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[miles]

I mean, golf just got one.  Golf.  And then there's football.

As I've said before, I'm a Mariners and a Mets fan.  I also like the Reds, and the Diamondbacks get respect for beating the Yankees in 2001.  I don't know where the Reds thing started, but it was reinforced when Griffey Jr. got traded to them.  I'm a big fan (even though he's worthless now).  If the Mets play the Reds or the Diamondbacks, I go for the Mets, and if the Reds and the Diamondbacks play...it depends on my mood.  When the Mets and the Mariners play, I remain neutral.  Just sit back and enjoy the game.  And if they ever meet in the World Series, my head will probably explode.

Anyway, it's good to see 3 out of the 4 doing well this year.  But being a Seattle fan in any sport is hard work.  I stick with it though.

Also:  This.  The treacherous bastard deserves it.  Motherfucker.

Edit:  Really, can you expect my memory to go back 3 months?  Well, it can't.

[robot_god]

That stadium is awfully nice.

I should have bought MLB League Pass so I could see more of Francisco Roderiguez's curveball.  There hasn't been an Angels game televised over here, yet.  Man, I love his curveball, that crazy kid.

[melack]

I'm a Mariners fan, too. Look at the bright side! Felix is starting to look like himself again. Putting up with such a moribund offense is almost  worth it when you get to see the best pitching prospect in a decade take the mound every five days. Maybe he just needed some time to get over his offseason regimen of cheetos and xbox?

[Immortal]

hey, the mariners are lucky that the AL west sucks this year. they're only 3.5 games back with 15-21 record!

i am a mariners fan, of course. what's really frustrating is knowing that this team is so good on paper, they just aren't getting it done.

soon. i hope. soon.

as for the rest of baseball.. um.. only two words need to be said: albert pujols

[smick]

Here's a little something for the Seattle fan.

[miles]

Huh.  I guess this means that aliens are Mariners fans.

[littlefallsmets]

I could talk for HOURS about the Mets, of course... because... they're good, there's really good, they just didn't have the balls to take those last couple of steps to be as good as they could be.

They've got three big problems: their second base is by a committee of .250 hitters with no power, they have no pitching depth (their first three starters are great, their first tier of relievers are great, their four five and second-tier relievers are laughable double-A-level talent) and they need a real fourth outfielder for when Grandpa Floyd and Ol' Hangnail Beltran are out or underperforming with injury.

In other words, their pitching is good but not good enough to have any kind of offensive slump. When the hitters aren't just lighting it up, they've got absolutely nothing. And... I'm realistic to an extent... they don't have the money or the prospects to do serious pitching upgrades.

But at second and fourth outfielder? Soriano was out there, Manny was out there, they didn't pull the trigger. Mets plus Soriano and Manny... hell... Soriano OR Manny... and they're tearing through everyone. They're not dropping drop by drop these little one-run losses where one bat makes the difference that'll eventually turn into a big ol' bucket of suck.

A 22-12 start LOOKS good but... when six of those losses are 2-1 to the Marlins, 2-1 to the Nationals, 2-1 to the Padres... you start looking at those losses and realizing: these are the games that they're gonna be out of wild card by in September.

22-12 don't look so good when you know they're supposed to be 28-6 and, either way, its all because their early schedule turned out to be even easier than once thought, with the entire NL East underperforming... when those Central division trips start piling up... yikes.

And, okay, fiiiiiiiiiiine, if you're gonna be one of those Caveman Communist types who says "23 Skidoo" and forgets that in the 21st Century, it's occasionally okay to... *gasp*... TRADE COMPLETELY UNPROVEN MINOR LEAGUE PROSPECTS FOR AWESOME PROVEN STARS? Okay, if that's really how you feel... well, first of all, ask the Angels how great that plan is working out but... if that's really your thing?

Lastings Milledge is down in AAA batting .360 against people that are clearly no longer a challenge... while you've got Grandpa batting .180 with a lingering ribcage pull, Hangnail calling off playing any given day because his ass itched that morning and Nady's gotta take every six or seven games to not exhaust himself...

And career benchwarmers/long-busted prospects covering their spots when they go down. Victor Diaz? Endy Chavez? JOSE VALENTIN? Sweet Feathery Jesus! The guy you re-FUSED to trade in the off-season to get someone in the Zito/Manny/Soriano range?

Lastings is down in Norfolk hitting balls all the way to Busch Gardens, wondering what more he can do.

...and this is just what I was able to type in, like, ten minutes.

Best not to get me started.

[robot_god]

they don't have the money... to do serious pitching upgrades.

I don't know if I agree with this.  But I'm not familiar with any figures.  I think you hit it a little more squarely on the head when:

they just didn't have the balls to take those last couple of steps to be as good as they could be

Take a risk and spend a couple more million in the offseason and those upper deck seats could be filled.  But then, the fans might as well change the logos on their hats to the Yankees logo.  Nevertheless, you can still learn something from George Steinbrenner.

But then again, I don't remember how much they're spending on the new stadium.  The city is paying for half or something I think?  Splitting it 400M/400M?  I suppose it might be a smart time to start investing in bonds.  Quit smoking.  Go hybrid.  Shit like that, ya know?  Personally, I would bet it all on red (Manny).  Is D-Train a free agent this year?  Maybe bet it on black.

I don't know what it says about them, but last year a beer at Shea cost 25 cents more than Yankee Stadium.  Or 50, I dunno, I wasn't legal yet.

Anyway, do you get the games out there in Cali?

[Carlos del Vaca]

The Mets' other problem is that Pedro Martinez is a dick who needs to get drilled with a fastball.

Of course, the Nats didn't have the SACK to do it, they just let him plunk their guys with impunity.  Losers.  Oh, and they lost on a Junior Griffey home run last night, after taking a 4-1 lead in the top of the 11th, because Frank Robinson hates pitchers.  Fire him, now.

[Hobot]

Sweet Feathery Jesus!

The rest of your post made little sense to me (I'm not a baseball fan; I am sorry about this), but I would like to thank you for providing me with my new favourite exclamation.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Chavez's unofficial nickname while he was with the Nats was "Inning-Endy Chavez."

[littlefallsmets]

Well, yeah, Pedro is definitely a dick. But much like Dirty Harry, he's OUR dick, you know?

Totally plunk him all you want, though. It'll just be another guy standing around on base when Jose Reyes comes up and either strikes out or flies out to mid-center when... oh... he's one of the fastest guys in baseball. Couldn't walk or... uhm... put the ball in play on the ground or anything, could we, Joe-say? Dude's amazing defensively but he's Willie Mays Hayes up there at bat.

YOU ARE THE SHORTSTOP. YOU ARE THE LEADOFF HITTER. YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO WAIL AWAY UNTIL YOU STRIKE OUT OR HIT A LAZY FLYBALL A FEW STEPS SHORT OF THE WARNING TRACK. ONLY ONE SHORTSHOP IS SUPPOSED TO DO THAT, HE IS PLAYING ACROSS TOWN AND SECRETLY MOUNTING TOM CRUISE IN FIELDS OF WILDFLOWERS ON HIS OFF-DAYS. YOU. ARE NOT. HIM.

Problem with pitching in the off-season acquistions was... I guess less financial, more that it would've taken giving up more than just prospects to get one in a trade and the few pitchers that were attainable on the free agent market would've required overpaying for to the point of complete idiocy. I wouldn't give up... Wright... or someone for new pitching. A handful of dudes hitting doubles for the single-A team in Possum Vittles, West Virginny? That's a big duh...

But... Soriano and Manny, I know that ONE of them were accessable just by throwing money at them and the other, you could've gotten by throwing all your talent languishing in Tidewater and Binghampton at a team. The minor leagues exist so that you can either call up players once they're good or trade away players who are already proven.

See?

I get really worked up.

[Emmoh]

I love talking baseball...but I haven't been able to the last few weeks.

See, I'm a Cub fan, and we suck. Bad. Real bad.

I've been a Cub fan for over 20 years, so you'd think that I'd be used to cheering for a team that sucks. But I don't recall a time when we've ever sucked this bad. I mean, they're usually pretty bad, with rare exception of getting our hopes up only to crush them in impressive manner. But this year...since Lee went down...wow. We suck SO BAD.

Meanwhile, on the South Side of town, the World Champion Asshats are sporting the best record in baseball, and their fans, especially the ones who discovered the team in October, are reaching new levels of obnoxiousness. Which I've always been able to hang with. But this year, I can't. We just suck. SO BAD.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

[Emmoh]

But... Soriano...

Oh man, you guys have such a good thing going, why would you want to bring this whiny K machine to town? This is the same guy who was throwing a bitch fit this winter because he didn't want to play the position they were asking him to play, despite the fact that he is a real shitty second baseman, and making way more than what he's worth. Manny, fine, he's a loon, but a total stud, and I'm actually surprised he's not a met yet. But don't be coveting Soriano.

Edit: Also, rumors abound that the Marlins are juicing the last bit of established talent on their team putting Dontrelle and Cabrera on the market. I like Dontrelle, but I contend that sooner or later hitters are going to catch up to him the way they tend to with pitchers with wacky deliveries. Cabrera has to be the biggest potential catch in baseball though. Anyone have any thoughts as to who will scoop them up?

[littlefallsmets]

Soriano isn't perfect, you're absolutely right. Dude was just the best bat at second available in the off-season.

However, dude is also 10,000 steps up from a platoon of Kaz "hey, my name is kind of like that other guy's so I must be good" Matsui, Chris "Warmest Bench Ever" Woodward and that .150 hitting feeb Anderson Hernandez.

A guy with sub-standard-but-not-tragic defense... and a serious upgrade as a hitter... beats a guy with a solid glove, hitting .235 all singles in the situation the Mets are in. I'm a big fan of sparkling defense and all but there's a point where it is outweighed by having to bat your 2nd baseman in the 8-hole and you're bleeding one-run/two-run losses to weak-hitting teams like a stick pig.

When your half your losses are... 2-1, 2-1, 2-0... you bite the bullet and give an error up now and again to get those wins.

There's special cases like, say, Bonds... where he's such a liability in left that he's just a series of series of stand-up-triples waiting to happen and needs to be traded to an AL team two seconds after he hits 715... but Soriano isn't that bad, defensively. He's below-average, sure, but he's not an unwatchable trainwreck.

And his bat in the line-up, traded for A-Hern, gets back three to four of the losses in early and middle May.