Archie Bunker's Army

Maybe some day Johan Santana will positively sparkle at Shea when it really matters, say in the NLCS. So far though, his two starts at Shea have been less than impressive yet optimism prevailed last night. He walked off the field to cheers rather than boos. Ouch Maybe some day David Wright will get the MVP award he deserves but for the moment, he'll have to settle for a game-winning, 11th inning walk-off hit to avoid what would have been a gutting loss. Billy Wagner's first blown save of the season wasn't necessarily his fault. Jose Reyes' error certainly didn't help but considering he managed two full innings of relief, Wagner was able to escape Shea's now-notorious boo-birds. Better Wright than Never... Overall, last night's 5-4 11 inning win inched them that much closer to the NL East lead but frankly, it was hardly a heart-warming performance. Mr No Curtain Call Strikes out with the bases loaded...hardly breaking news. Consider that Reyes was on b...

Is it raining in Queens today? I dunno, but it's raining here in the UK. Again. And again, etc. Like Pittsburgh, maybe. Nobody will be playing two in this fucking weather... But seeing as how the Army itself has been in some serious neglect when it comes to regular updates on the ups and downs of the Mets, I thought it would be appropriate to open the mailbag for a change and actually answer readers' questions. Why have you been skiving off the Mets reports most games? Have you lost interest? Have you switched allegiances? Too busy watching bloody rugby and Indian billionaire league cricket matches until the wee hours of the morning? --Concerned in Barnstaple I waiting for a curtain call after every article and if I don't get it, well, I'll probably strike out with the bases loaded... Bearing in mind the excitement the trade generated, do you think Johan Santana's performance so far this season has disappointed, inspired or simply been adequate? --Viktor Rice...

Well of course the season is full of pitfalls, valleys and peaks and of course, the consecutive day embarrassment in Wrigley Field, this time a hideous 8-1 loss, is the valley with the potential peak of the Nats rising on the horizon but, woa - losing this ugly is boring, unpalatable and a dreary exercise. At least someone has a hero Don't hesitate to blame Jorge Sosa but by that same token, whilst he did surrender a disgusting grand slam to little Ronnie Cedeno , ultimately, the Mets were heading nowhere rather rapidly without his assistance with no rally in sight. Without the hometown crowd in his ear, Nelson looked well, Figueroa-ish Are the Cubs really this good, the Mets this bad or is this just one of those cases of someone being high hitting someone low and an inevitable explosion? An aggregate 15-2 score over two disastrous days leaves one not pondering the source of the illness but frantically searching for the toilet. There's a rather ponderous hole in the batting o...

There is one common denominator in the two consecutive road losses, including last night's disappointing 7-1 thrashing at the hands of the Cubs. No Angel Pagan . Now, some might argue that it isn't the absence of Pagan so much as the presence of Endy Chavez out there in right field and perhaps when and if Moises Alou returns for a streak of 10 games before being befelled by some other mysterious old man misery, this point will be borne out with a little more clarity. For the moment, the Mets are looking at two consecutive losses, either way and last night's embarrassment, although somewhat of a nail-biter before the game unraveled (shall we point fingers at the omnipresent scapegoat Aaron Heilman ), blame Jose Reyes' duplicitous handling of a ground ball hit his way (whilst practicing elaborate handshakes??) or a murderous road trip schedule, the game unraveled and the loss was recorded. Hard to imagine he hasn't eaten his way out of the league by now... Yes, we...

Aye, whilst away (rehearsals, gigs and packing for The Move) and incapable of commenting on this recent surge of victories by our favourite lads, (easy now, those of you kicking the newcomers off the rapidly departing bandwagon for being Doubting Thomases)it appears even an intriguing run of victories is insufficient to lift the Mets to the rafters of the NL East but nevermind. Not even last night's exciting loss could deflate the enthusiasm deriving from a near sweep of Philly in their mutton chop little homer shop called home. To briefly revisit the efficient mechanisms of this victories march, I thought it might be appropriate to allow some fellow bloggers' own words suffice wherein my own have been absent. The funny thing is, going through my blog roll, I found so many of my fellow bloggers had either been equally busy, absent or unable to lend much commentary. Perhaps the Nats were simply not up to snuff when it comes to exciting opponents. Wednesday, Game 2 at Shea v Na...

Oh, c'mon. Yes, it was nice to see a little modicum of efficiency displayed by the favourites to win the NL East. A 5-0 victory is something to be cherished, especially as it was led by persistent mouth guard chewer, Mike Pelfrey . Realistically, it was one game. One game against what is arguably the worst team in the East. One victory against a team who has lost 10 of their last 11. The Magical Lastings, Captain Bonehead, tossed out trying to steal third by the man he was partially traded for... Regardless, perhaps the wisest words on dealing with this Mets squad are found in this paean to mediocrity : "So, get 2006 out of your minds. In actuality, this is more like 1998, when a superstar joined a bunch of middling players. (Although clearly Wright & Reyes > Alfonzo & Olerud). In other words, go to Shea, have fun, cheer the wins, shrug your shoulders at the losses, and, above all, feel free to make other plans this October." But now I've wandered off c...

You could go a long way in life making up empty excuses and bromidic slogans about losing, can't you? Not long ago, the signing of Johan Santana had every pundit drooling saliva which formed in the pattern of Mets Are The Team To Beat . Now look at them. Mutts. Mets performance leads to a slight variation on the fit bird spread... Lose a 6-2 lead, well hell, that's nothing, how about losing an entire season long choke hold on first place in compellingly choking fashion? Double plays in five straight innings squashing any tic of hope as the Brewers tried over and over to GIVE this game to the Mets only to see the Mets didn't appear to want to take it. No, we'd rather bounce into double plays every effin inning and complain about the quality of the dirt on the base paths. (Well, no one actually did the last bit to my knowledge but why let reality get in the way of a good whinge...) You don't hear see Willie crying in his Cornflakes over this one. Maybe he's...

Ahhh, staring down Fred Wilpon in his personalised contract negotiations has a price for Johan Santana . The saviour who has the weight of the Mets on his shoulders did not exactly knock 'em dead in his Shea debut in a Mets uniform. Three of his pitches were knocked dead though. Dead over the fence and the Mets took the loss which had the nightmarish trifecta of the Saviour Disappointing , Reyes On The Mend and David Wright looking like Billy No Mates trying to work his way through some intense fielding yips. No tears of joy for this outing... But I'm all for looking on the bright side of this. Yes, the home town fans gave him an earful. Yes, he took the loss, yes the Mets winning streak ended at 3 and no, Johan did not do a Cy Young impersonation that was very believable. thanks but no thanks Still, he lasted more than 5 innings which is rare for a Mets starter, he took the gruff from the fans and the booing in stride and doesn't seem too fazed at all that he is di...

There probably aren't too many willing to bet he'll do it again but for a night anyway, the local boy, Nelson Figueroa done good; retiring the first 14 batters in order-sort-of-good and the Mets snuck away with an improbable 4-2 victory over the Brewers. Pedro's replacement shines on the home town stage: Perhaps it was the quirky underarmed delivery that befuddled Brewers. That's three victories in a row and a leg over .500 again as the bullpen did it's job in efficient order: Joe Smith and Aaron Heilman retiring 6 in a row through innings 7 and 8 leading up to Billy Wagner's first save of the season, just like they draw it up on the board in class, for a change. No bases loaded melodramas or white-knuckle moments, just a simple victory. But aha, not entirely simple. Jose's Hammies have made an unexpected visit again after hiding away for a couple of years. Unlike most of the Mets' injury worries, this has nothing to do with age and given his slo...

A play at the plate, Jose Reyes sliding safely home, Angel Pagan , delivering the game-winning two-out hit in the 12th inning, wow. On Rally Towel Night nonetheless. Yes, we'll take it... "I had the plate blocked. I had the ball before [Reyes] got there," Phillies catcher Chris Coste whinged afterwards in a moment of sour grapes as the Phillies lost a pair on the trot to the Mets. "He hit my glove [as] he reached for the plate. It's simple. I tagged him before he touched the plate." Yeah, right. Except that's Jose Reyes, speed demon and you're...Chris Coste, who's the judge gonna believe? Bring on delirium... Sure, Reyes didn't touch the plate the first time in. But home-plate umpire Ted Barrett ruled that there was no tag, either so on his second try, Reyes touched the plate with his left hand, before Coste could land the glove. Oh yes, it's early days but I believe there's a little chap whose head is still emerging from th...

It's a strange world I inhabit when I open the London Times this morning only to find out about Rick Astley, Champion Muppet and the song contest gone awry. It takes news a long time to travel buddy but when the Mets get a big plug in the London Times , even if it's as the butt of some sick internet joke well, we've made it. Just remember this, it could have been much, much worse: an internet conspiracy to include a Culture Club tune or a George Michaels ditty. And yes, I'm pulling an El Puque having missed the first two games of the Home Opening series and worse still against the Phillies - and can I get confirmation on who I am supposed to hate more these days the Effin Braves or the Phucking Phillies ? Is there a consensus on this somewhere out there? Hate in equal parts? And yes, whilst I'm temporarily on the Blogging DL with calloused fingertips and repetitive motion strain, I am lusting in my heart for the Mets. So, yes, Tuesday appeared to be an unmiti...

Maybe it would have been better to have been pissing down rain all weekend. A grand summation of a futile weekend. Two days, two losses show the Mets, even with Santana, haven't moved far from the miserable collapse of 2007. You'll struggle to excuse this ugly weekend. The Mets had John Maine and Johan Santana going for them. Carlos Delgado , thought to be spinning out of his prime at light speed, Ryan Church, Angel Pagan and Brian Schneider, all thought to be potentially equal part of offensive inadequacy, are hitting .350, .381, .313 and .357 respectively. But if you examine Games 4 and 5 of the 2008 season you will notice that not only did the Mets lose to their arch rivals. Not only did they lose twice. Not only did they fall into the bowels of the NL East, most importantly, they just didn't impress. Maine's debut was hardly representative of his Spring. Four innings pitched? Three walks, eight hits, four earned runs? Is this an attempt at sabotage or furt...

After reading about the latest Mike Hampton injury you might almost wonder how this guy escaped Omar's radar. He's got real DL cred: 2005, 12 games pitched, then DL. 2006, Disabled all season. 2007, Disabled all season. 2008, DL'd after "warming up" before pitching his first game. Now Pedro's made of a little tougher mettle. 2006: All winter and Spring Training worries about The Toe , ended up turning in a decent performance most of the season before season-ending shoulder surgery. 2007: out nearly the entire season before a brief comeback 2008, DL'd after less than 4 innings pitched. On the other hand, we could think about the fact that three games into the season and there's yet to be a fit bird photo appearance, so here's a few extra: But forget it. I'm done feeling bitter about Pedro's latest injury and the Old Timer's roster Omar has assembled to lead the Mets to the promised land this season. I'm declaring a moratori...

Perhaps, this is the theme song the Mets should go with...something, a Marley tune like No Pedro No Cry , or Jennings/Nelsonesque along the lines of Mamas Don't Let Your GMs Grow Up To Sign Pedros. I mean I think it's safe to say at this juncture that well, Petey's a little injury-prone. I'm not moanin, mind you. I have always been for Pedro's signing and have always enjoyed seeing him in a Met uniform when his toe, or his shoulder or his ankle or his hamstring allows. But c'mon kids, the theme is getting just a little tiresome, isn't it? So whilst the Mets were putting an appropriate 13-0 hammering of the Marlins in the books in Game Three of the season the Mets Collective was in the midst of a mid season sort of starting rotation musical chairs, debating the merits of Jorge Sosa or the readily unheralded Nelson Figueroa or the also oft-injured ageing wonder of the DL, El Duque . And the logic, the optimistic and favourite spin du jour was obviously ...

How's THAT for a quick hangover following the Opening Game of the season? Well, if they were holding a contest you'd probably have to wonder yourself, which is worse, losing to the bloody Marlins in the bottom of the 10th on a walk off homer by some tosser named Robert Andino (who had NEVER hit a homer in the majors before!) in the second game of the season OR watching Pedro fall down like he'd been shot in the hammy less than four full innings into his first start of the season? And raise your hand if you weren't cursing by then telling yourself you knew it, you knew it all along goddamn it, that it was too good to be true, the Johan and Pedro show. No, you didn't know - you just sensed it and watching Pedro stumble around for the first few innings before pulling up lame seemed to reaffirm it. Wait now, reaffirmation didn't come officially until Rick Wise surrendered the game-losing homer to the no-name Marlin but yaaaaas, the answer was there, waiting to b...