It’s like this and like that and like this and uh
It’s like that and like this and like that and uh
It’s like this and like that and like this and uh

It’s hard not to get excited watching Dillon Gee pitch; he’s like a combination artist/illusionist on the mound. To be a successful pitcher you have to be able to deceive the batter and Gee’s pitch of deception last night was a cut fastball. Gee felt his slider would not be effective after throwing his pre-game bullpen so he decided the out pitch of the night would be a combination of his two seamer with a bit of cutter movement and his changeup, add that  to his fastball and the Braves hitters were off balance all night. No matter what happens for here on this season, Dillion Gee’s starts are a must watch for Mets fans.

Terry Collins is using his last option with Jason Bay by dropping him to the 6^th spot in the lineup. If he can’t get it together there then it’s time to bring up Lucas Duda or F-Mart to platoon in LF with Bay or as Mike Silva suggests, ask him to go to Buffalo to work out whatever problems it is he’s having. If it comes down to where he’s spooked by Citi Field then Bay has a big decision to make, right now with his contract he is untradeable and he’ll to make to some big time concessions to go to a team where  hitting the ball over the left field seats is a bit easier.

More debate over the subject of retiring Gary Carter’s #8. What gets lost in this debate is the fact that the Skill Sets are so clueless when it comes to the history of the team, that’s why when you read the recent magazine articles where Freddy Skill Sets claims his love for the Mets is pure 100 % BULLSHIT. He’s a Brooklyn Dodger fan who never got over the team leaving Brooklyn. He and the rest of this dysfunctional ownership have no appreciation for those you have worn the Mets uniform or for you and me who love the team, they have to be shamed into doing anything positive when it comes to this team. As Mets fans we want something to celebrate, the negativity has drained most of the life out of the fan base.

On this day in 1973, the Mets made Lee Mazzilli out of Lincoln High School in Brooklyn their first pick in the MLB Entry Draft. If you’ve read this site for a while you know I’m not a big Mazzilli fan.  I was a sophomore at FDR High in Bensonhurst when Mazzilli was drafted and though I had never met him I heard a lot about him, not any of it complementary from players on the varsity baseball team.  When Mazzilli came up with the Mets he’d frequent a few of the Bensonhurst/Bay Ridge spots my friends and I hung out in and he acted like an ass anytime I saw him. When he was traded to the Rangers in ’82 it was the best thing for him, he needed to be taken down a notch or two.

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Why not? He’s been the best hitter in Flushing in 18 seasons

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So the doctors said David Wright could resume baseball activity in six weeks. The Mets thought that meant six weeks from the time the injury occurred. But the doctors say no, six weeks from the time of the diagnosis. What we have here is a breakdown of  communication  (just like in season’s past which was supposed to end with Sandy Alderson as boss) or Alderson was using Abbot and Costello math.

Either way when the worst news of the night isn’t the fact that  the team has become the first team in the history of MLB to lose six games at home while having a lead after seven innings but that your nice kid somewhat of a superstar third baseman has suffered the first major injury of his career and won’t be back until maybe after the All-Star break well, “you’re snake bitten baby”

Gary Cohen said last night, there are reasons the Mets blow these leads late in the game and it’s the difference between good teams and bad teams. It may be a cliché but it’s true the little mistakes add up to turn wins into losses. Whether it’s Daniel Murphy’ lack of instinct on the base paths, or Izzy coming in a game with two outs and walking a struggling Dan Uggla, Josh Thole unable to stop a pitch in the dirt (again) and Jose Reyes picking the worst time ever to make an error, it all adds up to failure.

Terry Collins was quite calm after the game. Maybe he’s come to the realization there are some things a manger can’t dictate,  like instinct .

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You can never be too skinny, too rich or have too many arms in the bullpen:

METS SELECT THE CONTRACT OF RHP MANNY ACOSTA FROM BUFFALO

FLUSHING, N.Y., June 3, 2011 – The New York Mets today announced the team has selected the contract of righthanded pitcher Manny Acosta from Buffalo (AAA) of the International League.  Acosta will wear uniform #36 and will be available for tonight’s game vs. Atlanta.  After yesterday’s game, the Mets optioned lefthanded pitcher Mike O’Connor to Buffalo.  In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets transferred righthanded pitcher Chris Young to the 60-Day Disabled List.

Acosta, 30, was 1-0 with four saves and a 1.77 ERA (four earned runs/20.1 innings) in 20 games with Buffalo this season.  He allowed 13 hits, issued 17 walks, recorded 27 strikeouts and held opponents to a .186 batting average against.  The righthander had allowed one run over his last 13 appearances (0.6384 ERA), spanning 14.1 innings.

Acosta went 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA (13 earned runs/39.2 innings) in 41 games for the Mets in 2010.  He allowed 30 hits, issued 18 walks and struck out 42 batters.  The 6-4, 213-pounder went 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA (four earned runs/26.0 innings) against National League East opponents last year.

O’Connor was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA (two earned runs/6.2 innings) in nine appearances for New York this season.

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When I was first notified of this event I thought it was stupid. Why? Because it’s pretty obvious that Mets fans don’t want Reyes going anywhere and I don’t think Sandy Alderson wants him to go anywhere and no matter how much you stomp your feet and scream that won’t put funds in the in Mets empty coffers.

But my view of this event has changed and I now feel this is a great time an opportunity for Mets fans to show the new minority owner that Reyes (and David Wright) needs to be A Met 4 Life.  Frankly I would love to protest the keeping of Reyes by having a mass walkout of Citi Field during the bottom of the 5th inning of a game, just to show the Skill Sets and Minority Einhorn, what the ball park will look like next year without our beloved shortstop.

I know I’m putting too much faith in Minority Einhorn to stepped up and kick some Wilpon ass but I have to believe the Stealth Bomber GM (Sandy Alderson) will have a big say in this as well.  Alderson chucked Ollie Perez and Luis Castillo not only because they sucked but he felt negative fan sentiment was so strong, it was the right thing to do. Now with that same Mets fan passion in a positive way, Alderson seems to have gotten the message that he needs to be as creative as possible in keeping Reyes a Met. If he doesn’t then the message will be sent to the Mets fan base, WE DON”T WANT YOU EITHER!

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Now I know how Anthony (See My ) Wiener feels, as my Twitter account must have been tampered with yesterday. Here I was in dark despair over Mike Pelfrey and his ineffective pitching performance but always holding out hope that my beloved NY Mets would overcome a 7 run deficit.

As always I was optimistic that the message Terry Collins sent his team on Wednesday night would wake up his team and it would lead to a late game surge even though some of the more pessimistic Mets fans thought was an insurmountable deficit , I never wavered from my support of my ball club.  That’s why whoever got into my Twitter account and wrote some nasty Tweets during the game yesterday infuriates me to no end, I mean I would never ever sent such Tweets:

 STUNNING!!!! Lick this Pelf!

how about re-location? #MoveTheMets

How about Terry Collins comes into post game presser with suit case and says I’M DONE

Does Winnipeg want a baseball team too #relocatetheMets

Maybe Old School Dan Werthan is discussing candle stick holders with Pelfrey

If I’m Terry Collins I leave Pelfrey out there to take the beating make him grow up god damnit

Can you believe those Tweets? I will not rest until I find the fiend you got to my Twitter account and wrote such blasphemous ranting’s. Unlike Rep. Weiner I KNOW these are not my Tweets! Seriously this is much worse than having your pee-pee displayed in public.  I am quite confident that the my attorney’s that I have retained from the highly respected “White Shoe” law firm Beatum, Cheatum and Fuckum will find the scalawag responsible for this invasion of my Twitter account.

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On Tuesday June 14th at 12 Noon, The Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame will induct Nolan Ryan, John McGraw, Big Ed Walsh, Gene Monahan, Steve Donohue and Terry Cashman at Foley’s NY (18 W 33rd St) Here are the bio’s for the newest inductees:

1. Nolan Ryan (Current Living Ex-Players)

Among the most dominating right handers in Major League history and known as the “Ryan Express,” Nolan Ryan is baseball’s all-time strikeout king (5,714).  He holds numerous records including seasons played (27), no hitters (7), and strikeouts in a season (383). During his storied career, Ryan recorded 324 wins for the Mets, Angels, Astros and Rangers.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1999 and was a member of MLB’s “All-Century Team.”  Ryan played a key role for the 1969 New York Mets by recording a 2 1/3 inning save in Game 3 of the World Series.  He is currently part owner and team president of the Texas Rangers.

1. Big Ed Walsh (Hall of Famers and Legends)

One of the top pitchers of the early 20^th century, Big Ed Walsh is baseball’s all-time ERA leader (1.82).  In 1908, he had one of the greatest seasons in history, winning 40 games and posting an ERA of 1.42.  Born in Plains Township, PA, Walsh had four 20-win seasons, six sub-2.00 ERA seasons, and was a World Series champion with the Chicago White Sox in 1906. He owns the second-best WHIP (1.00) in Major League history, compiled a win–loss record of 195–126, and recorded 1,735 strikeouts primarily for the White Sox.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1946.  A meteoric star of the “Dead Ball” era, Big Ed Walsh is the quintessential great but overlooked Irish American in the game of baseball.

3.   John McGraw (Hall of Famers and Legends)

With his 2,763 managerial victories, John McGraw ranks second only to the legendary Connie Mack in Major League history.  A dominant figure in early baseball, he led the New York Giants for 31 years, winning 10 pennants and three World Series.  McGraw managed in both the first World Series and the inaugural All Star Game in 1933.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1947.  John McGraw was also an exceptional player who hit .334 lifetime and stole 436 bases.

4.   Gene Monahan/Steve Donohue (Trainers)

Long time New York Yankee trainers Gene Monahan and Steve Donohue have attended to numerous World Series teams.  They were named MLB’s best trainers by the Professional Athletic Trainer Society in 2010.  Monahan, who is proud of his Irish roots, is a throat cancer survivor and is one of three employees to span the entire length of George Steinbrenner’s ownership.  Earlier this year, he announced his retirement at the end of the 2011 baseball season.  Donohue, whose ancestors hailed from Cork and Wexford, has been part of Yankees’ training staff since 1986.

5.   Terry Cashman (Entertainers)

Terry Cashman is best known for his hit song Talkin’ Baseball, which was inspired by a photograph he saw of 1950s icons Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider.  The song struck a chord with fans during the 1981 baseball strike and has grown in popularity ever since.  Over the years, Cashman has revised the lyrics of Talkin’ Baseball to accommodate every Major League team’s history.  Now widely known as “The Balladeer of Baseball,” Cashman played for the Detroit Tiger organization during the early 1960s. Born Dennis Minogue in New York City, Terry Cashman’s Irish roots are in Co. Clare.

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It was nice to see Terry Collins get pissed off last night even if it wasn’t a total tirade I mean the way Collins acted at his post-game presser was the kind of demeanor Earl Weaver had ordering breakfast, but it was nice to see a Mets manager show passion instead of the “hey, shit happens” attitude of Jerry Manuel and the deer in the headlights way of Willie Randolph.

Collins said there will be changes, but really what changes can be made? The easiest move would be to release Willie Harris as he has lived up to his rep as a Mets killer even while wearing the Mets colors. Harris made a grave mistake when he said he pined for the days of the camaraderie of the Nationals clubhouse. He should have been cut that day.  It’s bad enough that Harris can’t hit for shit, his baseball IQ is as minuscule as his OPS. Not getting the force at third base and not knowing to go home on a sharp groundball with the bags juiced are the stupid baseball plays that have been tolerated around here for too many years. Good bye Willie Harris.

If Collins really wanted to send a message he’d go to Sandy Alderson and ask for Lucas Duda or F-Mart to come back up and make left field a platoon with either player and Jason Bay. Remember when we heard player salary wouldn’t be taken into account when making on field personal decisions? Well it’s time for Bay to grab some pine and if he has a problem with that either have his agent find a team to take him off the Mets hands or work out a buyout. I’ve seen enough of Bay, nice guy but he’s spooked by Citi Field to the point that he stands so far off the plate he might as well try to hit from the dugout steps.

Not much you can do with the bullpen. As Bobby O said last night, this runs in cycles, the pen has gone from sugar to shit the last couple of weeks so hopefully they can sweeten themselves in the right direction. At this point though, you could send Bobby Parnell back to Buffalo as he’s closer to driving a UPS truck as he is to being the closer of the future. It’s one thing to throw 95+ mph but to throw that hard and straight over the plate you get your tits lit up in the big leagues. Problem is who comes up? Manny Acosta has been great out of the Bison pen and John Lujan, who looked good in spring training, would be a nice candidate but really Alderson is at the bottom of the minor league pitching barrel.    

You have to feel for Terry Collins. He’s trying so hard to stay confident with his Buffalo Soldiers and maybe they are just not up to the task. No matter what level of baseball you’re talking about, if you give the opposition 4, 5, 6 outs in an inning you will lose the majority of your games no matter what. Then add in an impotent offense that can’t get past 3 runs in a game, well then you have nights like last night. Collins’ Buffalo Soldiers are starting to crumble as badly as Saddam Hussein Republican Guard. I hope Collins has a better luck than ol’ Saddam

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The Mets have lost their share of games this season that would have you sit an ponder for a few minutes before you get on with  your life outside being a Mets fans , but last night’s game , some 12 hours later is still bothering me.  I was lucky enough to have Ed Marcus (rusty Jr.) of The Real Dirty Mets on with me last night after the game on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN podcast and we disscused the game plus a lot of other Mets news and views, but back to last night’s game.

Last night Terry Collins managed more with his heart than his head, when he left R.A. Dickey in the game in the 8^th inning. I’m not going to kill Collins on the move but I won’t argue with fans who feel  he  left Dickey in too long. Where I take Collins to task is, and not to go all Tim McCarver on you, why do you have Izzy warming up in the pen, and then you don’t use him? Sure Collins brought  Izzy in after Neal  Walker’s  two-run single up the middle to break a 1-1 tie, but the formula all season has been Izzy in the 8^th and Frankie Rodz in the 9^th which has worked great for most of the season, so why re-write the strategy now?  Well, it seems Collins got caught up in the moment as did all the fans at Citi Field.

R.A. Dickey not only showed guts pitching in pain with his plantar fascia injury that has left him unable to run and walking with a bit of a limp but that did not affect his ability to toss a knuckleball that sashayed better than any contestant on Dancing With The Stars. Maybe it was the warm humid night or just that Dickey got his mojo back but he was vintage Dickster last night.

Every time Dickey came up to bat he was greeted with an ovation that was Seaver-Godden-ess and deservedly so.  Problem for R.A. was the lineup that Terry Collins used last night made a journeyman pitcher like James McDonald look like Dock Ellis, minus the hallucinogenics  of course. I will give McDonald props on curve ball that was just a nasty 12 to 6 hook.

It seemed that Collins was ready to let Dickey pitch a complete game hopefully with a shutout added to the back of his baseball card. Dickey had retired 12 in a row until the 8^th inning. After a Ronny Cedeno’ leadoff single, Dickey got two quick outs, then hit a batter and let young James Harrison get another hit off him bringing up Neal Walker who hits much better from the left side than right, so maybe bringing  in Brydak or O’Connor would be the move here.  Collins didn’t think so, it was Dickey’s game to win or lose.

Now Dickey got two quick strikes on Walker but a combination of Dickey letting a knuckler float in the middle of the plate and Walker using good hitting technique and shorting up his swing with two strikes, sent the pitch right up the middle for a two run single which was like a swift kick in the nuts.

If Dickey strikes out Walker there, R.A. and Collins are heroes instead it’s become a second guesser’s paradise. That’s baseball Suzyn.

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