Weaver loses to Glavine

Fri. Carpenter (on regular rest) defeats Maine

Sat. Suppan defeats Trachsel

Sun. Reyes or Marquis defeats Perez

Mon. Weaver loses to Glavine in another close game

Wed. Carpenter defeats Maine

Cards win NLCS 4-2

Wouldn’t New York be in shock?!

This kid is a douchebag. They are just oozing confidence as a fan base over there praying for rain. The reality of things are is that the Cardinals are throwing up two pitchers who the Mets should have no trouble with to start things off. In the opener, Tom Glavine faces off against Jeff Weaver, who gave up five runs in five innings as Carlos Delgado continued his dominance against the poor guy. Delgado has a .500/.620/.974 line against in him 38 at-bats with four homers and fourteen RBIs. The current Mets team is hitting .296/.387/.525 against him and it does not get much better for Weaver as the Mets can load lefty after lefty against him and as Andrew points out, that is a good thing. A very good thing.

While the Mets have one of the most powerful lineups in baseball, and arguably the most powerful one still playing, they have the ability to look even better against Jeff Weaver. Why? Because lefties have hit an astounding .340/.396/.609 off him this year. Weaver’s approach to lefthanders is to spread the ball all over the plate, throwing a ton of fastballs and mixing in his curve and changeup.

Wow...just wow. The Mets have looked pretty tight offensively so far and I expect them to keep rolling against the Cardinals. After Weaver, Jeff Suppan is slated to take on John Maine. While Suppan has held the current Met players in check with a .223/.314/.386 career line against them, lefties have hit him at a .302/.369/.464 clip this year.

Because Suppan’s stuff is average, he’s not going to blow anybody away (a hundred and four strikeouts in a hundred and ninety innings), especially not a professional lineup like the Mets. He’ll be looking to induce a ton of groundballs, and the Cardinals infield is a solid one defensively. For a groundball pitcher, Suppan does give up his fair share of homeruns (twenty-one), which just so happens to be the Mets offense’s favorite trick. And, once again, the Cardinals are throwing a pitcher that lefties rock — .302/.369/.464 against this year.

Suppan is the type of pitcher the Mets eat up. He's a rich man's Steve Trachsel, but he is eminently hittable. After Suppan, the Cardinals ace is finally on tap to pitch. Things shook out marvelously for the Mets as Chris Carpenter will not be seen until the third game and they have a chance to really jump ahead in this series. John Maine did get rocked by the Cardinals earlier in the season, but I certainly feel more comfortable with Maine beating the Cardinals current lineup than Suppan beating the current Met lineup.

While the Cardinals fans are praying for rain, I'd have to say Met fans are feeling pretty comfortable these days. It's worth mentioning Yankee fans were feeling very comfortable a week ago, but these Mets are not the 2006 Yankees. They are a deeper, more well rounded, and a closer knit bunch. Two keys for the Mets have been depth and consistency. Depth on a roster that is pretty good one through twenty-five reflects Omar’s never ending quest to build a team from the bottom up and consistency is a testament to Willie Randolph (hell yeah bitches!). Whatever Willie has managed to do over there and however he managed to do it after looking utterly confused in 2005 has been nothing short of amazing. Of course a good team has a way of making a good manager, but he cannot be totally overlooked an he gets his team to play the game the right way.

* * *

Gary Sheffield is most likely done as a Yankee and will turn 38 years old in November. Would anyone take a one or two year deal for him so he can be pissed off and try and prove the Yankees wrong?

Good news! Joe Torre will be back.

"It looks good for Joe,'' a source said.

Seriously, does anyone care? I'm glad the most overrated manager is back. I was afraid they would get a guy who really knew what he was doing.

Lou Pinella is a hot commodity these days. If you ask me (and I do realize no one is), teams can save money by going after Gary Carter and my good buddy Ken Oberkfell and pick up one of the best coaching prospects in the game and save millions and millions of dollars.

Just say no to Ledee. Lastings Milledge should get the nod if Cliff Floyd cannot go. Rickey Ledee's veteran presence and .188 average be damned, Milledge makes so much more sense on so many more levels.

Mark Herrmann tries to remind us the Yankees are still the talk of the town.

One of these days, the Mets will take Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. Brooklyn and Queens, too. Not today, though. Definitely not yesterday, either.

As much as the Mets earned their place as king of the hill, top of the heap on Saturday, there hasn't been any changing of the guard. Not even close. It is going to take more than one Division Series win hours after the Yankees were eliminated to make the Mets the talk of the town.

Douche...the Yankees losing is going to be big news. They were the absolute favorites to win the entire thing. The Mets losing would have been big news too. Anything either of these teams do is big news and no one is fooling themselves into thinking the Yankees do not have more fans than the Mets right now as they had 4.2 million + come through the turnstiles this season. Thanks for your pointless article and let Met fans get back to watching the only team still playing in October.

Dayn Perry throws his weight behind the Mets, and judging by his new picture, he has some considerably weight to throw.

Kevin "don't call me Mench" Hench is taking joy in the Yankees misery. Partake in the joyous article and enjoy the day.

Baseball Prospectus gives us some random trivia.

The longest HBP was when Paul Maholm of the Pirates plunked Lastings Milledge of the Mets on the 12th pitch of the PA on September 15th.

Alternate Universe?

So let me get this straight, the Mets are still playing in October while the Yankees are sitting home? Yes indeed, strange things are happening.

The Modell's outside Grand Central Station was taking all the Yankees jerseys out of the main display window and replacing them with Met jerseys this morning, which was shocking to me. Also, this Saturday I went to Beer on the Pier 3 and there were a lot more people sporting Met paraphernalia than Yankee paraphernalia and it was not even close. This was all before the Yankees were officially ousted by Detroit.

I'll tell you what, I can get used to this and everything is falling into place for the Mets. If the Cardinals throw Chris Carpenter at the Mets for game one, he will be running out there on short rest. If the Cardinals would rather him get normal rest, the Mets will likely face Jeff Weaver. Is anyone else smiling? The Mets could easily be 2-0 after John Maine and Tom Glavine work their way through the Cardinals and while there will be countless articles about how the Yankees should tear apart their team apart in the next couple days, the Mets will be trying to win a championship.

I was hoping the Yankees would miss the playoffs, but now after they did make it and got demoralized? That was much better.

* * *

The operative word for these playoffs for the Mets is adversity. With Pedro, The Duque, and Dirty out already, Floyd is just the latest in a long line of casualties. While it is not 100% he will miss the playoffs, it sure is looking that way. But everyone is banged up and while the previous injuries felt so damning the Mets chances, this one does not feel that way. Not because Floyd was not important. He is very important, but this team just appears bulletproof at this point. They still have more offensive pop than any team in the playoffs with the Tigers giving them a good run and should be looked at to the be the favorites.

How do you not love this guy?

"His style is very similar to the power lefties, like a Randy Johnson and those type of guys. It appeared that he was trying to pitch more like a Tommy Glavine. That's not his style. Everybody has his own style. The ingredients were always there and he just wasn’t using those ingredients to make a gourmet recipe that's an Oliver Perez recipe. He was using other ingredients to make a different recipe."
--Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, on starting pitcher Oliver Perez

"He came here with the same physical attributes that he had a couple years ago; his stuff is relatively the same. He came here with a different style of pitching. He's an Indy 500 car and he was driving a Toyota Camry. He was trying to pitch unlike his style."
--Peterson

Torri Hunter laid out this gem too...

"Everybody was saying he was washed up. Why? Why do you think we were trying to get him? He wasn't washed up. He had a foot problem. Now he's healthy and you see what he can do. It's scary. That's why they call him Big Hurt. He'll hurt you. And he's big, too."
--Twins CF Torii Hunter, on A's DH Frank Thomas (ESPN.com)

Tommy Lasorda is a wise one and the Yankees better take note. They've been worrying so much about their offense the last six years, they have completely neglected building a shut down bullpen which could have easily cost them two championships. The Mets do not have that problem. They can lose a starter in the fourth and not sweat it.

"Tommy was asking about my team and this and that," Minaya explained, making his point as he held a bottle of champagne in his right hand. "He said some words that stuck in my mind, words that are still there.

"Tommy said to me, 'Championships are won or lost in the bullpen.' I never forgot that."

Thom Brennan? You are an asshole. For those of you who missed it, he made fun of some blind guy.

"Why did they make fun of Grandpa Steve," asked his 6-year-old grandson while watching the game.

Yeah, Thom, why?

Sweet Lou would be good for the Yankees. He's an old school guy who won't care about egos and certainly will not stroke anyone's ego.

There is no other choice besides Lou Piniella to replace Joe Torre, no one else who could handle the pressure of replacing the most popular and accomplished Yankees manager since Casey Stengel. If the Yankees follow through and fire Torre, which appears the likely move and also is the right move, they need not speak with anyone else, even if that means violating Bud Selig's requirement for interviewing minorities.

The Yankees should look drastically different in '07 and maybe they will learn championships are not built on offense alone. They used to have a pretty good clue on how to build a team as evidenced by their dominance up through 2000, but things are have spiraled so far out of control since then.

You want analysis? You got analysis.

Mets/Cards pitching analysis....
Mets/Cards position analysis....

I'm not going to get on A-Rod today. He made a few more gems in terms of quotes after the Yankees loss after batting eigth and he makes it too easy. I'm almost starting to feel bad for him....almost.

Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead

Again, the Mets proved they are the epitome of a team. The same day the Yankees' $200 million juggernaut gets ousted from the playoffs, the Mets swept the Dodgers to move on to the NLCS for the first time since 2000. The Mets needed a big boost from their pen and got it and they scored every run but one on singles. The Mets can beat you with the long ball, they can manufacture runs, or they can just hit nubbers, flubbers, and chop shots until they win. They won each game of this series in drasctically different ways and showed the baseball world why they are so good. Paul LoDuca, who I cannot apologize enough to for calling BloDuca, led the charge and proved again why he was such an integral part of the teams he was on in the past. The guy is just clutch. The guy is just consistent. The guy is Paulie Ballgame.

As for the Yankees, I was fortunate enough to watch the game from the lair of the beast and I watched it from Mickey Mantle's. The mood in there was a somber one as nobody could believe their eyes. The YES network was there and the woman doing the interviewing had written a lead in piece that started like this: To say the mood in here is somber would be an understatement.... It was. The mood in the bar was as if daddy just hit mommy at the dinner table. The place was uncomfortable as Jeremy Bonderman was just dealing and the Yankees season was crumbling. The Mets are now 5-0 in October and look as tight as ever. Willie showed us all just how much of a leash Steve Trachsel has and with a rested bullpen, he won't have much of a chance to let the game get away. There are so many good things happening for Mets fans right now and there is not one team they cannot match up against in these playoffs. Starting pitching be damned, this team has what it takes to overcome.