It's a No-Complaint Monday
There's a doorman at my apartment building who loves to vent about the Mets. Loves to rip Willie Randolph, and Aaron Heilman and both of the Carloses, and Billy Wagner, too.
But there are times when the Mets are playing well, and I put my hand up and declare a moratorium on Mets complaints for the day.
So in that spirit, with both the Mets and Yankees coming off strong weekends, I'm declaring it a No-Complaint Monday.
(Disclaimer: Of course, this is all just for show. Of course I want you to complain, if that's how you're feeling. What, I'm really gonna encourage people not to post comments? I'm just trying to make the point that the New York teams both registered good weekends. I'd do anything for comments, just like Sonny would do anything for Cocoa Puffs).
The Yankees finished off a sweep of the Mariners yesterday. Here is the column I wrote off of the game. I found it interesting that, on the day the Yankees demoted Ian Kennedy to Triple-A Scranton, another homegrown product whom we once all wrote off, Melky Cabrera, further asserted himself as an offensive force.
Darrell Rasner, yesterday, proved the perfect antidote to the demoted Ian Kennedy and injured Phil Hughes: He threw strikes. Mike Mussina, meanwhile, continues to display signs that he's not quite dead yet.
The offense, despite the continued absences of Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez and the continued incompetence of Robinson Cano and Jason Giambi, has woken up some. You can thank the quintet of Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui for that.
Now, with all of this kept in mind, I wouldn't throw too big a party if you're a Yankees fan, as the Mariners looked awful. I can't believe some people picked Seattle to win the AL West. The Mariners just don't seem to get the most out of what is now an above-average pitching staff. I knew their offense would be no better than average _ and it hasn't been even that good _ but I didn't anticipate the lousy defense, to boot. They played like they didn't care.
As for the Mets, there are no qualifiers necessary. They went into the home of the best team in baseball, a team that hadn't so much as lost a home series this year, and they won two out of three.
I listened to yesterday's crucial top of the ninth on WFAN, as I drove from the Bronx to Manhattan, and it sounds like they caught a big break. But hey, good teams capitalize on their opponents' mistakes, and that's what the Mets did. That top of the ninth was a thing of beauty. The first two outs advanced runners, and Marlon Anderson's pinch-hit single was the kind of knock that could spark a winning streak.
I want to see this Ryan Church throw in the eighth inning, meanwhile. Like everyone else on the planet who doesn't draw a paycheck from the Mets, I ripped the Lastings Milledge-for-Church and Brian Schneider trade, but so far, it looks pretty smart. Look at Milledge's pedestrian numbers in Washington.
Now, let's see where this goes with Willie Randolph and his Teases. Joe Torre's Dodgers are tough, and Oliver Perez goes tonight in trying to wipe out his awful last start that drew Wagner's wrath.
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Comments (14)
Thanks for the mention. :)
Ken, the Yankees after being sweep by the Tigers, sweep the Mariners over the weekend. Not only that, the Yankees beat Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez, the 2 best starting pitchers for the Mariners. Meanwhile the Tigers got themselves swept by the Twins, go figure. After seeing the Diamondbacks against the Mets on Saturday and Sunday, 2 things concern me with the D'Backs. Their Lineup is too righthanded. The only 2 players that are lefthanded are Stephen Drew and Orlando Hudson who is a switch hitter. Neither Drew or Hudson are a power hitting threat. And their closer Brandon Lyon is not Mariano Rivera nor Jonathan Papelbon. You wonder how Lyon would perform in a big spot for the D'Backs.
Ken, you've outdone yourself with this entry. The combined references to Cocoa Puffs, Monty Python, Ziggy and "talk to the hand" are a career best for you, no doubt.
Oh yeah, the Yanks and Mets won, blah, blah blah.
WAIT... what's that noise? An avalanche... or the sound of Roger's web of lies unraveling. Get ready for another round!
Let's kill two birds with one stone - How to write a blog and the sex police track Clemens. This is how to drive traffic - Daily News top stories on its web site:
Clemens says he's sorry
Fossella's 'mystery woman
Carrie, pals still have the mojo - "Sex and the City: The Movie" .
Clemens baseball reputation is the subject of the lawsuit, not his sexual activity. He is accused of using PED's during the course of his career - he denies it. Due to the drug accusations, Roger's place in baseball history will be changed forever. Is the he fact that he may have shared his bed with someone other than his wife relevant to use of PED's? This gossip is being spread like manure in the public square,, but it will never see the light of day in a courtroom. It appears that the press is doing the legwork for McNamee, partly due to the fact that Clemens is a jerk and frankly has never been a role model to anyone.
Meanwhile, a high profile member of the press, Barbara Walters, is on a book tour touting her bedding of the high and mighty of D.C. who were subjects and sources of news, and it is being reported in the media as a good thing. Sex to sell dead trees! What a concept.
Just think how reporters acted to get this story. Is it now OK to ask players about their sexual activity, if they are gay, etc?
And tell me who is paying McNamee's legal bills? This does not fit the standard pro bono mold.
Thanks for the props, Jon.
Bob, while I'm not supposed to talk about my competition, you can link on my weekly "Seventh-Inning Stretch" and see my "Farce of the Week."
http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/ny-spkenrail0504,0,7331065.column
Yes, I saw that note.
And you can talk about the Daily News, because they are not competition. Most of their reporters don't have stature - actual or literary (sorry for the Lupica reference!).
Due to this Clemens series, perhaps Don Fehr and the team player reps will draw a line in the sand and throw reporters out of the clubhouse for a week or so as punishment?
Bob, Fehr and the players couldn't do that if they wanted to. Media access is written into the collective bargaining agreement.
I have to say, I covered three games this past week (since this Clemens garbage began), and I sensed zero hostility over this stuff. I think since Clemens isn't an active player, the issue isn't really infiltrating the clubhouse
And Roger opened the door ala Gary Hart, knowing full well his past was full of Donna Rices and Monkey Business vacations. Petite played it cool and got a pass, Roger upped the ante and that is on him and the Rusty Nail. If players did not fume when Arod was tailed with tail last season why would they care about Clemens?
Hi Abe.
Page 205 of the CBA mandates reporter access and the uniform player contract requires some co-operation with media for team p.r. - but a day of silence wouldn't be bad to point out the Clemens compost drop and the Tejada E360 issues.
I re-read the Clemens suit - no mention of sex beyond McNamee being in a pool if Flordia and Clemens dropping him as a trainer. The specific reasons given are steroid related. According to other legal sources on sports sites, this "evidence" is not admitted into open court even though the New York Daily Hustler believes otherwise.
Does the fact that he had relations outside of marriage relate to PED's? No.
Clemens has been a jerk his whole life - getting tossed from a playoff game, constantly arguing balls and strikes, the bat toss at Piazza, playing will I or won't I about retirement, etc. His public rep is that he is a piece of crap but a great pitcher.
Regarding Clemens"
1. I, too would like to know who is paying McNamee's legal bills. Follow the money and you will see this whole matter much clearer. I also don't like smear jobs and that is exactly what "they" are trying to do to Clemens. Like Bob, I grew sick of his yearly, will he, won't he routine and can't forget all the loot he walked away with from his "retirement day" at Yankee Stadium, only to return the following year in Houston.
2. Abe, if Roger Clemens really didn't use PEDs then why shouldn't he have moved to protect his name in the sport? Should anyone be quiet while they are being accused of being a liar and a cheat? If he is guilty of those things, then I agree that he is a fool to protest so loudly and file a lawsuit.
3. Players don't have to resort to throwing reporters out of the clubhouse. All they have to do is refrain from offering them any meaningful comments.
4. Either Cashman is feeling the heat about some of his earlier decisions, or he is a big man who is willing to admit when something isn't working despite the best of intentions and pull the plug before the season goes down the drain and perhaps a rookie is ruined mentally, if not physically. Glad to see Kennedy go down and Rasner come up. I agree Igawa deserves a chance, too.
5. I still don't think the Mets are as good as some writers here do.
Hey Bob and Anon, I know it has nothing to do with Clemens alleged drug usage, and these adulterous tales will not be heard at trial. But he opened the door to defense discovery when he filed suit. Given his personal history, and the details McNamee was aware of, it was a remarkable foolish move. The current news cycle was put in motion by Rusty. First the phone call tape, then the suit, now the personal destruction. Roger can drop the suit and eat the accusations or he faces more trashing, at least he has some control over his destiny. Bigger concern, he best hope the Feds cannot build a perjury charge. The doghouse sucks, but at least you shower alone.
Good points Abe.
And as a public figure, Clemens' standard to win is almost impossible. So this is reallly all a sideshow of epic proportions, with Clemens playing his usual bullying character and McNamee being the sports wannabee creep in the corner. I wait for the trial, just like the Bonds case (hey what ever happened to that?)
If Roger is convicted of perjury, he could move to Arkansas, become govenror and eventually President. or maybe go the former steroid user route and become Governor of California ?
I am Anonymous above. There won't be any Clemens trial and there won't be any discovery. Clemens is going to make peace with McNamee, express concern for his former trainer and family (ill son) and drop the suit. Hardin certainly opened the door to that today. Clemens is going to say that he hopes that his 20+ career in baseball has earned him some goodwill, etc. (He said just this when the accusations first surfaced.) There won't be any federal indictments. It will all be gone sooner rather than later.
The media looks sickening in all of this, just like it should.
Is it any surprise that players have affairs while on the road? Don't many of us know that others associated with the game have had the same failings? The media should be very careful with this. How soon we forget about the Clinton impeachment fiasco and how some of the most prominent opposition politicians went down the drain when their own affairs and illegitimate children came to light.
Clemens Schmemens!
I'm crazy for Cocoa Puffs too!
Ken, thanks for bringing back repressed memories of my sugar-induced hyperactivity. Has it really only been 2 years?
Apple Jacks or Booberry anyone?