It won’t be truly the year of the pitcher until a Mets pitcher throws a no-hitter. Last night was almost the night as Jon Niese, he of the defective hammy, was a 3^rd inning Chris Denofia double away from Mets immortality. It’s coming I can feel it, or maybe that’s Western Omelet I had for breakfast.

I would guess that Johan Santana being 31 yrs old and coming off a couple of injuries would lose a bit off his fastball but I don’t think it’s the end of the world or the cause for him to be winless in his last in all but one of his last eight starts. Kevin Kernan was a way off base about Santana this morning, even with the great breakout season of Big Pelf, Santana is still the Ace of the Mets staff. Wake up Kevin, pitchers wins are so 1960’s.

Why didn’t Mets management throw that skanky-Yankee fan Lady GaGa out of Citi Field yesterday? Believe me when it comes to looking at women in a bra and panties I’m the last guy to complain but Lady GaGa doesn’t have enough going on to pull that look off, like these lovely ladies.  Keep your clothes on you no talent bitch.

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Day/Nighter today and I was sooooo ready to cut work and head to Flushing to watch Santana do his magic, but my desk is piled as high with cases as thick as Fernando Martinez’ medical folder,  So I’ll pass on going to the game to spend the afternoon with Howie, Wayne and my un-fucking-believable case load. So while you wait for Game 1 some great links to peruse:

Ed Ryan at Mets Fever feels the time is right to bring back Bobby Parnell and his high heat to bolster the bullpen. I agree as it my be time to send Ryota Igarhashi down and when John Maine comes back, stick him in the pen as well. To make room for Maine, the Mets can put Fernando Nieve on the DL saying he is suffering from exhaustion. No one will dispute that.

Nice gesture by the Mets to draft John Franco’s son JJ in the first year draft even though he is headed off to Brown University. I watched JJ play at Staten Island Little League when I was managing a team and John would come to the complex whenever the Mets were off and his son played. Another young man from Staten Island Little League, Bobby Lanigan has been very impressive pitching for the Ft. Myers Miracle of the FSL.

Ike Davis is a rare species of Met 

When David Wright can slap Big Pelf in the mush with his batting gloves and live to tell about it, then you know all is right in Metsland.

I swear the guys over at Amazin’ Avenue get up with the roosters (or they just stay up all night) and I for one am glad they do as their Daily Mets Farm Report is a must read for me every morning.

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for ending their 49 year drought by winning the Stanley Cup last night on one of the strangest goals in hockey history. Patrick Kane scored in OT but it wasn’t until the video review verified it. Kane and his teammates were celebrating but the Flyers and their fans just stood around like “now what” even the great Doc Emrick was a bit flustered. Anyway it’s nice to see an Original Six team win the cup. 

Memo to David Stern: Your thieving bastard refs are ruining the NBA Finals. When they are not gambling and throwing games or trading first class airline tickets for coach seats and pocketing the difference, they all but destroy the flow of the game and are so inconsistent with their calls that I don’t know what is and isn’t a foul anymore. And to you Mike Breen, your lucky I’m not working with you as I’d have punched you in the head by now you referee toady suck up.

Here’s your lineup for game 1:

            Reyes SS

•           Pagan CF

•           Bay LF

•           Davis 1B

•           Wright 3B

•           Francoeur RF

•           Cora 2B

•           Blanco C

•           Santana P

Will there be a Jesus sighting in game 2 ? How about the Animal?

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Next weekend in preparation for the Subway Series games at Highlander Park, Delta Airline will have a Fan Fest at Madison Square Park in Manhattan called The Delta Dugout. The event will run from June 18^th to June 20^th. Here are some of the details:

The Delta Dugout will host current and former Mets and Yankees players — including a special musical performance from Yankees’ legend Bernie Williams — Wii Batting and fast pitch stations, a photo booth, giveaways, and an array of games for kids.  Fans will enjoy stadium-style concessions and specialty food and beverages, including “The Delta Dugout Dog,” a limited edition hot dog to be featured at Madison Square Park’s Shake Shack throughout the weekend.  Fans will also view New York baseball highlight reels, NY baseball fun facts and live game coverage of the interleague series on a Jumbotron at the center of the park.

Throughout the three-day event, The Delta Dugout will offer major league giveaways, including ticket packages to Mets and Yankees games, special ballgame events and round-trip domestic and international tickets on Delta.  Additionally, Delta will host the Sky360 Lounge, where it will display elements of its premium BusinessElite in-flight experience, including lie-flat seats and information on its award-winning culinary offerings

Sounds like a fun time for both sets of fans,

Madison Square Park is located in the Flatiron District, between Fifth and Madison Avenues and 23rd and 26th Streets, just 8 blocks south of the Empire State Building. To get there by subway, take the R, W or 6 train to 23rd Street. On weekends only you can also take the N train to 23rd street.

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According to this story in the Baltimore Sun, Bobby Valentine is scheduled to get an interview with Orioles President Andy MacPhail for the job of manager.  I have no idea why BV would want this job as Peter Angelos has destroyed what was one of the finest franchises in baseball. With the Stephen Strasbug in DC now and Bryce Harper not far behind, the O’s will be the second team in the area very soon. I figure this is Valentines’ way of letting everyone know he’s interested in getting back in the dugout.

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While the baseball world was drooling over the debut of Stephen Strasburg, and let me say, all joking aside Strasburg’ pitching was mesmerizing, but there was another story of strapping young men playing ball in Flushing. First Mike Pelfrey continues his coming out season and THANK YOU, THANK YOU to whoever pursued Jerry Manuel to allow Big Pelf to go out for the 9^th inning. The site of Fernando Nieve in that situation would have brought me to tears, and then we had the walk off bomb by Ike Davis, who launched the ball into the far reaches of the Pepsi Porch, the spot we’ve been told no Mets player could ever hit a ball, to win a game that had 1969 written all over it. That was the type of game the Miracle Mets of that year used to win and around this time during that season, Mets fans felt there was something happing here, what it is ain’t exactly clear, and that’s how I feel about this vintage of Mets, if they can ever figure how to succeed away from Queens, well this summer could be pre-ty, pre-ty, pre-ty special around here.

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I for one, can not get enough of reading about Gil Hodges and after reading Taryn Cooper’ (a/k/a The COOP) posting on Mets Merized Online, It gave me time to reflect on this great player, manager and man.

  I always point to the death of Hodges on April 2,  1972 as one of the two darkest days (the other was June 15, 1977 and is you don’t know what happened on that date you are reading the wrong blog asshole) and the day the promise of the Mets organization died.

I also remember as an 8 year old Mets fan/Brooklyn gutter snipe, going to Hodges wake with my firends and our dads. We wore our baseball uniforms and walked past the resting Hodges and just cried like it was a family member, HELL he was a family member.

As Mets fans we bask in the fact that Hodges was not just the man that led the Mets from misfits to champions but he was also one of us, as he lived with his born and bred  Brooklynite wife Joan in Mill Basin, It’s a shame that Mets ownership doesn’t put together a campaign to get Gil Hodges into Cooperstown where he belongs.

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Tonight at 10PM ET join me for This Call ToThe Bullpen Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio. My guest will be Shannon Shark of The Mets Police, we will be talking about the Jekyll and Hyde NY Mets and look at some of the Mets-centric improvements Mets management has made at Citi Field. We’ll also talk about Mets tradition and our love for all things Blue and Orange and why we despise the Black uni’s and hats.

So join us live tonight at 10PM ET on Blog Talk Radio

If you can’t join us live then you can listen to podcast at your leisure right here at Kranepool Society (check out the lower left sidebar) or on our show page at Blog Talk Radio  or download the show via iTunes.

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One the great mysteries of the 201 0season is the astonishing difference between the Mets playing at home and what happens to them away from Queens. At home the Mets are the best team in baseball winning 22 of 31 in the spacious confines on $iti Field but away from home they’re as homesick as a first time summer camper going 8-18. Just think, if the Mets went 12-14 on the road their record would be 34-23 and in first place in the NL East. If they went 14-12 on the road that would have put them at 36-21 and not only in first place in the NL East but the best record in the NL. Go figure?

Why is this? Well, last night I had the pleasure of joining Pat Nestor on NYB Blog Live on Blog Talk Radio and one of the subjects we discussed was why is it that the Mets are studs at home and duds on the road. Pat and I both felt that Mets batters when they go into places like Cincinnati or Philly see the smaller dimensions and feel they can get their swing on in those hitters ball parks, where as at home the batters have come to the realization that hitting to the gaps are the way to go so maybe it’s the radical change in hitting philosophy that hurts them on the road. Just a theory. 

While on the subject of radio, tomorrow night at 10PM ET on This Call To The Bullpen on Blog Talk Radio my guest will be Shannon Shark of The Mets Police. No black caps or jerseys allowed, proper Blue and Orange attire only.

You know worlds are colliding when I agree with Bill Madden who took Fredi Gonzalez to task for some curious in game managing yesterday and then pointing out that one time around the block with Hisanori Takahashi is good the second and third time not good at all, back to the pen with you Mr. T.

I have no idea who the Mets will draft tonight in the First-Year Player Draft but I just hope with the 7^th pick the club takes the best player available slotting, be damned. I’m just hoping the Skill Sets with the cozy friendship with the Used Car Salesman don’t have a deal in place where they do not go over slot in exchange for a sign off from the Commissioners Office on the Ollie Perez “injury” (ouch! Something in my eye) The consensus pick for the Mets by the way is Zack Cox a solid hitting infielder from Arkansas.

With all the talk about finding an 8^th inning reliever how about calling the Astros to deal Matt Lindstrom to the Mets?  Lindstrom’s been closing for the ‘Stros which is waste of his talent and that fastball/slider would be a fine compliment to Frankie Rodriguez and his 1,001 variations of pitches.

I spent the day at Coney Island yesterday eating food I have no business eating but the strangest sight of the day (and on Coney Island it takes a super human effort to be strange) were four people sitting next to us at Nathan’s (I need to know if they serve Nathan’s fries with cheese and bacon in heaven or hell so I know to either clean up my act if they’re served in heaven or continue my evil ways if they’re served in hell) were four the ugliest looking family of white trash decked out in Philadelphia Flyers garb. I wanted to ask them what the fuck they were doing here in Coney Island but I didn’t want to ruin my appetite.

What is it about a baseball that makes people lose their mind? I’ve been going to baseball games since I’m 6 years old and I have never caught a foul ball at a game, and I couldn’t care less if I ever did. Same thing with the stupid t-shirt toss, I have more t-shirts than an adult middle aged man should own so why would I risk breaking an arm or a leg for a t-shirt that reads Pepsi Party Patrol on it but people do.

Oh yeah, I want this with my Nathan’s Fries with cheese and bacon. I hope that goes on in hell too

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There will never be another like Coach John Wooden. Not just a Basketball coach but an American icon as well

Here is his trademark Pyramid for Success

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