SANCHEZ STILL LOOKS GOOD

I just finished watching the NFL Network's rebroadcast of the Jets-Giants preseason game - the first for the Jets since Mark Sanchez was named the starter.

The impression I came away with after watching Sanchez's performance: The Jets will be OK.

I'm not saying that you can tell everything from the preseason, but 13-20, 149 yards, 1 touchdown will make you feel good about your rookie quarterback.

When I first saw the numbers, I was excited, but I wanted to hold full judgment until I saw more than just the ESPN highlights (which basically consisted of the touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey, pictured at right).

There was another highlight-reel play which I hadn't seen, and it came earlier on the same drive as the Stuckey touchdown. And it made me realize a disturbing trend that is worth keeping an eye on.

It's the same problem that plagued Chad Pennington in his final years in New York, caused Kellen Clemens so many problems in his brief time as Jets starter, and threatens what is looking like a promising career for Sanchez.

He doesn't have much time to throw.

Both the Stuckey touchdown and the pass earlier in the drive, also to Stuckey, were thrown by Sanchez as he avoided a rush. He was on the run, if I remember correctly, when he threw his touchdown to Leon Washington against the Ravens last week. Rarely have I seeen Sanchez throw a pass when he has had time to get set in the pocket (though I have seen it, and he looks fine, no surprise, in those situations).

Listen, it's preseason. Just as it's too early to tell if Sanchez will be a star because of his preseason numbers, it's too early to tell if the offensive line will be a disaster. But it's certainly not something to be thrilled about - Sanchez has taken more than his share of hits in August.

The third preseason game, as I'm sure you're well aware by now, is the dress rehearsal. The starters will see very limited action in the fourth exhibition game, so Sanchez likely won't take a hit Thursday night against the Eagles (and won't it be nice that the media focus will be on the Eagles and Michael Vick and not the Jets and Sanchez that night). But he will likely take many hits in his first few regular season starts, unless the O-line gets their act together fast.

SUNDAY PAPER

Sundays for me are a bit of a mixed bag. I love a good Sunday breakfast, relaxing, watching football during the fall, and reading the Sunday paper. But the Sunday paper routine for me can be a bit daunting.

Currently I read the New York Times, Boston Globe, and the local Metrowest Daily News on Sunday. Well, "read" may be a bit of a stretch. I suspect if I read all of those Sunday papers it would take hours, and that stresses me out a bit on my relaxing Sunday. So it amounts to a scan of the headlines, maybe the occasional first paragraph or full article, of all of the sections of all of the papers. Then I do the Globe and Times crosswords.

But the one thing I do read almost all of is the sports sections. And if you, unlike me, need something else to peruse over coffee on a Sunday morning, I offer you my new feature - the Sunday Paper, my thoughts on all things going on, patterned after the columns introduced to the country via the Boston Globe by the likes of Peter Gammons. (And since copied by almost all papers across the country, so I don't feel bad ripping it off as well.)

*I don't know what to make of the Scott Kazmir trade. It seems to me that his value has never been lower (8-7 this year, with a 5.92 ERA, 91 K in 111 IP), yet the Rays got three prospects in return. When his potential was sky-high, the Mets traded him for only Victor Zambrano. I do know how I feel about this trade, come to think of it...it proves that he's forever linked to the Mets in a negative way.

*I always was under the impression that a "Player to be named later" was someone who the two teams hadn't quite decided on to complete a trade, but that whole thought process has been turned on its head after the Kazmir trade. The Rays got back two prospects and a player to be named, and Joe Maddon's quote was, "We're very excited about the player that we can't name yet..." That implies the Rays know who they're getting, but the information is being withheld. Maybe I should have known that was the process (or is it always the way I thought, and this one is the exception?), but I didn't.

*I like how the NFL Network shows almost every pre-season game. I couldn't see the Giants-Jets game live on Saturday night in Massachusetts, but it's being aired Sunday morning on the NFL Network.

*I'm intrigued by "Big Fan", the Patton Oswalt movie about an obsessive New York Giants fan who gets beat up by one of his idols. I think I'm afraid to see it, though, because it might hit a little too close to home for me. I don't know if I'm that guy. In fairness to me, I've only called in to one sports radio show ever, and I'm still proud of it - I'd say it was about 2000, and the Boston daytime hosts were talking about Jim Abbott for some reason. Boston sports radio, for those who don't know, is pretty awful, and they don't talk about anything in the wide world of sports, just the local teams, and mostly just the Red Sox (especially in 2000). When they talk about someone like Jim Abbott, they are woefully underinformed. So they start going off about how it must have been impossible for him to hit with one hand. I called in to tell them they were doing their listeners a disservice by not doing any research and finding out that Abbott could hit, and hit better than .400 during his senior year in high school (I read a book about him when I was a kid). That may not translate to the majors, but don't say he can't hit. All right. Maybe I should try to see the movie.

*It's a downright shame Nyjer Morgan broke his hand this week...and not just because his injury probably spells the end for my fantasy team. Yes, he filled the box score with runs, he was hitting, and he stole a ton of bases, but he was exciting to watch. Defensively he would track anything down. The Nationals made a great trade getting him from Pittsburgh, and he has been amazing for Washington since the trade.

*With 22 games left in the regular season, Gary Carter's Long Island Ducks are at .500; 23-23. They're battling for a wild card spot. Let's not forget, as I've written in the past, that all Hall of Famer Gary Carter has done as a manager in the minors is take his team to the championship (three championship appearances, winning twice). We'll keep you posted on the Ducks as their season winds down, and since that's the only whiff of playoffs that a baseball team I care about will get.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 2009 METS EDITION

In an effort to become the retrospective with the least time lapsed, 200 Miles From the Citi now presents a 4-month-later look at the 2009 Mets' Opening Day lineup and where they are now...it's been a long time since that 2-1 win on April 6th:

SS Jose Reyes - On the DL since late May. 36 games played, probably out for the rest of the year.

LF Daniel Murphy -One of the few bright spots all season long, Murphy moved to first base after the Delgado injury and has been pretty solid there, spurring talk that he could be a future solution at the position.

3B David Wright - The mainstay in the lineup was placed on the DL for the first time in his career after being hit in the head by a fastball earlier this month. Talk now is he may be activated September 1st.

1B Carlos Delgado - On the DL since mid-May. Just 26 games played. Probably done for the season.

CF Carlos Beltran - Played 62 games, hasn't played since July when he was placed on the DL, insists every so often that he's coming back, but I'd call it doubtful.

RF Ryan Church - After his own Mets stint on the DL, was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Jeff Francoeur.

C Brian Schneider - Had a DL stint, he's active now, but he's terrible. .179 batting average.

2B Luis Castillo - He's been on an absolute tear lately, but he's the living representation of the Mets' 2009 season, dropping the final out against the Yankees and really beginning the tailspin that is their season.

P Johan Santana - The most recent casualty, placed on the DL earlier this week to have bone spurs in his elbow cleaned up. Should be healthy for next year.

For good measure, J. J. Putz, also on the disabled list, also appeared in that opening day game in Cincinnati. And we could easily re-create this exercise for the Mets starting rotation from the start of the season, or their bench players...but it's all just too sad.

(I promised this post a day earlier, but postponed it due to the Jets' announcement that Mark Sanchez would be the starting QB. Thanks for your patience, as I'm sure you were anxiously awaiting it.)

THE ONLY CHOICE

The official word was handed down Wednesday: Mark Sanchez will be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets to start the 2009 season.

The unofficial word: Hopefully he will also be the starting quarterback for many additional years to come.

Rex Ryan gave a fair shake to the "incumbent", Kellen Clemens, whose only claim to the job, really, was having already been on the Jets' roster. Ryan declared the position open to a competition, may the best man win.

Trouble was, no one was best...the numbers this pre-season were pretty equal. And that's bad news for a veteran versus a rookie, because if the rookie can do what the veteran can do, why not go with the rookie...in this case the number five overall pick in the draft.

And in reality, the way the competition turned out is the way it should have gone anyway, because Kellen Clemens has not given any indication that he is capable of leading a franchise. That's why the Jets drafted Mark Sanchez, and now that the "Who's the starter?" discussion is settled it's time to get down to the business of football, and see if Sanchez is the guy capable of leading a franchise.

I have nothing against Clemens. Really, I don't. Unfortunately for him, he was caught in the wrong place, wrong time with the Chad Pennington's situation, when I felt that Pennington did not get a fair shake from the Jets. So I hold Clemens up to a standard that he is not capable of reaching. Now Sanchez has his own standard to uphold.

It's very exciting to follow a guy from the beginning of his career, especially at a position like quarterback. I was shocked to learn that the only other time a rookie quarterback started a season for the Jets was their first year of existence, in 1960.

What's fair to expect from Sanchez? I think it's unfair to make comparisons to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan and expect a playoff appearance right off the bat. Certainly it's possible in the NFL, where anything can happen any year, but I think it's more realistic to expect Sanchez to keep the Jets in games, and lead them to more of an 8-8 record than a 3-13.

Other than that, it'll be exciting to watch this career get started on the field instead of on the sideline and to see what the Jets have for the future. And it will certainly be more exciting than watching Kellen Clemens quarterback the team.

ANOTHER SEASON-ENDING INJURY

It's absolutely ridiculous that the Mets have lost another player to a season-ending injury. It's absolutely ridiculous that it's another one of their stars. It's ridiculous when you look at the Mets starting lineup from Opening Day and everything that's happened since (which we'll do tomorrow).

But the injuries have directed attention away from a simple fact: The 2009 Mets were going nowhere.

And the injuries probably saved Omar Minaya's job.

Johan Santana was about the only thing worth watching on the Mets for the season's final month. Now he's just the latest of what has become an almost laughable string of Mets injuries.

There's probably plenty of blame to be put on the Mets' medical staff, since there have been so many injuries and they have lasted so long, but I want to focus instead on the way this team was playing before all the injuries.

Yes, the Mets were in contention before everyone started heading to the DL. They were in first place for a bit, even when people started getting hurt the Mets were within a couple of games of first, right in the thick of things.

But I've never seen a more uninspired bunch. And that was going on all season long.

After the way the 2008 season ended, with the Mets being denied a post-season appearance in the final game in their home ballpark (not just of the season, but of all-time), coupled with the fact that it was the second year in a row that they had met that type of fate, I wanted the Mets to come out this year guns-a-blazing and never look back.

Instead, they played 9-12 ball in April, the low-light of which was the tremendously lackadaisacal effort they put forth in what was supposed to be an exciting opening of their new home ballpark. If ever there was a night that indicated that this team was not built to win a big game, that was it.

But the Mets never got a chance to show how poorly built they were, because they didn't have their best lineup in the game for much of the season. And yes, that was an excuse for how poorly they played, but it was also a mask for how poorly they would have played.

Some key parts will change in 2010 due to expiring contracts and personnel moves, but two pretty important pieces will be the exact same. Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel are supposedly safe. And I haven't seen anything from those two spots that shows me that 2010 will be any different from the way 2009 started out, no matter who's in the lineup.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON MARK SANCHEZ

The worst thing that could have happened to Mark Sanchez is a 48-yard completion on the first pass he threw in a game in a Jets uniform.

The best thing that may have happened to Mark Sanchez is a poor performance, including an interception returned for a touchdown, in his first start.

Even the most level-headed rookie, which I think pretty well describes Sanchez, might get a bit worked up over the kind of success he had in his first pre-season game last week. Big hype, big city, home crowd - I'm sure it goes to your head a bit.

But the NFL's not that easy. If it was, we might have been sitting through Browning Nagle's press conference this year after he decided to come back for one more season because he just couldn't hang them up and end a Hall of Fame career.

On Monday night, Sanchez got a taste, or more like a mouthful, of what the NFL is like. And it should pay off in a big way.

First possession - Sanchez gets drilled by Ray Lewis and throws an interception that's returned for a touchdown. Second possession - he throws another pass that should have been picked and returned for six the other way.

Sanchez took a couple of hits, threw a lot of incompletions, threw a costly interception, and faced a tremendously difficult defense. And you know what? None of it counted. It's the best-case scenario. It's about the most difficult test a young quarterback can be put through, a game against this Baltimore Ravens defense, and it's usually a test that players have to face when the games count in the regular season.

I'm no expert, but what Mark Sanchez went through Monday night was probably more difficult than 85% of what he'll face during the regular season. It was just a really good practice.

And this is where Sanchez and the coaching staff will show what they're worth. Because the tape of this game is tremendously valuable. Sanchez can probably spend the rest of the pre-season learning from the mistakes he made on this tape, and figuring out what to do the next time he is in these situations.

He showed that he might have made some adjustments even in the game, as he rebounded to throw a touchdown pass on his last possession in the second quarter...and his replacement, Kellen Clemens, showed that he hasn't learned a tremendous amount during his four-year career, let alone from watching Sanchez's performance, as he threw an awful interception right before the half that was also returned for a touchdown.

So the first start of Mark Sanchez's career, although it was pre-season, was pretty terrible overall. And I think that's just great.

OTHER NOTES: I'm writing this at halftime, but I've seen enough to say that I'm not sure what to make of the defense. It's supposed to be the side of the ball that keeps the Jets in games this year, but the Ravens seemed to move the ball way too easily on them Monday night. Add in that Calvin Pace will miss the first four games of the regular season due to suspension and Shaun Ellis will be suspended for that first game as well, and it seems like the defense will struggle....Looks like Leon Washington hasn't missed a beat from last year. He'll be exciting to watch this season.

WINNERS VERSUS LOSERS

I hope the fact that the game ended on an unassisted triple play (capping off a wild string of plays to end the game) doesn't overshadow the fact that Oliver Perez is a mess.

I don't think you could find a starker contrast in pitchers than Perez versus Pedro Martinez.
Put simply: Pedro Martinez is a winner. Oliver Perez is not.

Even when he was ineffective because his health wasn't 100%, Pedro was able to use his knowledge of the game, his abilities - in short his head - to get outs and keep his team in most ballgames. Oliver Perez is just a head case.

There's no other explanation for a pitcher getting so shaken up that he goes to 3-0 on the opposing pitcher - a lifetime .099 hitter - after giving up two homers and falling behind 6-0 in the first inning. Maybe it was a mercy move by Jerry Manuel removing Perez from the game mid-batter, maybe he was sending a message - but either way it's an embarrassment. And when you have the types of issues on the mound that Oliver Perez has, I don't know how you bounce back from that type of embarrassment.

There were a couple of side notes from this game that were neat - the Mets didn't give up after getting down 6-0, which is one of the few times this season they have actually shown some heart. And I wonder if there have ever been games in major league history that featured both an inside-the-park home run and an unassisted triple play.

But the larger story was the winning pitcher, Pedro Martinez, versus the losing pitcher, Oliver Perez. A true winner versus a true loser. Kind of like the 2009 versions of the teams they pitch for.

X-WORD: I've become kind of crossword-obsessed this summer, and if you can get your hands on a copy of the Sunday Boston Globe magazine you'll really enjoy their Sunday crossword puzzle. (I have tried to find their puzzle on-line and I've never been able to find it. It is a puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon [well-known puzzle makers], though, so maybe it's searchable by their names.) Anyway, it's heavy on baseball clues. Pretty fun.

Tomorrow we'll focus on the Jets a bit - prime-time, with Mark Sanchez getting the start.

WORST WEEK EVER

Alright...maybe it's not the worst week in the history of the New York Mets...but when it comes to psychological damage inflicted on Mets fans, it has to rank right up there.

It started last Saturday when David Wright suffered a concussion after being beaned by a Matt Cain fastball. His season may very well be over, and he joins the likes of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, John Maine, and J. J. Putz on the DL - the first time in Wright's career.

The embarrassments continued later in the week when Gary Sheffield started acting like, well, Gary Sheffield, after learning he had been placed on waivers and then pulled back when a team claimed him. Omar Minaya claimed the Mets weren't going to get value back for Sheffield, so why get rid of him when Minaya's goal is to win games? Well, Omar, now you have Sheffield, who you said you have no intention of keeping at the end of the year, and when he's gone you have no one. Seems to me like anyone you got from the Giants, who reportedly claimed Sheffield, would have been better value than NOTHING. But that's just my thinking. Sad to say, I don't necessarily disagree with Gary Sheffield on this issue - why not send him to another team? His approach, where he reportedly took himself out of Thursday night's starting lineup, however, I don't agree with. Hence, the embarrassment.

And now here's rubbing salt in a wound. Sunday afternoon, Pedro Martinez will toe the rubber for the Phillies at Citi Field against the Mets. He will face Oliver Perez. I am not feeling good about what's going to happen there.

Let me start by saying I've never been the biggest Pedro Martinez fan in the world. When he was the most dominant pitcher in the game, I admired what he was doing, but I never considered myself a fan.

I will maintain forever, though, that his coming to the Mets injected some life into the franchise, and drew the likes of Carlos Beltran, making the Mets a desirable destination for free agents. And it was the four-year contract that locked up Pedro, so even though the Mets barely got a year and a half out of that contract, its long-term effects had more of an impact. I'd like to say he helped make the Mets a contender, but he didn't pitch in the Mets' only playoff appearance in his tenure, and he was hurt on and off most of 2007 and 2008, which would have been excellent seasons had they lasted just 161 regular season games.

And now Mets fans have to watch as a revitalized Martinez helps Philadelphia to the post-season. And he'll most certainly help them on Sunday. Here's why:

1) He's on long rest. Pedro's last start was cut short by rain after 3 innings. So it's like he's had extra rest, which I have to think is pretty huge for a guy at his stage of a career.

2) He really does look good. He's not the Pedro of old, he never will be again, but he's certainly not the Pedro of the last couple of years. He'll have his troubles and give up his runs, but the Phillies offense will bail him out and he'll rack up a bunch of wins because he'll be healthy. That won't matter on Sunday, though, because:

3) He's not pitching against a very difficult lineup with the Mets here. He's already handled the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks, so the Mets might just make him look like the old Pedro.

4) Lastly, and not least importantly, Pedro feels slighted. First of all, the Mets were one of the first teams to pass on the healthy 2009 Martinez. Secondly, he showed up at the new ballpark and no one asked him if he wanted to be shown around. Pedro happened to mention that in some interviews this week, and you know that's eating at him. Pedro likes to take motivation out of situations where he feels disrespected.

So on Sunday, there will be familiar aspects of Pedro Martinez to Mets fans - the game face, the number on the jersey - but the jersey will be that of the Mets' rivals, and fans might not recognize the Pedro more closely resembling the 2005 version than 2008.

Oh and let's not forget that he'll be pitching against uber-disappointment Oliver Perez.

Just the capper on a pretty rotten week for Mets fans.

INTRODUCTION

As an introduction, I could start at the very beginning.

1985, probably. I was in my first year of little league, and since I was a bit stockier than the other kids and didn't care what position I played, I was made a catcher. In between innings, one of the coaches came over and folded my chest protector over so I didn't get too hot. "There," he said. "Now you look like Gary Carter!"

I quickly found out that Gary Carter was the catcher for the Mets, and I suddenly had a favorite baseball player and a favorite team.

But I won't start there. I think I'll fast forward to five years ago, when I started writing about the Mets, Jets, and sports in general at this location. The operation has now moved here, and I'm excited about it.

Truth be told, growing up not very far from Shea Stadium, I probably would have ended up being a Mets fan no matter what. Especially when you consider that no sooner had I started following baseball than the Mets had one of the most successful seasons in history in 1986, and I was hooked. Little did I know then that would be the Mets' high-water mark for the next 23 years (and counting....).

For the Jets, I blame my dad. He's been a season ticket holder since the 1960's, and we grew up rooting more passionately for the Jets than the Giants. I still don't hate the Giants like other Jets fans I know, but I'm a Jets fan, not a Giants fan.

I can't complete the introduction without adding that I have lived the past 10 years in the heart of Red Sox and Patriots country, and have seen those teams win a total of five championships in that span.

Needless to say, I am a frustrated fan. And in the past year I've become more of a cynical fan than the blind loyalist I was for the first 30 years of my life.

But no matter how frustrated I get, I always hope. I haven't given up on a Mets season as early as I have this one since the early-to-mid 1990's, but until they're mathematically eliminated from the post-season I'll still think in the back of my mind that they have the chance to pull off some miracle comeback.

And the Jets, hapless as they are, have the hope of a promising rookie quarterback/savior.

And that's why I write. More often than not, it will be my agony that plays out on these pages. But there's always the hope of another 1986.