Well, rats.
It's a funny game — you go from marveling at being behind in exactly two innings to wondering how on earth the team got beat by the likes of Tomo Ohka. Stifled, in fact. Well, so it goes. I'll take 8-2 for the next 10 games with nary a complaint. Meanwhile, some thoughts:
* Does Jorge Julio have options? I'm not ready to run him out of town on a rail or moan that I would have preferred more time in the lukewarm bath that was Kris Benson, not with what the radar gun shows on Julio's fastball. But he's obviously all kinds of messed up and he's equally obviously a sensitive sort. The fans were booing him during Opening Day introductions (which was ridiculous, but too late for that) and Julio doesn't look like the kind of player who can keep that from getting into his head and doing all sorts of damage.
* Speaking of booing, the Carlos Beltran nastiness seems to be behind us. A week ago the stadium would have been deafening after he let that weird little dunker from Prince Fielder fall in front of him. Today the fans shrugged it off. Who says New Yorkers can't let bygones be bygones now and again?
* What exactly does Jose Valentin bring to the table? I know you're supposed to give a player 40 games before making judgments, but that can't apply to pinch-hitters. Valentin has shown absolutely nothing.
* Still, Valentin might stick around given Victor Diaz's continuing fits of dopiness, like that awful misplay last night. The way Willie looked at Diaz from the dugout, I wouldn't have been entirely surprise to see Victor immediately turn to stone. Something tells me he'll be looking at the real-estate listings for coastal Virginia before too terribly long.
* On the flip side, the chiding finger wag Delgado gave Wright after his poor throw last night was priceless, particularly with that million-watt smile of his.
* Gary Cohen gets unconditional love from me, but some SNY producer should talk to him about those shots of the booth. Every time we get one there's Gary staring at Darling or Keith like he's Superman using his X-ray vision, then turning that same laser-beam look into the camera. Frankly, it's a little creepy. Gary! Relax! You're among friends!
* Speaking of SNY, why do I have to look at Derek Fucking Jeter every half-inning? If he's not hitting against Josh Beckett in a videogame, he's trying to sell me a Ford or showing me around his “crib” or just smirking about something or other. I thought the whole idea of our network was less looking at DFJ. Instead, I probably see him for more minutes per game than Cliff Floyd. Enough. I hearby announce my boycott of all products using His Smugness as their spokestool. *
I'm gonna quit before this gets all Larry King. Ben Sheets tomorrow. Ulp.
* Since I don't play console games or have a car, I'll grant this is completely symbolic.
What's even worse than SNY airing commercials featuring DFJ is that at every game at Shea, one of the cutesy little give-away things they do between innings is that video game with His Overratedness on the cover. Of course, it might just bother me more than the TV commercials because I've been to 3 games at Shea so far this season and don't have SNY, but still, there's something a bit distasteful about a product with DFJ's likeness on it being given away as a prize in Met territory.
It was bound to happen, a little scuffle, otherwise we would've gotten all sorts of over confident. Valentin is indeed pointless. Julio (or Juligan as my friend dubbed him today) looks like, despite his killer “stuff,” he may be beyond Rick Peterson's pep talks. And another thing, it kills me the way the Mets are always having their biggest X crowd ever. Is a sell-out not a sell-out? Why does it change so? Hmm. A pity that this biggest crowd ever on Jackie Robinson Saturday didn't even get to see the Mets drive in a run with a base hit.
Oh, and speaking of Delgado and chiding defense, something has been bothering me about that spectacular double play we turned in Washington and I finally figured out what it is: Delgado. He barely stretched at all for that ball. Hernandez's throw was so good it didn't end up mattering, but he's really got to reach out for those–that extra fraction of a second matters on plays like that–a lot! Neh?
Cohen is an outstanding announcer, probably the Mets' best since
Lindsey Nelson, but he is the absolute epitome of the expression
“he has a face for radio.” I won't say he's ugly, but let's face it, he adds
nothing whatever to the esthetic experience of a gamecast.
At the very minimum they should get the guy a good hat. And
following the Lindsey example — he wasn't exactly Robert Redford
either, remember — maybe the SNY should get Cohen some good
loud sports jackets, the kind that might draw the eye away from, um,
other parts of the screen.
I love the way he calls the game, I just hate to watch him do it.
Yes, even with a loss things are good when the discussion centers around
1-The announcer, whose is excellent but as noted has the face for radio
2-Pinch hitter. At least he didnt strike out. Maybe Matsui can take his place
3-Back end relief pitcher. I didnt mind trading Benson, but a bag of balls may have been better thabn Julio. He may need the Norfolk Cure.
A blazing fastball is not much use if you can't get outs with it, and
it's now apparent that Jorge Julio can't get outs like we need him to.
It's especially apparent to Julio himself, as Darling and Cohen
took note of today: the guy looks completely shattered. If there's
any way to do it contractually, he needs to go down to Norfolk and find
some confidence, quick.
It's sorta clear why Julio Franco is on the team despite being only
marginally useful as a PH. Valentin, however, is proving to be
a switch-misser instead of a switch-hitter. One longtime trait of
many a Mets team was unusually good pinch-hitting, but it doesn't
look like we'll get that this year, at least not until some changes
are made. Let's get Matt Franco back from Chiba Lotte!
I don't find Gary hopelessly untelegenic, though perhaps I'm just playing defense because I look a bit like him. (Pity those of us whose hair departed long ago and who burn instead of tanning. We're human too!)
I just wish they'd coach him a little on the scary laser-beam stare.
MLB 2k6 sucks anyway, it's one of the buggiest games I've ever played. And all the fielding animations were mocapped by DFJ so all the shortstops in the game do that goofy jump throw of his. Of course I can't stop playing it because it's the only game on the market for Xbox and Delgado is an absolute monster 40 HR in 30 games on hard mode.
So Jose Reyes does that idiot DFJ jump and throw? That's like a borderline war crime.
Gary Cohen & Richard Dreyfuss — separated at birth…