TOP 10 FAVORITE METS

Having been a Mets fan since 1973, I starting thinking about my favorite players and I have put together this little list.

10. Johan Santana – Yes he’s been a Met for exactly one day, but are you kidding me…after the embarrassment of 2007 I don’t think there was any move this team could make to excite a Met fan again except to acquire this guy. We won’t forget the last 3 weeks of 2007, but after watching this guy pitch, and getting him in his prime, there is little doubt he will move up on this list pretty fast.

9. Rick Reed – I don’t have great memories about Jerry Koosman, and although as a kid I used to get a kick out of watching Dave Kingman hit, he was a jerk. Go back and look at Rick Reed’s stats as a Met, the guy was very solid. He didn’t walk anyone, and just went out there and got people out and was always a good guy. Cone and Leiter were better, but I always like Rick Reed best.

8. Pedro Martinez – I loved Pedro as a Bosox, and I love Pedro even more as a Met. He is one of the most charismatic players we have ever had, not to mention one of the most talented. To watch a healthy Pedro is to watch one of the greatest players of our generation, so here’s to hoping Pedro has a solid 2008, signs a new deal with the Mets and finishes his career in NY.

7. Lee Mazzilli – After Seaver was traded the Mets this Brooklyn born Italian basket catching CF was the best player we had. I still remember the 1979 All Star game (that he should have won the MVP award of) when he walked with the bases loaded against Ron Guidy and then later hit a HR off Jim Kern it was probably the first time I could remember one of my favorites doing something to actually win a game, when everyone else was watching.

6. Jose Reyes – although he is blamed for being a huge part of the collapse of the 2007 Mets, he is probably the most exciting and electrifying player in their history. When Reyes is getting on base and running the bases he makes the entire offense roll. Defensively I think he is a bit over rated, but none the less, he is a solid fielder and great to watch everyday.

5. Edgardo Alfonso – Although his “big” years were short lived, he was at one time the best player in NY, and we thought he would put up one big year after another. A clutch hitter, and top notch defensive player at both 2nd and 3rd base. After he injured his back he was never the same hitter, but 1997-2000 at the ages of 23-26 we thought we had a guy who would be a super star for the next 15 years.

4. Mike Piazza – This future Hall of famer was an offensive force to watch in his years as a Met. He always carried himself with dignity, and had a great presence in the lineup. No one ever hit the ball harder, and you never wanted to miss his at-bats. After the awful 1990 seasons, Piazza came aboard and immediately this organization has a renewed sense of respect. His home run at Shea in the first game back after 9/11 will never be forgotten.

3. David Wright – he’s only been here a few years but he has the chance to go down as one of the all time great Mets. So far he has exhibited a great “awareness” of who he is, and what he is. And what he is, is a class act with a ton of talent.

2. Keith Hernandez – The captain. After all those awful losing seasons once Seaver was gone, Hernandez came to the Mets in 1983 and was the first piece of the puzzle that brought an entirely different attitude to this team and a championship (my only in all 3 major sports as a fan in 35 seasons) in 1986. His professionalism and tenacity were by far the makings of an amazing leader.

1. Tom Seaver – the franchise and the reason I grew up rooting for the good guys and not the Yankees. I remember trying to emulate his pitching motion right down to the grass stains on my right knee, and I went to bed crying when he was traded in 1977. I was at the first game when he returned to Shea as a Red, I was at the first game when he returned as a Met, and I went to Cooperstown for the weekend to see his induction.

FINAL CLEMENS POST FOR Y'ALL

It's been a nice week as Roger has finally decided to lay low and not hold press conferences that he storms out of, or to post you tube videos that say nothing, and finally stop sending out 18,000 word essays on why his stats prove he didn't do steroids. Maybe we'll never know that truth, and never find out if Andy really misremembered, or if Roger is just another in the long line of arrogant, successful, lying public figures, (Pete Rose, Marion Jones, Bill Clinton) that deny, deny, deny, until sooner or later the facts and the truth come out and we get the to little to late apology.

THE COVER UP IS ALWAYS WORSE THAN THE CRIME. Clemens will find this out one day, oh I guess at sometime in the next 4 or 5 years we’ll get the standard apology statement…let me write it for you Roger, or maybe you can just use the one that Marion Jones guaranteed she would never have to use:

“It’s with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust,”
“I have been dishonest and you have the right to be angry with me. I have let (my family) down. I have let my fans down, and I have let myself down,” “I recognize that by saying I’m deeply sorry, it might not be enough and sufficient to address the pain and hurt that I’ve caused you.
“Therefore, I want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Sooner or later we’ll get this speech from Roger, and I won’t have the to say “I told you so” I’ll get enough satisfaction from seeing that arrogant SOB squirm and make excuses, and hopefully take his “rear end” that he worked so hard on, back to Texas, and I won’t give a “rat’s ass” if I ever have to see him, or hear from him again.

Hopefully Roger’s kids DON’T follow his example. And maybe, just maybe, one day Kody will be at the plate against some pitcher, full of the drug, or performance enhancer of the future, with a vendetta against him who decides to maybe just get a bit reckless with a high hard one, and hopefully Kody will follow Mike Piazza’s example and handle it with class and respect unlike his dear old hard working daddy did, and still does.

Good bye ya’ll

CLEMENS UNDER OATH

Since he's under oath, I'd love to hear one of the Congressmen ask Roger what was he really thinking when he threw that bat at Mike Piazza?

He didn't really think that was the ball, did he?

Oh wait....he'd lie about that answer too wouldn't he?

Roger Clemens meet and greet with congress

First off let me start this by saying no one wants to see Roger Clemens embarrassed and sent home with his tail between his legs, more than I do. His arrogance and deplorable behavior through out the last 10 years or so disgust and enrage me. The way he handled the Mike Piazza incidents is an absolute disgrace, and his phony love of Babe Ruth (who I think is the greatest player of all time) is ridiculous. So needless to say there is nothing objective about this post. If you're a Clemens apologist, just stop reading now and move on to the next rant which I promise to make all giggly and fun.

What I don't get is, why would Brian McNamee, lie?

With all that said...(and now that Neil is the only one left reading) what is with this tour of congress? He is out there signing autographs, meeting and greeting with POTENTIAL JUDGES AND JURORS...I have never heard of or seen anything like this. The Mitchell investigators asked Clemens to stop by and speak to them before the Mitchell report was issued. Clemens refused. But now they can't get Clemens to stop meeting with people to tell his side of the story. There has to be no other option after Wednesday, when he swears on a stack of bibles that he is clean, that the Justice Department must open a criminal investigation into Roger Clemens' denials.

Look at that picture above, fake hair color, check, fake tan, check, fake boobs, check, fake husband, check, FAKE BODIES DUE TO MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF STEROIDS AND HGH, check. Again tell me why I'm supposed to believe he is telling the truth? Is it because he was a Yankee for 3 years...if he pitched his whole career for the Red Sox and won 2 World Series and 350 something games would anyone in NY be giving him the benefit of the doubt? Cumon...

Now on the other hand Brian McNamee has produced the "smoking gun" against Roger Clemens....except, to me, it proves nothing. All I have to do is look at a 45 year old man who is twice the size as he was 10 years ago (same as Barry Bonds) and I see him throwing harder and pitching better than he did when he was in his prime, and I see everything I need to see. Plus the louder and harder he yells to say he's telling the truth, shows me he's just trying a little to hard to make you believe that just because he "worked his rear end off" he deserves to have us believe him. And this isn't because he's a Yankee, because to me he isn't a Yankee, he was a jerk with the Blue Jays, and an idiot with the Astros.

Speaking of idiots, it's great to see that good ole' Rog hired an attorney who is as big a clown as he is. Rusty Hardin says of the IRS investigator who plans to attend Wednesday's hearing: "If he ever messes with Roger, Roger will eat his lunch." Nice, real smart, threaten the guy from the government with endless resources...maybe Hardin is the smart one after all, the more work he has to do for Roger, the more hours Hardin can bill Clemens for.
How great would it be if a sex tape would come out with Derek Jeter and Roger Clemens’s wife. OK sorry I couldn't resist...I'm just trying to get some more google hits. Brittney Spears, Lindsy Lohan.

On Wednesday, Roger and McNamee's testimony is meaningless, but Pettitte's is not. We don't know what Pettitte told them last Monday or what he will say at Wednesday's hearings. The speculation in Washington is he backed up Brian McNamee's story more than Clemens' story. Pettitte has told people around the Yankees that he simply told the truth (would we expect anything less from a quality guy like Andy?).
But, If Pettitte says Wednesday that he and Clemens had conversations about human growth hormone and Clemens admitted using it, what will Clemens do then? Attack Pettitte's credibility? You are damn right Clemens would, and then lets see all the Yankee apologist line up and pick a side in this one... I tend to think Roger's fan base will diminish pretty quickly.

There is only one question I want to hear the answer to, and only one guy I want to here answer it:

Mr. Pettitte, did you have conversations with Roger Clemens about HGH and did Roger admit to you he used it? The answer to that one should be way better than the Jeter sex tape!