200 Miles From the Citi

ONE LAST MOVE

2009-11-07T14:41:00.003-05:00

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THE CASE FOR THE PHILLIES

2009-11-04T00:01:00.002-05:00

There aren't many Yankees fans I see on a day-to-day basis here in Massachusetts. Thus, I haven't been talking much to anyone who has an opinion on the Yankees' 3-man rotation.

So I'll offer mine - it's totally allowing the Phillies back into this World Series. And it might just cause the Yankees to blow their 3-games-to-1 lead.

(I know...if you rely on this space as your only source of sports news - and who doesn't? - you might be surprised to know there even was a World Series this year. But I've been keeping an eye on things. Not a close eye, mind you. But an eye nonetheless.)

Despite his 4-0 career record on short rest, I feel that starting A.J. Burnett on three days' rest was really a roll of the dice. He's inconsistent on regular rest, let alone when you blow up his routine. And I realize I have 20/20 hindsight...so let's start looking ahead.

I don't know that I can bet against Andy Pettitte in a series-clincher...but you also won't catch me betting on him on short rest at this stage of his career. The short rest probably won't affect C.C. Sabathia tremendously...but there are other factors at play if this series goes 7 - more on that in a minute. Let's look at Game 6.

Sure, Andy Pettitte could pitch well...but I think he will be out-performed by Pedro Martinez in Game 6. Pedro is all about drama...the big stage. Fired up in front of the Yankee Stadium crowd - combined with the fact that he's coming off a loss there less than a week ago. Throw in the fact that he can leave his career on the field if he has to, and he's going to be lights-out in Game 6. Think Sunday Night Baseball against the Mets - we're talking six-hit shutout type of stuff.

Which brings us to Game 7. The amount of pitches he's thrown on short rest after short rest could catch up to Sabathia...but until I see him fail in a big game I can't count him out. And Cole Hamels has done nothing but fail in the big games this year - but he's shown us in the past that he can show up...and I think he has something to prove after he was called out by teammate Brett Myers after some controversial comments he made.

I don't think the Game 7 starters factor into the decision at all though - I think it comes down to what had been the Phillies' weakness all along, but in Game 7 becomes their strength. They suddenly have all hands on deck out of the bullpen, including Cliff Lee. Sure, it's after only 2-days rest...but watch that guy pitch and tell me he won't be the first off the bench if need be. And Charlie Manuel, I'm sure, will have to think long and hard about passing up Lee for someone like Brad Lidge.

The Yankees will have Mariano Rivera and their solid relievers...but not their starters. And all of this doesn't even take into account that I think it's going to be Ryan Howard breaking out and turning himself into World Series MVP.

Yep. The Phillies are going to take the two games at Yankee Stadium and complete an improbable comeback. This World Series is just getting interesting. Phillies in 7.

I NEED THE BYE WEEK

2009-11-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

I was talking to a friend Monday...someone who didn't see the Jets game Sunday.

I was explaining to him how the Jets should have won the game, like the previous Dolphins game, which the Jets also should have won. And I started thinking and said, "So the Jets are 4-4, which they really deserve to be...but man, they could have been 5-3. And if they had beaten the Dolphins that first time, they could be 6-2." And the more I thought about it, they should have beaten the Bills in that disaster of the game...dare I say they could have been 7-1 at this point?

I know, you can 'would have, should have' any team to death - but really, the Jets are that close to having turned 3 games right around - the two Dolphins games came down to the last play and the Bills game was an overtime loss. And the Jets gave the best team in football a run for their money in the Saints.

So I guess the second half of the season holds quite a bit of promise...filled with games the Jets could and probably should win...but I'm sure it, too, will hold its share of disappointments:

vs. Jacksonville
at New England
vs. Carolina
at Buffalo
at Tampa Bay
vs. Atlanta
at Indianapolis
vs. Cincinnati

On paper that looks like 4-4 again, leaving the Jets at 8-8 on the season, right where they belong. But if those would-have, should-haves had come through, the Jets would be sitting much prettier for that valued post-season experience for Mark Sanchez...and who knows what kind of team they are coming out of the bye week? (Actually, I think I know - a weaker team, less the likes of Kris Jenkins and Leon Washington.)

All told, the 3-0, back to 3-3, ending up at 4-4 has me pretty wiped out. (I can only imagine how the players feel.) Unless something dramatic takes place, I'm taking full advantage of the bye week and not writing about the Jets for a week. I need to regroup.

There will be plenty else to write about I'm sure, and we'll make this the last word on the Jets for now.

DOLPHINS 30, JETS 25

2009-11-02T00:01:00.002-05:00

Can't blame the defense this time. And the offense did its job (in the second half, at least).

If you're pointing fingers, this one falls squarely on the shoulders of the special teams.

Kick returns for touchdowns are terrible. They come after a score (barring the opening of a half), taking away any excitement you just built. But every once in a while they happen. And you move on. Until they happen again.

That's what happened to the Jets on Sunday...and there's really no excuse for it. Yes, Ted Ginn can be explosive in those situations, but on the second kick return, the Jets should have had him at about the 20 - first Larry Izzo whiffed, then someone else flat-out missed him, before he made his moves and bolted 100+ yards for his second return touchdown of the third quarter.

That's why the special teams played the biggest role in dropping the Jets to 4-4.

The defense was very good. They only gave up 9 points (there was a defensive touchdown by Miami in that third quarter as well), and looked like they had the Miami offense figured out...but the Miami offense was not very good either, so take that for what it's worth.

The Jets offense was nothing to shout about either for the first part of the game. Mark Sanchez saw a lot of pressure, and made some pretty bad passes - short-hopping a number of his throws. When they needed to, though, after falling behind in the second half, they again scored seemingly at will on the Dolphins' defense, like they did Monday night in Miami a few weeks ago.

Until the final drive.

Let's stop here to examine two things - 1) the Jets mismanaged their points, and 2) they kind of got jobbed by the refs.

They mismanaged their points because in the third quarter they started chasing 2-point conversions when they didn't need to yet. Kicking an extra point would have left them in the same position at the end of the game that their failed 2-point conversion left them...although I guess it didn't hurt them tremendously either. (I'll add that after the Jets scored following the second kickoff return TD I would have gone with an onsides kick - it would not have been returned for a touchdown like their previous two kickoffs, and the Jets could have recovered. At the very least the Dolphins would have had the ball at midfield instead of in the Jets' end zone...)

The Jets got jobbed because after they scored to make it 24-19 Dolphins, they converted a 2-point play that was negated by an illegal shift penalty. There was no clear violation...though if you held a gun to my head I'll admit that Mark Sanchez took a step backwards while the receiver was in motion, which could have been the shift. (But Phil Simms didn't see it, so if he doesn't call it, who am I to say I saw something.) Anyway, that's a terrible call in front of the home crowd, and it cost the Jets the game, because at the end (after the Dolphins went for a questionable 2-point conversion), the Jets needed a touchdown and couldn't get it on 4th down, when they could have kicked a game-tying (or winning) field goal.

So now the Jets are .500, and really, they're no better than that. But they could have stolen another game and gotten to 5-3, which would have been a whole lot closer to the beneficial playoff experience that I want for Mark Sanchez.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-11-01T00:01:00.007-04:00

Someday soon it will be time to measure up Mark Sanchez again. Maybe the next time he plays in cold weather, which wasn't so successful two weeks ago against Buffalo. Maybe it's when he plays Buffalo next, since that's the team that picked him off five times in that game. Maybe it's the next matchup against the Patriots - in New England, instead of in front of the home crowd.

But this week the object of scrutiny is not the rookie quarterback - it's the rookie coach. The last time the Jets played the Dolphins, Sanchez was fine. It was Rex Ryan's vaunted defense that looked exposed just three short weeks ago against Miami and its wildcat formation.

That shortcoming seems a bit more magnified following the Saints' ability to neutralize the wildcat last week as they staged a monster comeback on Miami.

At the same time, the Jets' defense was showing signs of life again after a couple of 'just OK' weeks - nothing close to the way they started the season. But that performance comes with a huge asterisk, because it was against the subpar Oakland offense.

And now it's Jets-Dolphins again, and it's a chance for Ryan to show how he can game plan.

*Tough to see Pedro Martinez pitching for the Phillies in the World Series. That was the dream in 2006, and after helping the Mets to first place that season, Pedro wasn't around for the post-season. The Mets wouldn't be back to the post-season in the rest of Pedro's tenure. I had no doubt Pedro would be able to help someone this year after seeing how he pitched in the World Baseball Classic way back in March and April...but to have it be the Phillies and to have it go this deep into the post-season is a little hard to take.

*I know it's a little late by now, but I haven't addressed it yet: I don't see how Mark McGwire coming back to be the St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach does anyone any favors. For baseball in general it's a scar that becomes visible again. Unless he plans on having a tell-all press conference and owning up to the black eye he contributed to (and which he has hid from these past few years), it's going to be a burden for him. And it's certainly not doing the Cardinals hitters any favors - since when is Mark McGwire qualified to coach hitting?

*I'm already bored with the NBA.

*Nothing freaks me out more on Halloween than a kid standing at my door wearing one of those masks from 'Scream'. It happened again Saturday night. This year, my 3-year-old daughter happened to be with me, and it got her a little frightened. So I asked the kid to take off the mask to show her it was no one to be afraid of. The kid was nice enough to do it. I think it worked. You know. For my daughter.

*I'll go with the Jets to get that revenge win over Miami today, but it won't be by much. I'll say a touchdown. Jets 27, Dolphins 20

*How much disrespect are the undefeated Broncos getting? They're underdogs (again) in Baltimore today. I haven't picked the Broncos right all season, and I haven't picked the Ravens right all year. I'm taking Denver getting points, because I think they win this game outright...but that probably means it'll turn out to be their first 'L' of the year. How bad are the Jaguars to go into winless Tennessee as underdogs? I'm picking the Jaguars getting those points, which means welcome to the win column, Titans. And I don't think the Falcons hand the Saints their first loss Monday night, but I also don't think the Saints win by 10 (despite their unimaginably doing so last week). I'm taking Atlanta getting 9-and-a-half.

WORLD SERIES NOSTALGIA

2009-10-29T00:01:00.002-04:00

I imagine there are children in New York City in the 8-10 years old range who are loving this World Series appearance by the Yankees. It's new for them - they've heard all about these world champion Yankees of the past (decade) and they're probably very excited about their team playing for a championship.

I remember when I was one of those kids.

The 2000 World Series came at a time that I didn't live in New York, but more importantly, during my first full year in the workforce. As such, I was transitioning from someone who cared only about sports to someone who had other things on his mind (a new relationship with the woman who would later become my wife, an entry job in what I thought would be my career). I worked nights, so I saw the games, but I don't have a distinct memory about that post-season.

It's 1986 that comes back to me whenever the World Series rolls around.

I remember being in the schoolyard after school and people from the Daily News were handing out scorecards (I still have them) for the NLCS. A very cool book - 7-10 newspaper pages with spots to keep score of every game. I remember taking them home and my parents being very suspicious about how I got them. I had to convince them they were free handouts. To this day, though, it's strange to me why they were handed out at an elementary school.

I remember afternoon NLCS games at Shea...and I distinctly remember Billy Hatcher's homer in Game 6 that went into the netting on the foul pole. And I remember the celebration when the Mets won the NLCS.

I remember going to my best friend's house to watch a game of the World Series - I'm not sure which one it was. I remember watching a bit of the early innings, but then we went into his bedroom to play tackle football. I remember the entire time wanting to watch the game, but I never said anything.

There's a chance this may have been Game 6 of the 1986 World Series - I have a faint memory of the parachute guy coming down while I was at Steven's house. But that's about all I remember about Game 6. I wrote this earlier in the week - but I don't know if it's because I've seen the game on video so many times since or why it is, but I don't have any other live memories of what is probably my favorite sports memory ever.

There's a strong possibility that I was asleep for the end of Game 6...but it was a Saturday night, so I doubt it - I was pretty sports-crazy. Sports-crazy enough that my dad woke me up for the end of Game 7 a couple of nights later....like he did a month before after the Mets clinched the NL East. I remember watching the champagne celebrations - the "champagne party", we called it - and exclaiming, "We should have a milk party!!"

I remember how exciting it was.

I want to feel that feeling again.

IT'S LIKE 1950 ALL OVER AGAIN

2009-10-28T00:01:00.002-04:00

Here's the deal, so that you never have to read me go through it again - from now on, whenever I write about this, I'll just link back to this page (the day of Game 1 of the 2009 World Series) so that you can refresh your memory if need be.

The 2009 baseball season is dead to me.

If the Mets aren't in the World Series, I start rooting for matchups that have never happened before. So the Angels would have been a great fit in the 2009 World Series - they have only been to the World Series once before, and they didn't play the Phillies.

The Yankees? They've been, many times...and they've already played the Phillies.

So this season, in my crazy, muddled mind, becomes a waste. (Not like I didn't see that coming after watching the Mets play in April and May.)

The past couple of years had been great - the Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies each checked a team off of their 'played in the World Series' list (yes, there is one) - but there have been some wasted years recently, too. So many, in fact, that I've had to begin making exceptions to my rules, like:

1) "At least they haven't played in my lifetime." This applied to the Red Sox-Cardinals in 2004, Tigers-Cardinals in 2006, and this year with the Phils and Yanks.

and

2) "Well, maybe at least the team that lost before will win this time." That worked in 2004. And I guess under this clause I'd be rooting for the Phillies this year.

But it's just not the same as a new matchup.

This all applies to the Super Bowl, too (it's in the back of my mind with the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals, too, but I just don't apply myself to those sports in the same way).

As such, it makes the back-to-back Bills-Cowboys Super Bowls tremendous wastes - not only did the same team win twice, but both were in my lifetime. Ditto for Yankees-Braves.

I suppose if the Mets made the World Series, I'd waive this idiosyncrasy...but it's gotten so bad that if the Mets played the Red Sox, Yankees, A's, or Orioles, part of me would feel like I wasted a season. That's not the case in 2009, though - this year there's no doubt the season feels wasted.

And so another baseball season comes to a close for me - before the World Series even gets underway.

INJURIES AND SURPRISES

2009-10-27T00:01:00.003-04:00

There was some bad news to come out of the Jets' 38-0 blasting of the Oakland Raiders - Leon Washington was lost for the season with a broken leg.

Apparently this was one of those gruesome football injuries. You can go elsewhere to read the bloody descriptions - I'm a bit squeamish. But it's not your run-of-the-mill broken leg. There are whispers that this could be a career-threatening injury.

The injury comes a week after a season-ending knee injury to Kris Jenkins, who has been a monster up front on defense for the Jets. That's two pretty significant injuries in two weeks suffered by the Jets...one on offense, one on defense.

Leon Washington wasn't lighting the league on fire this year - he has been passed, performance-wise, by Thomas Jones the past few weeks - but he is always exciting, and on many possessions, his kick returns are the entire offense. And if the injury is very serious, this will hurt the Jets beyond this year.

But this does give them an opportunity to give Shonn Green some playing time. And at the very least, that could give them a trading chip in the off-season, if they're looking for extra draft picks or help at some other position (assuming Washington comes back healthy). Because if the Jets have three effective backs (Jones, Washington, and Green), one of those guys becomes expendable at some point. Maybe the Jets can get something out of them before they lose them to free agency.

What can't the Saints do? They had no business hanging around in that game against the Dolphins on Sunday, let alone coming back and winning by two touchdowns (and covering the spread....). They proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt in that game that they are the best team in the league.

But they had better not lose Drew Brees to injury - were you as surprised as I was to learn after the missed extra point that their backup quarterback (and place kick holder) is Mark Brunell? Has he been effective at all since 1999?

A pleasant surprise came Sunday night watching the Giants-Cardinals game and learning that the 'starting' tight end for the Cardinals is former Jet Anthony Becht. Becht was one of my favorite Jets in the early 2000s. I never felt he reached his full potential. I don't think he ever will...especially not in the Cardinals offense - I don't think I see him and Kurt Warner connecting much in the near future.

But I'm glad he's hanging on somewhere after a stint with Tampa Bay - I thought he was out of the league.

**23 years ago today the Mets won the World Series. *wipe tear*

GOOD BOUNCEBACK

2009-10-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

The Jets put a pretty emphatic end to their 3-game losing streak, shutting out the Raiders in Oakland 38-0.

I don't know about you, but I was pretty surprised.

Not so much that the Jets won....just the way they won. No matter how bad the Raiders have been throughout the years (especially recent years), the Jets have always had trouble out there. So I never expected them to hand the Raiders their most lopsided home loss ever.

The Jets' running game and defense helped out Mark Sanchez, coming off a 5-interception game last week, which was the direction Rex Ryan said he'd go. Shonn Green, he of the monster pre-season but only about one or two games so far in the regular season, had a big performance, going for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns.

For the first time this season, and probably the first time in years, I didn't seek out the Jets. They weren't on local TV, and I didn't go out to find them...I guess because I'm still recovering from the 400-mile round trip last week just to watch them crap out on TV.

The most disappointing part of not watching the blowout was that I didn't know until I saw some highlights afterwards that the Jets' road Titans uniforms are awesome. I love blue and yellow in a uniform, but for some reason, I don't love the Titans uniforms - the home ones, anyway...the blue, I think, way outdoes the yellow. The road ones are awesome, with the yellow pants, white shirt, blue helmet. I really like those.
So now the Jets get the Dolphins again. The Dolphins are coming off a loss to the Saints - a game which they should have won. The Jets showed that they are going to win their share of games still this season - they can beat the bad teams, and their schedule is full of bad teams the rest of the season....so if they can get a win at home against Miami, that will go a long way to deciding whether or not they'll be a playoff team. And hopefully there's still a bad taste in the Jets' mouths from their trip to Miami not three weeks ago.

I know the Jets aren't a legit playoff threat, but they really could win enough games against bad teams to get in...and that would be one more huge learning experience for Mark Sanchez (and Rex Ryan) in a season full of learning.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-10-25T00:01:00.002-04:00

I was really looking forward to a Game 6 of the ALCS Saturday night - the night I could actually stay up to watch a game. Now I need to either set myself back entirely for the week by staying up late for a Sunday night game, or miss the late innings.

I really have a lot riding on the outcome, too. There are a few reasons I want the Angels to pull this series out, none of which have anything to do with rooting against the Yankees just because.

One thing is, I'd like to see the Angels win Game 6 so that there's a Game 7. That would be exciting. Secondly, it has been a long haul for the Angels this season. As I've mentioned before, they have the best story this post-season - no one would have blamed them if they had mailed their season in after the early-season Nick Adenhart tragedy. But they've come this far, it would be a shame if they fell short of the World Series.

Finally, though, I don't want it to be a Phillies-Yankees World Series. There are two reasons for this. One is that this is a repeat World Series, and I would feel like we wasted the year if there wasn't a new matchup in the World Series. Secondly, this is the baseball equivalent of the Super Bowl a couple of years ago when the Giants beat the Patriots.

The Yankees are the Giants - the team that but for the grace of God I could have chosen as my own, resulting in me celebrating multiple championships in my lifetime in either sport rather than the one (1986 Mets) I've lived through.

The Phillies are the Patriots - the rival team that is enjoying all of its success at the expense of my team. I have to watch them celebrate championships while my team watches from home...and it becomes more and more clear that this situation bothers me more than it ever will them.

So there's a no-win situation for me with Phillies-Yankees. Let's Go Angels.

*A few articles this week called the Mets "winners" in the Bernie Madoff situation, because they ended up 'making' money on the Ponzi scheme. I think that's just tasteless - no one is a winner in that situation, and it shouldn't be said no matter how clever it makes a headline. Second to that, the Mets will literally not end up winners - won't they have to pay back those millions of dollars? What I took from those stories is that the Madoff scandal may affect the Mets for years down the road.

*I feel like I need to weigh in on this ESPN controversy this week. I don't know why I'm always surprised when these things, like the Steve Phillips situation, come out - I worked in the TV news business for a number of years and there must be something about the egos involved, but there's a lot of low-lifes in the industry. And the people at ESPN have turned me off for a number of years - I never watch SportsCenter anymore - I get my sports news in quick chunks on ESPNEWS and then move on. So I shouldn't be surprised when these types of revelations come out - yet I always am. I guess I expect the best of people. Now, though, I may have to take the opposite approach - and it's going to be hard for any of the ESPN-affiliated folks to earn my respect.

*Today is the 23rd anniversary of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. It's funny - I think this merits another blog another day, maybe during the World Series, but I have some very distinct memories from the 1986 post-season (and season)...Game 6 is not one of them. (I was 8 years old.) I'm not sure why - maybe because I've seen it so many times on tape since....but I feel like of all the games this is one I would have seen much if not all of - it was a Saturday night, I remember being up for other games....I don't know. Just no memory of it as a live event. I will re-visit this conversation.

*Thanks to the reality check offered by the Jets these past few weeks, I no longer feel like I have to make an argument for the Jets to win every week. I still think they beat Oakland in Oakland, but we all know what a tough place that has been for the Jets historically. I'll say Jets 13, Raiders 10, but I would not be the least bit surprised if Oakland wins. (The Eagles probably helped the Jets out last week by laying an egg in Oakland - I just figure it's less likely for the Raiders to win two weeks in a row.)

*In other pick news, I'm big on the road teams this week. (And not to brag or anything, but I'm currently second place overall in my pool...I win a lot of the games that I don't write about here, believe it or not.) I like Chicago, Atlanta, Arizona, San Francisco, and Minnesota - all getting points on the road, and I like Green Bay, San Diego, Indy, and the Patriots (the 'road' team in England) all giving points on the road. One road team I do not like, you may remember from my rambling earlier in the week, is the Saints. Watch out for the Dolphins upset.

*For those of you reading 200 Miles From the Citi who may not know this, my new blog location (not so new anymore, I guess) is through a sort of parent group - http://www.worldsportsblogs.com/ - you may want to start coming to my site through there. There's some other stuff worth reading there on a variety of topics.

A (MADE-UP) CONVERSATION WITH THE OWNER OF THE JETS

2009-10-23T00:01:00.004-04:00

My brother (Still About 10 Miles From The Citi) works in the radio industry in New York City. As such, he was at the Bon Jovi World Tour announcement Thursday afternoon.

Perhaps you're wondering why non-sports/non-Billy Joel music news makes news on my blog.

Well, first of all, the Bon Jovi concerts will be the first events at the New Meadowlands Stadium. Secondly, in attendance to announce the event was Jets owner Robert "Woody" Johnson. My brother shook Johnson's hand and said, "I'm a big fan." Johnson reportedly complimented my brother's sunglasses. (My brother is quite stylish.)

Of course, I fully expected my brother to then say, "My brother is an even bigger fan, and writes this great blog - you should check it out." He didn't. He tells me that if the conversation had lasted longer it probably would have been the next thing he mentioned. I'll buy that.

Anyway, it made me think of what I would say to Woody Johnson in a similar spot. It might go something like this:

"Hello, Mr. Johnson.

I just want to let you know I'm a huge Jets fan, and you've done a really nice job of getting the team going in the right direction since you took over the operation.

I'm a little disappointed, though, in the way you've handled this new stadium situation. The Jets belong in New York. You really dropped the ball with this stadium deal remaining in New Jersey.
The Jets have never had a home to call their own...and you're marketing this Jersey stadium as changing that. I hate to tell you, though, that a shared stadium won't feel much different than what the Jets' situation is right now. Sure, the stadium is beautiful and it won't have the Giants name on it...but it's still shared by both teams.

And I can't believe how terribly long-time season ticket holders are being treated in all this. My dad has had tickets for 40+ years, but your people aren't recognizing about a decade of that time. I bet if he was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each season on the premium seats things would be different. But he's an upper deck ticket holder, who doesn't even have a personal seat license. So I guess he's not that important to you. That's the way I see it anyway, and why we're going to probably give up those season tickets after next season.

So that's been a bummer. But thanks for everything else. It's not so bad being a Jets fan anymore - Rex Ryan brings some excitement to the picture, and I like the promise of Mark Sanchez.

Keep up the good on-the-field work. And don't forget about us fans who might not be a certain cheerleading fireman.

And oh yeah, I wanted to give you these sunglasses. I thought you might like them.

I stole them from my brother."

UNACCEPTABLE UMPIRING

2009-10-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

This post-season has been a disgrace as far as the umpiring in Major League Baseball.

Generally, I know, umpires do a good job. They only stand out when something goes wrong.

Well, I don't want my umpires to stand out - ever. And especially not during the playoffs. But that's exactly what's happened far too much this year.

There were terrible calls in the Yankees-Twins series, one a possible game-changer. There were terrible calls in the Red Sox-Angels series. And the capper on an awful post-season for MLB umps came Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Yankees-Angels series.

There was a tag on a pickoff where the runner was clearly out. There was an appeal play to third where the runner was not out. Both calls went the wrong way (and I strongly suspect the latter was to make up for the former).
Then, the most unbelievable of all the calls. With 1 out, Angels catcher Jeff Mathis tagged two Yankees, clear as day, right in front of the umpire, for a definite double play. The umpire called one of the Yankees out and for some reason gave the other runner the base.

Little leaguers watching the game (if they could make it that late - to be honest, there could have been more bad calls but I fell asleep after this one) were probably screaming at the TV that the umpire blew it - that's how elementary the call was.

I don't want instant replay over plays like that one. I want the umpire to get it right. I want the umpire to admit his mistake and change his call - it doesn't take instant replay to convince someone that what he saw and what he called were incompatible. Not to mention there are five other umpires on the field who know what the right call is and could make it.

I want what the SEC did on Wednesday - they didn't like some of the calls coming from one of their officiating crew (some fishy-sounding calls, incidentally), so they suspended the crew. I want the crew calling this Yankees-Angels series suspended. Bring up the backups, the umpires who didn't quite make the League Championship Series cut....or better yet, bring in the ones that just missed making the post-season....to replace them.

Because to this point, none of the calls has had a disastrous impact on a game or a series. But at this rate, one will.

DEFENDING CHAD PENNINGTON

2009-10-21T00:01:00.002-04:00

I'm re-learning that one of the things you can't control without DirecTV is who you watch the games with on Sundays.

Sure, I have some control over who I go out with, and thanks go out to Dave in Brighton, who currently leads the league in football outings with me. But we can't really control who else we watch the game with.

Take Week 3 - we tried an old haunt where we get our own booth with our own TV to watch the Jets-Titans game. We were allowed to watch the game mostly in peace until a Patriots fan made his way over and adopted our TV to watch the end of the game. He had picked the Jets that week, and had money riding on the outcome. I was happy to have someone on my side in hostile territory, but I wouldn't have minded if he was a little more sober, and a little less physical.

A couple of weeks ago, Dave in Brighton and a friend of a friend of his were out, and I met up with them to watch the Jets-Saints. We sat behind a huge Bengals fan (mostly in stature...although he seemed like he was also really into his team) - and this was the week they almost tied the Browns. He watched that game in the bar like I watch Jets games in my living room. At our table was a girl (the aforementioned friend of a friend) who was rooting for the Bucs...and after meeting her I hope the Bucs don't win a game the rest of the season. But that's not the point.

The point was, as we watched some of the Bills getting smoked by Chad Henne and the Dolphins that week, she started dumping on Chad Pennington. I tried to get her to stop and strongly hinted something along the lines of "But he's my hero...", but she continued, and she became more offensive with each sentence. Comments like, "Addition by subtraction", and "they're better off with Henne"....I mean, it sounded like she was talking about someone like Plaxico Burress.

Well, I feel the need once again to defend Chad Pennington. Especially because the Dolphins are riding a pretty convincing 2-game winning streak with Henne at the helm, and because there's a better than 50% chance that they beat the best team in football this weekend. (Aside: this is such a trap game for the Saints - the Dolphins are coming off a bye week, the Saints have the Falcons the following week in a battle for NFC South supremacy....it's a total look-ahead game...and let's face it, they're not going undefeated...so why not lose this one?) Anyway, after that happens, everyone will be all over Pennington for standing in Henne's way at the beginning of this season.

But I have one simple argument to make - probably for the last time until Pennington becomes relevant again - by backing up a starting quarterback somewhere in the league, taking over that team following an injury, and leading them to a Super Bowl win....and here's that argument:

The New England Patriots have won the AFC East 8 of the last 9 years. The player to stop that streak - Chad Pennington, quarterbacking the Miami Dolphins last year. In every other year that he was healthy, his teams were the only teams to come within sniffing distance of those Patriots (2002 - Jets and Pats both 9-7, but the Patriots won the division; 2004 - the Jets were 10-6 to the Pats' 14-2; 2006 - the Jets were 10-6 to the Pats' 12-4). Now, I know this argument gets weaker in that the Patriots went on to win Super Bowls and the Jets only won a playoff game that whole time (should have been more if not for a certain kicker in 2004, but I don't want to get into that right now), but that's a whole lot better than 90% of the quarterbacks in the league.

So think twice before you go after Chad Pennington and his arm. Because when that arm was healthy, all he did was win.

I SUPPOSE IT COULD BE WORSE....

2009-10-20T00:01:00.007-04:00

Every time I want to wallow in my own misery with the Jets I have to remind myself that they're doing the right things...and once Mark Sanchez works through his "firsts", things will be OK. Really, things are on the upswing for the Jets. There are other teams that are not so lucky:

*Take the Tennessee Titans. Was I missing something huge here picking them to do well again this year? They're essentially the same team as last year's that piled up the best record in the league. Now they're 0-6...and coming off a 59-0 thrashing to the Patriots. And it's only going to get worse for them before it gets better.

(A positive note for Tennessee, though, is that they were part of the "best-looking game" of the season, as far as I'm concerned. I love the red/white Patriots uniforms, and those uniforms looked especially good on the field with the old Oilers' blue and white uniforms...and then with the snow background, they just looked even sharper. So congratulations on that, Titans.)

*Then there's the Washington Redskins. Seems like no matter how much money they spend, things aren't going to go their way under their current ownership. And I thought they were going to be good this year...they've now lost back-to-back games to the struggling Chiefs and Panthers...after barely getting by the Bucs and losing to the Lions. That's a rougher stretch than what the Jets have been going through...oh yeah...and the Redskins' quarterback of the future is not really panning out (hopefully the Jets aren't going to follow that script).

*The Rams and Buccaneers are in a downward spiral, sitting at 0-6 and not going anywhere anytime soon...and the aforementioned Chiefs, as well as the Browns, are lucky to have a win. Those teams are all far worse off than the Jets.

*Then there is a team like the Cowboys, who play well year after year, and are likely to make the playoffs again this year....but if you've watched them play, they won't win anything this year.

So I guess all I'm asking is for the Jets to take advantage of this time where I'm not going to be terribly upset by the growing pains...so that when they reach full maturity, I won't be disappointed year after year and I can finally enjoy some consistent winning football.

Speaking of winning football - the Saints looked good again beating the Giants on Sunday. About the only thing that keeps me from wanting to see them do well is the presence of Jeremy Shockey on that team. Otherwise, they seem a very likeable bunch....and they're really, really good.

Yes, Drew Brees continues to put the ball where his receivers can make plays. But I've NEVER seen a group of receivers that more consistently makes plays without dropping balls. They just haven't made mistakes yet this season - especially the two games I've watched them play extensively - against the Jets and Giants.

Now both teams may not be as good as advertised (the Jets are no better than their 3-3 record indicates, and the Giants are still good but did beat up on some bad teams...), but that doesn't matter when evaluating New Orleans.

They are the real deal - and if they keep this up, they'll be the Super Bowl champions.

BILLS 16, JETS 13 OT

2009-10-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

It took almost an entire overtime period for the Jets to drop to 3-3 and officially be considered a .500 team.

But if you watched the game (which in one of my most desperate acts as a football fan I drove to New York to do), you saw early on that the Jets really are no better than a .500 team.

You may remember in the preseason that I said Mark Sanchez's fast start (48-yard touchdown on his first throw) was probably the worst thing that could happen to him. I also said the humbling game he had against the Ravens might turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to him. I forgot about that lesson as the Jets jumped out to a 3-0 start this year. And I take back what I said about his first preseason game - the 3-0 start to his career is THE worst thing that could have happened to Mark Sanchez.

What today's game showed me is that the Jets are far closer to the team that went 0-3 the past few weeks instead of the team that started the season 3-0. And Mark Sanchez, at this stage in his career, is more likely to throw 5 interceptions than throw, oh, I don't know....6 touchdowns.

The Bills are terrible. That assessment did not change after watching them play today. But the Jets are not too much better.

Because of their upcoming schedule, the Jets may continue to fool people into thinking they are better than they really are. They'll beat up on some teams that are worse than they are...and, as they showed today, they'll probably lose to a couple of those teams as well.

It's all part of the learning experience with a rookie quarterback...and a rookie coach. It's just unfortunate for them that they made people forget what comes along with rookies in those spots with such a fast start.

And unfortunate for me that I was one of the people who got caught up in the ride.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-10-18T00:01:00.011-04:00

Ryan Madson's bases loaded walk to give up the go-ahead run in Game 2 of the NLCS reminded me that it was 10 years ago that Kenny Rogers did same for the Mets in the NLCS.

The stakes were higher in Rogers' case - it was the bottom of the 11th of Game 6, and the run not only won the game but also clinched the series for the Braves. I can't imagine a more anti-climactic event than a series-ending bases loaded walk.

The bases loaded walk has been the bane of my existence this past decade or so - it just drives me nuts every time I see it - throw a strike! So with tomorrow being the 10-year anniversary of Kenny Rogers' becoming my number one baseball enemy...I turn to prose for therapy:

The Bases Loaded Walk
There are fewer things I do not like
With three men on, Count: three and two,
Than when the pitcher can't throw a strike
And "Ball Four," says the man in blue.

It seems like such a simple thing
He's done so many times before
To throw a strike, induce cheering
Rather than a walk and a free score.

I suppose if it would help my team
I wouldn't mind as much
But lately every time, it seems,
My team fails in the clutch.

A pitcher's role within the game
Is to help his team, not hurt.
He has no one but himself to blame
When his pitches hit the dirt.

With the bases loaded walk, you know,
The defense has no play,
Can't aid the pitcher in his show,
And it's hard to win that way.

It's annoying, that walk, to say the least,
When the bases are fully jammed...
It's a quiet killer, a silent beast...
I'd almost rather a grand slam.

*Hall of Famer Gary Carter has yet another new gig - Carter will manage the Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish. That's a Division II college team. Carter, once he got no offers from anything at the major league level, decided he'd rather work close to home in Florida - apparently he became a grandfather for the first time in August and felt like he missed out not being there. Lots of talk that people in baseball are still upset with him for 'campaigning' for Willie Randolph's job in 2008. I think it's time for people to get over themselves and admit that he rubs them the wrong way for more than that one thing.....and watch out for a Division II championship very shortly for PBAU.

*More former Mets are back in the New York fold. Tim Tuefel is the seeming 'chosen one' within the organization - he's expected to be named manager of AA Binghamton. Mookie Wilson is going to be back in the organization in some capacity, and Wally Backman will be managing at the single-A level. Wish Carter was in this mix...

*Jose Reyes had surgery this week to clean scar tissue from the torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee. He's expected to be ready for spring training. I suppose of all the players whose injuries affected the 2009 season, Reyes was the most costly. I'm so torn, though - clearly the Mets are a more exciting team when Reyes is healthy and is a threat, but are they that much better with him than without him? I used to think, if healthy, he was the most important player on the team....I view him now, if healthy, as the most valuable trading chip.

*Jets can't lose to the Bills today. Just can't. It has to be a blowout, too, none of this piddly sit on a lead stuff. The Bills are terrible. Jets 30, Bills 14.

*I like Houston to cover in Cincinnati (they're getting five-and-a-half), but Cincinnati to win again...I don't care that Jacksonville is playing the Rams - they shouldn't be giving 9-and-a-half to anyone - St. Louis keeps it close...Arizona will beat Seattle outright - let alone take 2-and-a-half points from a favored Seattle...and I'm not learning my lesson from the New England game, I guess - I'm taking the Ravens as road 'dogs again, getting 2-and-a-half in Minnesota.

A CAUTIONARY TALE

2009-10-16T00:01:00.002-04:00

There are all sorts of Jets seasons I could throw at you as evidence that I've been through this type of thing before.

A hot start followed by a disappointing collapse.

The Jets have written that book through the years...and I've devoured it cover-to-cover.

But 2009 seems different.

I've mentioned this before - I go into every new season optimistic. So those other years were extra disappointing to me when I went in thinking good things, had my expectations met, then exceeded, then shot down.

This season, I went in with my enthusiasm tempered. I accepted that it was a year of adjustment, with a rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach and coming off a lackluster year a year ago.

Then they earned my enthusiasm...they earned my optimism...starting out the year 3-0, then losing a tough game at New Orleans.

Like so many of these similar seasons of the past, this year might have taken a sharp turn towards disaster against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football (my brain has just recovered enough from the late night to reason this all out, incidentally).

But still, I get the feeling that 2009 is different.

Sunday brings the Buffalo Bills to town...and they are a disaster. They couldn't score against Cleveland, which by all rights should not have won a game this season. They got blown out by the same Miami Dolphins the Jets came within seven seconds of beating...or at least going to OT with. They are in a bad spot right now.

The old Jets...they lose this game in disappointing fashion.

The 2009 Jets - they should win this game, if they show the same kind of aggressive play they opened the season with.

And then the Jets are sitting at 4-2 with some winnable games to be played. Things could be looking up...

But, again, I'm cautious.

I GUESS I LOVE LA

2009-10-15T00:01:00.001-04:00

First of all, I want to take this opportunity to officially throw the 200 Miles From The Citi endorsement behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Not only are they my only hope for a non-wasted baseball year (read: no repeat matchup in the World Series), I really like them. Especially this year - they're my feel-good story. So go Angels!

That said, time for my predictions...it's kind of an L.A. story:

ALCS - Angels vs. Yankees

I don't have much solid evidence to back up my rooting for the Angels here...other than the fact that I'm still not 100% buying the Yankees this year.

If the Minnesota Twins could run the bases without looking like the New York Mets, they could have pushed the Yankees to four games...possibly even a fifth...but they just couldn't figure out New York this whole season.

The Angels, on the other hand, match up well against the Yankees.

What's to stop them from running all over Jorge Posada and taking extra bases? Certainly not Jorge Posada...maybe Jose Molina.

The Angels have the team of destiny thing going right now...and I'm not saying it will be easy....and I don't really love Brian Fuentes closing out games against the Yankees....but I'm going to take a flyer here and say Angels in seven.

NLCS - Phillies vs. Dodgers
Here's what's happening in the National League - things are settling back into a somewhat normal order.

The Dodgers played that first round series against St. Louis like the team they were early in the season - the best team in the National League.

The Phillies started to get the major contributions from the heart of their order that Phillies fans have been waiting for all season.

I think both of those things will continue in the NLCS.

The one thing that was more flukey in the NLDS was the thing that has plagued the Phillies all season long - closing out ballgames. That strength for that four-game series will disappear in this series - and that will be the difference.

It's going to be LA-LA in the World Series - Dodgers in six.

DOLPHINS 31, JETS 27

2009-10-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

Well, that was unexpected.

I didn't think the Jets would lose to the Dolphins...but the Dolphins played a really great game.

They ran the Jets' defense ragged all game - a very tough defense looked tired all game.

Chad Henne looked good, but mostly because he had the time to make things happen. It's the same thing that allowed Miami to win last year - they have a very good offensive line.

It was nice to see Braylon Edwards make such a significant contribution right away. Hopefully it's because of a chip on his shoulder, and hopefully that chip stays all year.

The bottom line is the Jets' strategy, which we've seen all year, in which they don't turn Mark Sanchez loose at key moments when they're leading, came back to bite them tonight. We saw it when they started trailing - he can be trusted to throw the ball. He can help protect a lead...it doesn't have to be only the defense.

I think I'm getting old - Monday Night Football is too late for me these days.

At first I was surprised when I saw the schedule and saw that the Jets play the Dolphins again so quickly - just a few weeks from now. Now I'm really glad they get them back so soon...there's some hatred back in this Jets-Dolphins rivalry.

I know I'm glad Chad Pennington isn't playing - it makes it easier to hate the Dolphins. I want the Jets to get back on the field against them tomorrow.

I hope the Jets players feel the same way.

MIND WANDERINGS

2009-10-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

A Sunday on which the Jets don't play allows my mind to wander. This is either a good thing for you because my mind touches on lots of topics and maybe one or two will catch your interest, or a bad thing for you because you have to read them all. Here we go:

*I didn't really think the Angels would sweep and when they trailed late I actually thought, "Here we go again with the Angels unable to close out the Sox." I hope they win it all.

*The bad thing about an Angels sweep is Don Orsillo is probably done calling games. I hope the nation got a taste of what New England has been able to hear for almost a decade now - just how good of a play-by-play man he is. He has also improved as the years have gone on to get to where he is now - he had a rough first year (replacing a local favorite in Sean McDonough), and I remember his second game in the bigs was a no-hitter (I can't remember if it was Nomo or Lowe...I think Nomo in Baltimore) and he was so nervous it affected his call of the game. I also need to make clear that my liking of Orsillo is heavily influenced by how nice he was to me when we met a couple of times in 2003, when I was working in TV news, and he was showing up for our morning show to be an analyst. He could have been a jerk like 90% of the TV people I know...and I wouldn't really have blamed him because things did not go his way that post-season...but he was awesome. I have a soft spot for him ever since.

*I also think Ron Darling has grown by leaps and bounds as an analyst. I thought he was very dry in his year with Washington (I think his first year in the booth), but he's come a long way since joining the Mets. The nation is getting a taste of him in the Yankees-Twins series (and in the one-game playoff, too - he must have wanted to slap Chip Caray in the head after his blown call of the lineout to left-double play which Caray called a base hit). Anyway, I can't say the same for Darling about him as a person as I did about Orsillo. I don't get the feeling he's as great a person. I read Darling's book, and he really comes off as not very nice, and unapologetic about it. If you're not coming across nicely in your own book, you're probably not very nice. Second time in recent years I've been entirely turned off of someone by their own book - Mike Greenberg was the other.

*I guess we have to start believing the Broncos are for real now, huh?

*I want Rex Ryan to celebrate on the field after wins like Josh McDaniels did on Sunday.

*Boy, did the Dodgers look like a different team this post-season. Well, not really a different team, but they looked like the team that started the season, not the one that ended it.

*I think the New York Giants are going to get a heavy dose of reality next week against the Saints - the first legit team they've played all season (and I'm including the Cowboys in that...what a joke they are). Should be a good game though.

*I know I've been talking a lot lately about Hall of Famer Gary Carter and his managing prospects, but I haven't mentioned a huge player in the upcoming managerial openings - Bobby Valentine. First of all, I don't really know who's looking for a manager at this point...but Bobby V.'ll bring some excitement to wherever that is.

*Just like I feel tonight's game with Miami is a game the Jets can't lose...there are others coming up on the 2009 schedule. Among them is the Raiders. The Giants made the Raiders look silly, but the Jets have had their struggles against Oakland...and they have to play out west. The old Jets would lose that game, or win by a field goal. I'm curious how these Jets will play.

*I'm ready for some football.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-10-11T00:01:00.010-04:00

This happens to me every October.

I start to get real day-dreamy as I watch the playoffs, wondering what it would be like if my team was in the playoffs every year, battling it out for a chance at a world championship.

There's just so much mediocrity in my teams it's hard to wrap your head around it. The Phillies, thanks to the Mets' collapses, have won three straight division titles. In my lifetime (I'm 31) the Mets have won three division titles.

There's no such thing as "get 'em next year" in my sports life. Only once (once!) have the Mets made the post-season in back-to-back years. (1999-2000) There were plenty of 'should haves' (1987, 2007, 2008, close calls in 1998 and 2001), but that doesn't mean anything.

It sometime boggles my mind to think about teams like the Red Sox and Yankees and the decades they have had. What would I do in that situation? Would I appreciate just how awesome that is? Or would I take it for granted?

Of course, this extends to football too. The Jets have done nothing in my lifetime. Sure, there's the occasional foray deep into the playoffs, and the occasional back-to-back playoff seasons (and at least lately there have been playoff appearances - for a while during my childhood I didn't think I'd see even that)...but there still hasn't been a sniff of a Super Bowl. (Or at least, those sniffs are few and far between - 1998, 2004...that's about it.)

I'm hopelessly optimistic though. I still dream, and every season's beginning to me is a chance for my team to win it all. It only feeds this (dis)illusion when the Jets get off to 3-1 starts and look good doing it.

So as October marches on and I watch teams that aren't the Mets carry out other people's dreams, I think about what may be some day for the Mets....some day that will challenge 1986 as the highlight of my sports life.

And all the while I'll be thinking about what could be this year for the Jets...and how I'd react if it ever actually happened.

**As a sidebar, in case you're wondering, I do root for the New York Rangers, and I did root for the Rangers in 1994, but hockey just isn't the same for me as baseball and football. And my college (Boston University) is the defending national champion in hockey, but I don't see that the same way, I guess because my affiliation with them only goes back to 1996...it still feels too new. The way they won, though, was super exciting for me...so again, it only makes me think how happy I would feel if the Mets or Jets ever won another championship.

**This is one of the times during the year when living in the greater Boston area is ultra-frustrating. Because of their provincial sports view, there is no real local outlet for national radio. So come playoff time, you can't catch a baseball game on the radio (except, of course, the local Red Sox broadcast). So Wednesday and Thursday I drove home from school without being able to listen to the playoff games. Drives me nuts. Am I wrong to say this only happens in Boston? Do you get the playoffs on the radio in your area? (Update...I did get the Saturday night game on the local station. So that means people around here would rather listen to the afternoon and weeknight blather instead of a playoff game during the week.)

**Some good stuff to come out of New York and Miami this week - I guess Rex Ryan and Channing Crowder made their peace after an off-season trading barbs. Crowder is right when he says people can let their emotions get the best of them and run their mouths off, but it shouldn't happen with a coach. Ryan is right when he says everything that comes out of his mouth is just excitement because he really does believe he has a good team. The other part of it was that Crowder said he curses out everyone on the field....especially Leon Washington. I guess the players hate each other from as far back as their college days when Washington was at Florida State and Crowder was at Florida. That'll be an interesting part of the game to watch tomorrow night.

**While we're on the subject of Monday Night Football, I'll make my Jets pick. This is such an important game for the Jets, because it's a game they have no business losing. If they lose, they're nothing more than the Buffalo Bills, who played teams like the Patriots and Saints tough before getting smoked last week by Miami. If the Jets are for real, they'll beat Miami Monday night. If they lose, they're no different than Jets teams of the past that have gotten off to fast starts. Of course, I've seen only evidence that makes me believe the former over the latter, so I say Jets 31, Dolphins 10. Please let them prove me right.

**My worst week of picking games so far this season came last week. I hit on only a couple of underdogs (Cleveland and Tampa), and lost the rest. So this week, at the risk of you actually reading this and thinking I know what I'm doing, I'll just observe some of the spreads, and reason out loud why I'm picking what I'm picking. I feel like, even though the Giants have been whooping these poorer teams, 15-and-a-half is a lot of points for Oakland. Especially with Manning not 100%. Maybe like a 13-0 Giants win this week. I don't know. They'll probably prove me wrong to the tune of 70-3. I like Atlanta in San Francisco a lot, with the Falcons getting 2-and-a-half - I feel like they'll take out their aggression over losing in New England on the 49ers. And I'm going with Washington getting 3-and-a-half in Carolina, with the idea that they have looked less bad than the Panthers...though don't get me wrong - both have looked pretty bad.

BIG CATCH?

2009-10-09T00:01:00.002-04:00

I think there's somebody other than Mark Sanchez who has to be breathing a big sigh of relief that the Jets got another weapon at the wide receiver position in Braylon Edwards. I can't wait to see how this acquisition helps their former (still current?) number one receiver, Jerricho Cotchery.
Cotchery has actually had a good season so far - very quiet, but productive (so quiet I didn't realize he had had some decent games). He's gone for 90, 87, 108, and 71-yard games (one touchdown) so far this season. It doesn't seem like he's been thrown to an awful lot. You might say he hasn't built up a relationship with Mark Sanchez...but I would argue that he hasn't had much of a chance.

Cotchery has been in a tough spot to this point. If you're the opposing team going up against the Jets, are you paying much attention to Cotchery, Chansi Stuckey, or David Clowney? I think you make Stuckey and Clowney and their combind 500 career receiving yards beat you, and you devote your coverage to Cotchery. I don't know if teams have been doing this, but if so, it's a wonder Cotchery has had the types of productive games he's had.

So now, Edwards will draw some of that coverage. Cotchery should be more available as a target. And I expect big things from him the rest of the season.

ANALYSIS ON EDWARDS: Wide receiver for the Jets has been a position that has felt exposed not just in this young season but the past few seasons. Laveranues Coles had a good career with the Jets, but he's just not that big play kind of player. Braylon Edwards could be the biggest-play receiver the Jets have had since Keyshawn Johnson.

Of course, the key word is could.

Edwards has had well-documented off-field issues. And, for that matter, his on-field drops issues have also been well-documented.

I always want to give guys the benefit of the doubt that they'll respond positively to a fresh start (though if Edwards loved the Cleveland nightlife I can only imagine he'll have a field day in New York), so I'm going to do so with Edwards.

The key, though, is productivity. If he drops important passes and costs the Jets games, forget about it. If his presence elevates Mark Sanchez to the next level as an NFL quarterback...I'll forget he ever played in Cleveland, let alone that it was a disappointing start to a promising career.

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

2009-10-08T00:01:00.002-04:00

Dear Tigers Fans,

I know how you feel. Your team is filling the record books for all the wrong reasons. Just a couple of weeks ago you had World Series visions dancing in your head. You were on the cover of Sports Illustrated. You were feeling good.

And then, though it really took place over the course of a month, it felt like everything came crashing down at once. Suddenly another team is celebrating, and you're going home.
I know you don't want to hear this right now...but I know how you feel.

I am a Mets fan.

It's horrible. Sitting pretty at the beginning of September, then watching another team play in October.

But at least it didn't happen to you two years in a row.

The losses in April that seemed so insignificant...but meant so much by game 162.

But at least, when you needed to win to stay alive on the final day of the season, you won.

And then, with everything on the line in game 163, you fought back to take the lead a couple of times after blowing leads of your own...even coming from behind once.

That's the kind of heart the Mets never showed with their season(s) on the line.

So, Tigers fans, yours may be the first team in baseball history to blow a three game lead with four games to play.

But right now I can assure you it could be worse.

You could be a Mets fan.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

2009-10-07T00:01:00.003-04:00

I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen this post-season. Perhaps you picked up on that when I predicted so surely that Minnesota would easily dispatch of the Tigers in the AL Central playoff. No such luck there. (Obviously, I got the team right, but not the route to victory.)

Ask me an hour ago who was the best team in the National League and I would have said hands-down Saint Louis. Then I had myself a look at the standings and realized the Cardinals finished with the worst record of all of the National League playoff teams. I don't know when that happened...I would have thought the Dodgers' recent slide easily put them ahead of only Colorado...but no. So now I'm not sure I even like the Cardinals.

In the American League I may be trying to convince myself the Yankees will lose, but I'm just not feeling as confident about the Yankees as everyone else is. Perhaps they run away with everything...but I feel like there are teams that can beat them.

So I have no idea going into this write-up who's going to win what. But I'll have it worked out in the next few paragraphs.

Boston versus Los Angeles
This much I feel good about. The Angels will not sweep the Red Sox, and if it goes to a fifth game, the Angels' psyches will not be able to handle it. So the Red Sox would win a game 5. To prevent either scenario from happening, I'm picking the Angels in four.

Do I have any rationale other than the law of averages? No. But the Angels have been playing very good baseball all season, they have to have figured out the Red Sox over the years, and I want them to win. I really do. It makes me so sad to think about the Nick Adenhart situation, and how that could have just ripped apart their season. Instead, they're here. And I'd like to see them continue the run all the way to the World Series.

Minnesota versus New York
Any other team and I'd make a case for whoever was going up against the Yankees. I don't think the Yankees are going to win the World Series, but I don't think they'll bow out in the first round.

I think there's an interesting little internal situation going on with Jorge Posada coming out so vocally about the fact that he wasn't chosen as A.J. Burnett's personal catcher...but here's a news flash - Jorge, you're a terrible catcher. OK, I guess that's not relevant, but I had to take that shot at Posada.

Anyways, Yankees in three.

Colorado versus Philadelphia
I want to think the Rockies can go on a run similar to the one that resulted in their only World Series appearance, in 2007, but I don't think it happens this year. First of all, quite possibly their best pitcher, Jorge De La Rosa, won't pitch in the series. Secondly, I feel like the Phillies won't abandon their title defense so soon.

It seems like the big guys on the Phillies - Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard - have all had subpar seasons. And still the Phillies finished ahead of almost everyone in the league. You have to think they'll start hitting in the post-season...and that's bad news for the Rockies.

Phillies in three.

Cardinals versus Dodgers
This is a very interesting matchup - really, a month ago it could have been the matchup to decide who represented the National League in the World Series. Now I think it's a matchup of two teams who are fading.

The question is, who's fading faster? I think it's the Dodgers - they don't seem to be getting anything from their key players...at least the Cardinals have Albert Pujols and a whole lotta arms, both in the rotation and in the bullpen.

That'll keep St. Louis fighting...for at least another round. Cardinals in four.

LIKE PUTTING A BAND-AID ON A BROKEN LEG

2009-10-06T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's like making sure to turn off the oven while the house is burning down.

The Mets Monday fired first base coach Luis Alicea, while re-assigning bench coach Sandy Alomar and third base coach Razor Shines.

The good news here is that this creates some possible openings for the likes of, oh, I don't know, Hall of Famer Gary Carter. First base coach, then when Jerry Manuel gets off to a slow start in 2010, pull a Colorado Rockies, fire the manager, and put Gary Carter in to lead the Mets to a playoff berth.

Of course, they won't.

Hitting coach Howard Johnson will keep his job. So will pitching coach Dan Warthen and bullpen coach Randy Niemann.

The HoJo news leads me to the most misleading stat ever - the Mets hit .270 this year and tied the Dodgers for highest batting average in the National League. That got them a whole lot of nothing.

Some of these quotes about the firings are making me mad. I feel like the blame should fall on the manager, not the coaches. While Jeff Wilpon says Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel are keeping their jobs, they are on notice, I guess, for another year, because the Mets 'demand' and 'expect' better.

Manuel, meanwhile, says, "The traffic that we had on the bases probably to a lot of degree was not properly managed as well as we would've liked to have seen." You know who the blame falls on for that? I blame the manager. Because that's not the stuff a first base coach should be blamed for. I'm not seeing players thrown out at second stretching singles into doubles as much as I'm seeing players making terrible baserunning decisions. Those are the types of things that need to be taught and taught and taught during spring training, not during the regular season (not to mention the fact that ballplayers shouldn't need tremendous coaching at the professional level on the basepaths...should they?).

So I feel like Jerry Manuel is putting the blame that should fall on him onto his coaches.

And I feel like the Mets are just making sure to shut the door right before the building is demolished.

TWINS-TIGERS: I promised a playoff pick for Tuesday, here it is (I'll have the real playoff picks tomorrow) - I think the Twins will smoke the Tigers Tuesday night. I don't even think it will be close. And I wish the Mets had sent off Shea the way the Twins are sending off the Metrodome.

SAINTS 24, JETS 10

2009-10-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

Last week, after a Jets win, I chose to focus on the negatives. This week, after a Jets loss, I'm going to focus on the positives.

But the first thing that needs to be said is that New Orleans is very good. Not because they beat my team...but because they made the Jets look so bad in doing it. Even when the Jets were only down one score I didn't feel good about their chances because I didn't think the Jets could get the two scores they would need to win against New Orleans the way they were playing.

I knew about the New Orleans offense (which I now am even more impressed by, seeing their receivers catch EVERYTHING Drew Brees threw their way), but that defense was very good. I missed the boat on the Saints in my pre-season rankings - they're going to be a force in the NFC all year.

Now, onto the Jets. This is not a season-killer by any means. This was a loss to a legit team (a non-conference team, at that), and the Jets are still 3-1 with a big division game coming up next week. It's not like they're barely clinging to 3-1 like, say, the Bengals, who eked out a 3-1 record (rather than a 2-1-1 record) in overtime versus Cleveland.

My reaction to this loss is kind of like in the pre-season, when Mark Sanchez needed to struggle a bit to learn from his mistakes. I look at this game as a huge learning experience. He made rookie mistakes in this game - which he hasn't really been making yet. The interception that Darren Sharper returned 99 yards for a touchdown was a poorly thrown pass. Doesn't that ball have to go to the back corner of the end zone, especially when Sanchez's receiver is double-covered? He threw it where two Saints had a better chance of catching the ball than his receiver. And Sanchez simply held onto the ball too long in the end zone on the fumble that was recovered for a touchdown. Two rookie mistakes. I bet they don't happen again anytime soon.

The other good news was that even though the Jets couldn't get anything going offensively, their defense still gave them a chance. The Jets were in this game the entire time, because their defense kept them in it. And this wasn't a team with a bad offense - this was the Saints, who have an excellent offense. So that's a huge positive.

The Jets still don't seem to have things going on offense. I feel like they haven't put it all together yet....and they're still 3-1. So I think there's still some upside in a season that so far has been mostly up.

Next week is huge for the Jets - a division game, with a chance to get to 4-1 (which sounds a whole lot better than 3-1 coming off this loss). It's also big because the Patriots won again, beating a less-than-impressive Ravens team (their defense did not look as imposing as it had in previous weeks...and it also looked undisciplined in certain instances). So the Jets are now tied for first in the division, rather than alone in first. It's time for them to start proving their 3-0 start wasn't a fluke.

TELLING MOMENT: Apropos of nothing, other than the fact that I noticed it, I think I put my finger on why exactly Tony Romo and the Cowboys don't win important games. After Brandon Marshall made an impressive move to give the Broncos (ugh!) the lead inside of two minutes left in the game, the camera cut to Romo on the bench. Peyton Manning or Tom Brady would have been fired up, looking at the clock and thinking, "1:46 to take my team down the field and tie this baby up!"

Romo was waving his hand in disgust at the Cowboys defense. He actually did lead a good drive...but came up a couple of yards short of the end zone. And I think he'll always come up short in big situations.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-10-04T00:01:00.007-04:00

This is not a live blog.

At first glance, that may not seem like news. To understand why it's notable, you would have had to have been reading my work for at least the past couple of years. (You can catch up here and here, if you're so inclined.)

Those past couple of years have featured some marathon days of baseball and football watching, requiring some fancy television maneuvering on my part and some luck in the television schedule (the Jets on network television for my rabbit-eared TV, with the Mets on the baseball package on the cable TV).

The days with the above set-up have ended in utter disappointment, making me wonder which is worse - that one day of disappointment, capping half a month of terrible play by the Mets where they miss the playoffs on the last day of the season (not much worse the second year than the first, to be quite honest), or elimination from any chance at contention by June. I would say each leaves a bad taste in your mouth, with the latter bringing back bad memories of my high school years to go along with the disappointment. The only good news here is that early on I knew this Mets season wouldn't come down to missing the playoffs on the last day of the season.

So much, though, conspired against me having my usual "Last Sunday of the Baseball Season" set-up. To wit:

1) The Mets are terrible.

2) The Mets are early, the Jets are a 4 o'clock start. So I don't have to worry about the two teams going opposite one another.

3) I wouldn't be able to put the Jets on network TV anyway because the Patriots are the 1 o'clock CBS game and CBS wouldn't have the 4 o'clock game on local TV.

4) My rabbit-eared TV doesn't work anymore thanks to the government's move back in June to digitalize it all. (Was that what happened? I don't even remember how that all worked.)

5) I now have two mobile children, as opposed to the one mobile and one infant a year ago.

And so I prepare for another October of watching teams other than the Mets play in the post-season with just a regular Sunday blog. Let's just hope there's not a rematch in the World Series.

**So far having no DirecTV is not having a tremendous impact on my enjoyment of the football season. The first two weeks of the season were on local TV (though I went to the Meadowlands for the week 2 game), and last week I had a great time with Dave in Brighton at a local establishment watching the Jets. I should have no trouble finding Jets-Saints somewhere this afternoon, and my wife has been wonderful about helping me get out to see these games. She rescheduled her afternoon tutoring so that I could go out at 4.

**I can't start picking against the Jets now...why should I? Defense gets the nod over offense - and this should be a really entertaining game. I'll say Jets 21, Saints 20

**My underdogs were pretty terrible last week. I missed picking against the Lions and Bengals, and picking Tampa and Buffalo (no points for the Bills keeping it close late). In addition to the Jets this week, I'm liking a lot of other road teams - Baltimore in New England is getting 2-and-a-half (the Ravens have played so much better than the Patriots this season), Tampa Bay getting six-and-a-half in Washington (the Redskins have looked that bad), San Diego getting six-and-a-half in Pittsburgh (just seems like a lot, considering the Steelers have yet to look that good), and Green Bay getting three-and-a-half in Minnesota (and Favre getting a big target on his back). Seems to me like I'm picking too many road teams this week (I have quite a few road favorites as well), but there are a lot of bad teams playing at home, I guess.

**I think I'm rooting for the Twins to overtake the Tigers, just to see what happens with the Metrodome being occupied Monday night by football when there might have to be a playoff game there. I have no reason to hate Minnesota...I don't love the Tigers, although there's a feel-good story in there with the state of things in Detroit. But the larger issue here is that Detroit is in the midst of a pretty significant collapse when they had a chance to wrap things up. Watching the Mets go through that the past couple of years, all you can think about is how difficult it is to blow a late-season lead like that - not only does everything have to go wrong for the team in the lead, but everything has to go right for the chasing team. Same thing with what's going on out west in the NL, even though both the Dodgers and Rockies have clinched playoff spots. The Rockies were fifteen-and-a-half games out at one point! That's an incredible turnaround. It just seems so hard to blow a lead like that...yet, the Dodgers watched their lead evaporate until they had to fight for the division in the final weekend. Too bad neither of these races will erase the Mets of 2007 and 2008 from their ignominious standing.

**Oh, ignominious and the Mets reminds me of Omar Minaya. Not to beat a dead horse, but with the Blue Jays firing J. P. Ricciardi, it makes me think there's now someone available for the Mets who actually knows a thing or two about baseball. I know Ricciardi pretty much botched any deal for Roy Halladay, but I bet he'd work well with the Mets. Too bad we'll never find out just how well.

**Stay with me this week. After a Jets recap on Monday I'll have baseball playoff picks for Tuesday.

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

2009-10-01T00:01:00.003-04:00

Long-time readers of my work know that when I watch the World Series or the Super Bowl, I don't like seeing re-matches.

Super Bowl XXVII between Buffalo and Dallas was fine...Super Bowl XXVIII between the same two teams was a waste of a year.

And I'm not just talking back-to-back rematches. 2004 Red Sox-Cardinals? Happened in 1946. Again, wasting my time.

Needless to say, it's time for me to start working out some scenarios.
The Yankees have played nearly everyone. The only thing that would make a 2009 World Series appearance by them worthwhile would be a matchup with the Colorado Rockies.

Those Rockies could play anyone except the Red Sox...and while many want to see the Sox play Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers, Red Sox-Dodgers has already happened. A long time ago...but it's been done. Same with Sox-Phillies.

Both the Twins and Tigers would be OK to come out of the Central, as long as they didn't play their NL Central counterparts, the Cardinals. I really would like the Cardinals to get upset, because they've played a lot of teams over the years.

The best bet to come out of the AL? The Angels. Their only World Series appearance came against the Giants, who are not playoff-bound. Even if the NL-favorite Cardinals come out of that League, it would be a new matchup.

And that would give my busy mind one less thing to worry about.

EARLY INDICATIONS

2009-09-30T00:01:00.002-04:00

Three games in, your team can only be 3-0, 2-1, 1-2, or 0-3. Four possibilities, but the record could be terribly misleading. I'm here to set the....um, record....straight.

0-3 (...and going nowhere)

St. Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Miami, Tampa Bay - all of these teams have shown nothing this season. Quarterbacks are the key - which is the surprise with Kansas City, considering Matt Cassel's success last year. St. Louis has an injured Marc Bulger...again. Cleveland might win a few games when Eric Mangini makes up his mind about a quarterback to stick with, but Miami suffered a huge setback when Chad Pennington got hurt. Tampa Bay's last hope is a quarterback change.

0-3 (...not quite cooked yet)

Carolina, Tennessee - Carolina showed signs of life Monday night, but even then couldn't get a win. They might fight their way back to 8-8 or so, but they certainly won't be in the playoffs, as I predicted at the beginning of the year. (Though the '200 Miles From the Citi' Southern Bureau had Carolina pegged this year. Should have consulted them before putting out my picks.) Tennessee played well against the Jets after the first quarter, but they need to play well now for 13 straight full games to earn back some respect.

1-2 (...and they mean it)

Detroit, Oakland, Seattle, Jacksonville, Washington - I really wanted Washington to play well this year, but they haven't shown anything. Detroit has nothing to play for now that they have a win under their belt.

1-2 (...but we'll still be a force to be reckoned with)

Pittsburgh, Arizona, Houston, Buffalo - Buffalo and Houston could be in their own category - bad teams that will play you tough this year. They'll hurt somebody's season down the stretch. I fully expect last year's Super Bowl teams to right themselves and make it back to the playoffs.

2-1 (...but don't be fooled, we're not really that good)

Cincinnati - I know they could easily be 3-0 right now, but I'm not buying into them. I don't know how they beat Pittsburgh, but their winning ways won't last.

2-1 (...and on the way up)

New England, San Diego, Atlanta, San Francisco, Green Bay, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia - Best crop of teams in any grouping, including the 3-0's. These teams could all be in the playoffs...and San Francisco's presence reminds me that I may regret saying I expect Arizona to rebound from their 1-2 start and make the post-season.

3-0 (...mostly with smoke and mirrors)

Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver - Ugh. How is this team 3-0? Anyone want to tell you momentum means nothing from week to week in the NFL, you point to this team. They lucked into a win in Week 1 and have ridden that wave. I'll be disgusted if they keep this up. Luckily for me, they won't.

(Due to the fact I wanted to emphasize Denver, I'm slipping Minnesota's presence to down here, as a sub-headline. Let's not forget Brett Favre's huge fade last year. Yes, the Vikings have Adrian Peterson, unlike the Jets, but Favre won't be making last-second touchdown throws all season, and the Vikings will lose key games because of that.)

3-0 (...and here to stay)

New Orleans, Baltimore, Indianapolis, New York Giants, New York Jets - I know, this is where I lose credibility...but you tell me that Jets' defense won't keep them in games and win them a few the rest of the season. Same with Baltimore, which is now putting up points as well. New Orleans and Indianapolis are the opposite, winning with offense (and the Colts just know how to win). The Giants still aren't impressing me, but they're winning, and they look convincing doing it. Color me convinced.

DUCKS UPDATE: By a hair, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs knocked the Long Island Ducks out of the playoffs. After Long Island battled back from an 0-2 series deficit, they rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 9th in Game 5 to cut a 7-3 lead to 7-5, but a strikeout with the winning run at the plate ended Hall of Famer Gary Carter's season. Next stop, the majors?

OH CHAD

2009-09-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

The good news, I guess, is that Chad Pennington could be in line for a record third Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2010.

But there's got to be serious doubt that Pennington will be able to come back at all from another season-ending shoulder injury suffered Sunday in San Diego.

The reports are that Pennington has a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder, the same shoulder he had surgery on in 2004 and 2005. The same reports say he is out the rest of this season. I'm guessing the next step, though I haven't heard anything yet, is that the rest of his career is in jeopardy.

For those of you who are not familiar with my past, you need to know that I think the world of Chad Pennington. So much so that last year he had me rooting for the Dolphins (I HATE the Dolphins) over the Jets so that he could make the playoffs again. I know he couldn't throw the deep ball, and I know he didn't play the greatest games of his career in the playoffs, but he was a winner with the Jets. He just couldn't stay healthy.

And that is still a problem.

This latest injury seems a bit much. I'm no expert, but when your career (a career which is already characterized by a weak arm) rests on your throwing shoulder, and that shoulder has already suffered three pretty serious traumas, I would think that would end said career. And I would hate to see it happen...but I would also hate to see Chad Pennington unable to do simple tasks like lift a fork to his mouth because he ruined his shoulder playing football.

My dad and I talk about Pennington often. He likes to say that one day Pennington will win a Super Bowl. I like to agree, because he is such a smart ballplayer, a great leader, and someone you want to see have that kind of success. He has all the traits that would make him a great coach after his playing days are over.

I want to think maybe he'll still get that Super Bowl win. Unfortunately, after this latest injury, it might have to be on the sidelines as a coach rather than on the field as a player.

JETS 24, TITANS 17

2009-09-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Another great win by the Jets against another very good opponent. They're 3-0. Almost more importantly, they're 3 conference wins, including 1 division win, in a season that is sure to come down to some sort of tiebreaker.

So I'm feeling good about the Jets....for the most part.

Instead of really celebrating the third win, though, I want to spend a bit of time looking at a couple of the Jets' flaws...because I'm sure other teams are starting to notice.

1) With a lead late, the Jets seem more than willing to let their defense run out the clock rather than the offense. A normal team leading by a touchdown with 9 minutes or so left in the game might milk the clock and try to limit the other team's possessions. The Jets don't seem to care about giving the ball back quickly and putting their defense back on the field. I understand the idea that it's their stronger unit, but at some point that unit is going to be tired, and the end of the game is where it's going to show the most. I'm going to start to get a little uncomfortable with opponents getting 3 or 4 chances to tie the game late in the game, as the Patriots and Titans have now had in consecutive weeks.

2) The offense hasn't exactly been lighting things up. If Tom Brady had connected on a few passes last week and the Titans hadn't played a terrible opening 10 minutes on Sunday, the Jets could easily be 1-2. They're 3-0, which is great, but Mark Sanchez can only be effective if the Jets have a running game...and they had no such thing on Sunday. It was a weird game for Tennessee - they showed why they are 0-3 in those first 10 minutes, but after that they showed flashes of the team that opened last year 10-0...and the Jets couldn't do much against that latter version. So I'm sure there's a book being written on Mark Sanchez, and the first chapter deals with stopping the run and putting some pressure on him to make throws. He looked the worst this week of his small three-game sample.

3) Thomas Jones is not playing well. Don't be fooled by the numbers Jones put up in that first game against Houston. Remember, he only scored two touchdowns because he spelled Leon Washington at the goal line and then ran all over a tired defense in fourth quarter garbage time. After that it was 14 carries for 54 yards against the Patriots and 14 carries for 20 yards against Tennessee. Yes, numbers 2 and 3 here go hand in hand. And Thomas Jones needs to help set that running game tone...and if he doesn't do it soon, it might be all Leon Washington all the time.

Those are the big issues I see with the Jets. Mostly it's been positive - they're winning, which comes ahead of anything. And they've won these three games without the suspended Calvin Pace, so they will only get stronger on defense. And they've already benefitted once from a Buffalo near-upset - playing New England after the Bills almost beat them. Now they get New Orleans next week after they struggled most of their game against Buffalo. So thanks again, Bills, for helping show the Jets the way. I have a feeling, though, that Drew Brees will present the Jets with their biggest challenge against an opposing quarterback so far this season.

MORE GOOD NEWS: Hall of Famer Gary Carter's Long Island Ducks will play a deciding fifth game Tuesday night in their playoff series after winning Sunday night to tie the series at 2. All the credit to the manager.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-09-27T00:01:00.007-04:00

I'll admit, I was less than pleased all last week when the Jets talked and talked leading up to their game with the Patriots.

The truth is, when they do things like that, it makes them look even worse when they get beat.

But the fact that they were able to back up all that talk and win the game makes me kind of happy they did it.

I think I like a team with some swagger.

And I think I like that it starts with the coach.

This is certainly not the type of thing that would have happened under Eric Mangini. A player who said anything under Mangini would face a fine, I'm sure...or worse.

I suppose it could have happened when Herm Edwards was at the helm, but it didn't really seem to. That was the kind of team that let Herm do the talking and they just went out and played. And while it was fun to listen to Edwards most of the time, the team was never really what you'd call dominant. More of a by-the-skin-of-their-teeth team.

Enter Rex Ryan. He started the talking in the middle of the off-season, first targeting Bill Belichick (which is tremendously overblown, incidentally - tell me something he said that has been wrong. Of course he's not going to worship Belichick - he's out to beat him. He just said what others keep to themselves.), but don't forget that when the Jets play the Dolphins, Channing Crowder says he has a score to settle with the Jets coach dating back to an off-season war of words.

The team picked up on the chatter in Week 2, and I think I'm a little disappointed that it hasn't continued into Week 3.

Well it has, kind of. Bart Scott took to the airwaves this week to call out Randy Moss, who belittled some of the Jets' defensive performance. And the target wasn't Scott specifically - he was backing up his teammates.

Listen, I know the Jets are just 2-0. I know it's not like they are a threat to win the Super Bowl...yet. (I was talking to a Patriots friend of mine this week after the Jets-Pats game and he said, "I wouldn't get too excited about your team yet." I had to respond, "I'm a Jets fan. You don't have to tell me that.") But you have to get a little excited at the atmosphere around the team Rex Ryan has created.

They believe they can win. They'll talk about it and they'll back it up. Most importantly, they'll back each other up on and off the field.

There's a lot to like - and believe in - about that.

**All of the talk around Boston is who the Red Sox are going to start in Game 1 of the ALDS...not an 'if' but a 'when'. I know they're very close to clinching...but after what I've seen with the Mets the past couple of years it gives me pause to hear people talking about the playoffs as a sure thing when it's not locked up yet. It's like when the Mets were in the playoffs commercials MLB was airing last year through the summer. That turned embarrassing come late September. And then you watch Jon Lester take a line drive off the knee and you think, 'Maybe everyone should keep their mouth shut.' Or at least stop talking about the ALCS versus the Yankees and only focus on an ALDS.

**You may remember two weeks ago I (slightly accidentally) gave you the Bills getting big points against the Patriots. I forgot to pick an underdog last Sunday, but if I had I like to think I would have gone with the Cardinals to outright win getting points in Jacksonville (I had them and felt great about them in my picks pool). But I won't let another "would have" situation go by. This week, I notice there are quite a few home underdogs, which are always hard to pick against. I do not like the Lions or Rams, both getting points, nor do I like the Bengals or the Seahawks. I think all of those teams lose and fail to cover at home. I do like the Bucs to at least cover against the Giants and the Bills to at least cover against the Saints. I'm not sure either team wins, though. And then finally, I can't believe the Broncos are underdogs in Oakland. Is there any way they lose to the Raiders? I don't think either team is very good, and I have a hard time seeing Denver getting to 3-0, but I think they win again on Sunday.

**That reminds me - I think it's time to start figuring out who's for real and who's not some time this week I'll write about the legit teams with winning records (like the Falcons) and the frauds (Denver). Also, the hard-luck losing teams (like the Titans) and the flat-out bad teams (like the Rams).

**I know you're dying to know a little more about the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, opponent of Hall of Famer Gary Carter's Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League playoffs. In Game 1 of their series, the Ducks were beaten 1-0 by former major league pitchers John Halama and Mac Suzuki (the closer). The manager is Butch Hobson, which I'm sure resonates with the many Red Sox fans who read this blog.

**I was able to listen to the last couple of innings of Game 3 of the series on WNYG streaming over the internet and it was pretty excellent quality, all things considered. Surprised to hear that Gary Carter also coaches third base, but I guess it makes sense at that level. I guess I always assumed Buddy Harrelson would man third for Carter like he did for the 1980's Mets teams. Anyway, the Ducks pulled out an 8th inning rally to win Game 3 and stave off elimination in the best-of-five series. They trail the series 2 games to 1.

**Update: Forgot to make a Jets pick in my original posting...The Jets and Titans always play each other tight (in today's case, incidentally, it'll be Titans-Oilers - one of the AFL anniversary games, with the Jets as the Titans). I say Jets 23, Titans 20.

GIVE THE KID A CHANCE

2009-09-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

Dear New York Mets,

As another disappointing season comes to a close, I'd like to make a pitch for an opportunity to turn the franchise around.

I know as an organization you say you are committed to the losing ways of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel. But I know that it's not too late to make a change.

You can have a man who has Hall of Fame player credentials. He knows how to play the game of baseball. He has done nothing but win since he began his managerial career. And I'm pretty confident that if you pick up the phone, this person would leap at the opportunity to manage the Mets.

His name is Gary Carter.
Carter's Long Island Ducks clinched the second-half title in the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League. Once again a Carter-led team is storming into the post-season. (The post-season, you may remember, is what happens after the regular season ends, when teams play for the championship. Your current leadership hasn't been able to accomplish that feat in three years...and the team has been there only once in the past decade.)

Here's a brief overview of Carter's managerial resume:

Gulf Coast Mets, 2005: 37-16 (0-2 Postseason)

St. Lucie Mets, 2006: 40-30 1st half, 37-32 2nd half (5-0 Postseason, championship)

Orange County Flyers, 2008: 28-15 1st half, 26-22 2nd half (6-4 Postseason, championship)

Long Island Ducks, 2009: 37-33 1st half, 37-33 2nd half (tbd)

It's time someone took a chance on Carter at the major league level. It might as well be the team he led to a world championship as a player.

I don't know why no one has taken this chance yet. My only guess is that Carter is not well-liked around baseball...because from the reading I've done over the years it seems like he was not very well-liked as a player. But that's by other players. You know what the fans thought of him? We loved him. So New Yorkers would come to the park, I'm sure. Especially when he starts making the Mets a winning ballclub again.

Because he will make them a winning ballclub. You argue that he has only handled young players in the minors? Well, guess what? The veteran approach hasn't quite succeeded with the Mets. Time to build up a young core...and let Carter lead them.

It won't be overnight success with Carter. But it'll be worth waiting for, I promise.

Don't give me the excuse that Jerry Manuel hasn't had his full roster since April and he's dealt with all of these injuries. I saw the Mets in April, at full capacity, and they were not going anywhere. I bet a Gary Carter-led team doesn't tolerate guys waltzing into home when they should be sliding and guys making countless poor baserunning errors. And Carter's enthusiasm probably wouldn't hurt a team that lacks a certain fire.

Again, I don't know why no one has hired him yet at a high-minor league or major league level. But it won't be long until the secret's out. The man can manage. And right now, he could be the next manager of the New York Mets.

If you wait too long, you might watch him win a championship at this level with another team.

Sincerely,

A Mets fan

WHAT'S UP WITH TOM BRADY?

2009-09-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

OK Jets fans...let's cool it with the "Brady Sucks" chants.

Tom Brady does not suck. Tom Brady is just playing below the significant bar he has set for himself to this point in his career. I know, it's much too wordy to chant at a game. But it's more true than "Brady Sucks".

At the very least, Brady sucks right now. The question is, why?

Here are the facts:

Game 1: 39-53 for 378 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Game 2: 23-47 for 216 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

Going deeper than the facts, Brady only had as many yards against Buffalo as he did because they didn't run the ball and he completed short passes. And if it wasn't for the final five minutes of that game he would have shown no life at all.

Against the Jets, he should have gotten a win. All he had to do was complete one pass at any of five or six key moments in the game - and he overthrew or threw behind his receiver each time.

I'm hearing that the Jets' pressure was affecting his timing and that every throw was made a step sooner than he would have liked. But I don't buy it. Because there were times he was throwing to the sidelines when his receivers were going long, or vice versa. He was throwing over guys' heads. To be honest, I didn't think the Jets' pressure in Week 2 was all that great. He had plenty of time to let things unfold most of the game.

My wife was quick to a theory - "Remember he had the shoulder injury in the pre-season?" I do remember, and it's certainly possible that his shoulder is bothering him...many a lesser quarterback suffered through such injuries and never came back (Ken O'Brien anyone?). And of course, he's coming off major knee surgery. So he still may come around as he gets his legs under him.

But I'm not so sure I'm buying the injury thing either. Is it because he's hurt that Brady takes his sweet time coming on and off the field? Casually coming up to the line and letting delay of game penalties rack up? I don't really think so.

To sum up what I'm noticing I need to give you some background. Even as a Jets fan I've always liked Tom Brady. He was hard not to like. He always had an answer for the reporters, he played the game hard, he seemed like a nice guy.

The Brady I'm watching on the field right now looks like a punk.

He looks like he's slinking on and off the field. Really, he does. Watch him. He doesn't look like he's hustling. I know it's hard to tell sometimes with football players with all the padding and helmets and stuff...but he doesn't really look like he cares.

Then there was the interview he blew off after the Buffalo game. Tom Brady doesn't do that. He stops and answers the questions, or at least makes an effort to hear the reporter ask the question. He doesn't give an on-the-run "I can't hear anything you're saying." At least he doesn't do it when it's live TV and it's ESPN. Is it an off-the-field thing that's bothering him and made him wary of a reporter's on-the-spot question? He and his supermodel wife are expecting a baby, and then there was a lawsuit publicized Tuesday against their bodyguards for gunshots at the wedding. The problem here is that Tom Brady doesn't bring that type of stuff with him onto the field.

I know it's silly that I sound so concerned. As a Jets fan, part of me is enjoying watching this - it's been a long nine years. But the football fan in me misses watching a professional go about his job.

And it also makes me think how lucky the Jets would be if Mark Sanchez turns into the type of player I expect Tom Brady to be...on and off the field.

MONDAY MORNING IMPRESSIONS: JETS 16, PATRIOTS 9

2009-09-21T00:01:00.002-04:00

I don't want to make a huge deal out of this...but I got a game ball on Sunday.

"I think our fans are huge in this victory," said head coach Rex Ryan. "In fact, we're giving a game ball to our fans. It will go up in our trophy case. I thought they were the difference."

It's not the first time I've been given a game ball, incidentally. I remember I was awarded one after the Jets' playoff win over Jacksonville in 1999. I was loud then, too.

But I wasn't alone in this - I did have help. Besides the 70,000+ others screaming for much of the game, there was the Jets' defense. They played pretty well. They still have yet to give up a touchdown on this young season, holding the Patriots to three field goals (and after the Texans scored last week on only a defensive score).

And then there was Tom Brady. I'll delve into this one later in the week, but again he looked terrible, this time without the end-of-game flurry like the ones the Bills handed him last week. And there were times that he had the Jets' defense beat, but threw a terrible pass, and didn't seem on the same page as his receivers.

Sure, I'd like to think it was all me causing the back-to-back delay of game penalties (following a time out, no less), but some of that blame falls on the quarterback. And on this day that QB did not look like a former Super Bowl MVP.

The Jets' rookie quarterback, meanwhile, was able to bounce back from his mistakes. (And I did my part to help the offense by resting my voice while they had the ball...but again, this isn't about me. I was only part of the team, game ball or not.) After a first few possessions that were just terrible (a Sanchez fumble that put the ball inside the 5, a Leon Washington fumble that the Patriots recovered), Sanchez managed to get the Jets 3 points in the second quarter (after some questionable play-calling where the Jets seemed to give up the chance at a TD), and then came out of the gates in the third quarter with a quick, efficient touchdown drive to give the Jets the lead for good.

Sanchez could have easily had a second touchdown but he overthrew a receiver in the end zone...but he managed to limit the mistakes and help the Jets hold the lead.

In the end, as Rex Ryan said, the Jets were the better team on this day. They're starting to look like they might just be a better team than most this year. Again, we'll have a better idea when the Jets take on the Titans at home next week.

I just hope they can manage without me there.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-09-20T00:01:00.006-04:00

I should be excited.

I'm going to the Meadowlands for a big Jets game against a division rival...and it is shaping up to be a great game. I should be really excited.

But I'm kind of dreading it.

Even growing up in Queens the trip out to Rutherford, New Jersey was such a pain. Actually, the trip there wasn't so bad - we could finagle it so that we could beat most traffic. Coming home was the disaster.

Now, trying to go to a Jets game from Framingham, Massachusetts is nothing short of a mistake. I'm going to try out the new train transportation to get there, but again, I'm worried about how long it will take to get out of Jersey...and then what time I will end up back in Massachusetts that night (a school night, no less).

It was a huge tease when it became clear that the Jets were going to be involved in building a new stadium, and the west side of Manhattan was thrown out there (not to mention the faint possibility of them moving back to Queens). It would have been too easy. So what happened? They built right next door...still in Jersey.

It's too hard to make a trip that way too often ends in disappointment. Not too mention that we're not treated well. My dad has had Jets season tickets since the mid-1960's...and when the time came to get tickets to the new stadium, the Jets didn't acknowledge anyone pre-late 1970's. The result - a minor seat change, closer to midfield, still in the upper bowl. Not that we would have paid for any seat licenses and gotten much closer to the field. (How exactly can you own a seat in a stadium that is shared by two teams and two sets of season ticket holders?)

I'm in too deep to return my fan card over all this - but I certainly won't be showing up at the stadium too often anymore. It's looking like, barring a playoff appearance, my first visit to see the Jets in 2009 will be my last visit to Giants Stadium (and a lot less sentimental than my last visits to Shea Stadium). And I might just do the trip one more time - when the Jets open up their new stadium...then my dad is thinking of giving up the tickets, and I won't stop him.

So I am excited to see the Jets hopefully beat the Patriots. I am excited to see the home debut of Mark Sanchez. I am excited to hang out with a couple of great friends, which is the real reason I'm making this trip to begin with. But I'm not excited about watching the game surrounded by the mostly idiotic football fans in Section 336. And I'm not excited about the inconvenience of getting to the game.

*Seems like the Jets did way too much talking this week. Part of me thinks it's a good sign, the sign of a confident team. A bigger part of me feels like it's just rattling the Patriots' cage in a bad way.

*Can't get a clear Red Sox radio signal 10 minutes away from my house in Framingham, but driving down Saturday night I picked up the Reds radio broadcast in the middle of Connecticut clear as a bell.

*High on my list of concerns with traveling to the Jets game today: When I arrive back in Framingham, it will be well after night falls. Sunday nights are garbage nights. I'm putting it at better than 60% that I will see a raccoon on my street. That will set me back about a week's worth of sleep.

*LI Ducks update: Looks like Hall of Famer Gary Carter has the Long Island Ducks right where he wants them - in the post-season. They will be facing Southern Maryland in the first round, starting later this week. This is where it gets exciting - and this is where a Gary Carter-led team does its damage - in the post-season. We'll certainly keep you posted.

POINT/COUNTERPOINT: JETS VS. PATRIOTS

2009-09-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

Other than, "Don't fumble the ball inside your own 25 on the kickoff after a Patriots touchdown that seemed to give them a tiny bit of life late in the fourth quarter", I'm not sure the Jets could learn anything about the Patriots from Monday night's game. I mean, that had to be the Patriots looking past the Bills and getting caught in a Week 1 trap game, right? They can't possibly be as bad as they looked for the first 45 of the 60-minute game, could they? Let's go with a Point/Counterpoint to figure things out:

POINT: The Jets looked great in their win against Houston, and the Patriots looked terrible, barely getting by Buffalo. Gotta be a win for the Jets in Week 2, no?
COUNTERPOINT: I don't believe the Patriots will come out and play that flat two weeks in a row until I see it happen. I can't believe their coaching staff would let that happen.

POINT: Tom Brady looked like he was sleepwalking the entire game. He has to be hurt or his head is cloudy as he gets ready to leave his newly impregnated wife, right?
COUNTERPOINT: He was 39-53, 378 yards, 2 TD and he sure didn't look hurt in the final 5 minutes. Then again, though, another un-Brady move was blowing off the post-game interview...so maybe he's not himself.

POINT: The Patriots played that game against Buffalo looking like the end of their 2007 season team, when they would luck into wins and barely scrape by opponents, leaving them ripe for the beating in any of those weeks.
COUNTERPOINT: You mean the year they won 16 regular season games and 2 playoff games before finally losing? That didn't really seem to catch up to them when they beat the Jets twice.

POINT: The Jets finally seem to have the type of team that can give Tom Brady fits and actually get in his face.
COUNTERPOINT: Yes, actually they do. I wonder how Brady will react to actually getting hit. But let's remember these are the Patriots and not the Texans...will the Jets defense from Week 1 look the same in Week 2 against New England?

POINT: I think the Jets have it in them to beat New England at home. Jets 30, Patriots 20
COUNTERPOINT: You're nuts. Patriots 31, Jets 10

AROUND THE NFL: WEEK 1

2009-09-15T00:01:00.001-04:00

My thoughts on some of the rest of the NFL weekend:

CHECKING IN WITH CHAD: You are not forgotten, Chad Pennington. Pennington had a typical Pennington day passing, at least in the positive stats category, in the Dolphins' 19-7 loss to the Falcons. Pennington was 21-29 for 176 yards (that's vintage Pennington) with a touchdown and interception each. But he also fumbled, making him responsible for 2 of the Dolphins' four costly turnovers. The numbers look OK, but it wasn't a great day for Chad.

WISHY-WASHINGTON: I swear the only time I've seen the Redskins move the ball well the past couple of years is when they're trailing in the final five minutes of a ballgame. That was when they looked the best against the Giants on Sunday, when Jason Campbell brought them to within six points (big back-door cover!) on a 17-yard TD pass to Chris Cooley. Otherwise the Redskins looked terrible against a Giants team that kind of dominated the game...but it's hard to judge because of how badly the Redskins played. I'm still not buying into the Giants a ton - but I think I may have miscalculted the Redskins. I thought they were better than they looked in Week 1.

COMEBACK: The Denver/Brandon Stokely play is the reason I never, if at all possible, leave a game before the final gun sounds. Rare that it's worth it, though. Also, let's not let that touchdown mask the fact that both the Broncos and the Bengals played a terrible ballgame offensively, and both are going nowhere this year.

MCRIBB: Just what Donovan McNabb needed - an injury to fuel speculation that he should take a backseat to Michael Vick when Vick's suspension is over. The worst part of it all was that it didn't have to happen - it came with McNabb taking on a defender as he entered the end zone when the game was already well in hand.

SPEAKING OF INJURIES: I always listen to at least one sports radio update on my way home from school to catch what I may have missed during the day, and usually the Monday after an NFL weekend has a juicy something. Today it was nothing less than shocking to hear that Brian Urlacher would be out the rest of the season. I watched most of the Sunday night game, and I didn't see him get hurt, but I knew he was hurt and I saw them cut to him on the sideline often during the game...and I'm just very surprised it was a season-ending injury. Bad news for the Bears.

MONDAY NIGHT: Speaking as someone who no longer has the DirecTV Sunday Ticket, I would totally deal with only 3 of the late Sunday games (4pm starts) to have two Monday night games...and one starting at 7pm. I love the 7pm Monday start.

MONDAY MORNING IMPRESSIONS: JETS 24, TEXANS 7

2009-09-14T00:01:00.001-04:00

Now that's defense.

In the recent past, you couldn't really blame the Jets' defense for their problems. But it was still frustrating to watch the bend, don't break style, where they'd give up huge chunks of yardage until they finally clamped down.

Sunday, in the Jets' 24-7 win over Houston, was everything you'd want to see out of a defense - it was the 'clamp-down' version of the defense over the entire game.

Instead of rare instances of pressure there was a player in Matt Schaub's face almost every play (by my calculation six of the seven plays on the Texans' first drive featured Schaub getting hit). The one bad stretch the defense had came in the second quarter, when Steve Slaton started to carve them up...but a timely hit on the ball resulted in a fumble and a turnover, and the Jets never looked back.

The game could have been a shutout, which would have been appropriate for the new attitude Rex Ryan has brought to the team, but the Texans managed a defensive touchdown for their points.

Which brings us to the offense. The interception returned for the TD wasn't Mark Sanchez's only mistake...it was just the one that the Texans made him pay for. Sanchez threw some ill-advised passes that weren't picked off...some were also caught by the Jets' receievers. But the overwhelming impression Sanchez gave on Sunday was positive. Most importantly, he was very poised on third down - the Jets converted 10-of-18 on third down. Sanchez was 18-31 for 272 yards overall, throwing 1 TD and 1 INT. Not bad for an NFL debut.

There were not many negatives to take away from the game, but I'm looking in Thomas Jones' direction. Sure, he finished with 107 yards and 2 TD...but it was just about the cheapest 100-yard game I've ever seen.

His first touchdown was the equivalent of a major league baseball reliever blowing an 8th inning lead on a starter, then watching his team score in their half of the inning, giving him the win. The "vulture win". Jones' first touchdown was a "vulture touchdown". Leon Washington did all the work getting the ball inside the five, then Jones punched it in from the one. He then ran ragged over a tired Texans defense in the fourth quarter, which was nice as far as closing out a game, but he went nowhere in the early stages of the game, which I think may have been more telling.

So the Jets are 1-0, and they looked great doing it. But it came against the Texans, a team I have made quite clear so far that I haven't bought into. Next week, at home, the Jets play the Patriots, and that will be the real test - for Sanchez, for the defense, for the Jets' chances in the division. It was a good opening week - the Jets showed there's reason for optimism. Let's just hope it lasts longer than one week.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-09-13T00:01:00.004-04:00

And today it begins. Yes, the full slate of games that begins the NFL season, but on a personal level, for me it's life after DirecTV.

When we bought and moved into our house five years ago, it represented a freedom of choice for us - if we wanted a dish, we could get a dish. (As opposed to our apartment, which had a restriction on satellite dishes.) Thus, we fulfilled my dream of watching the Jets when I wanted, without having to leave the comfort of my own home (and allowing me to let fly whatever I needed to say during a game in the company of family rather than complete strangers).

Well, after last year's debacle of a season, I succumbed to my wife's request to go to a cheaper cable option, thinking I would never care to schedule my Sundays around the Jets again.

Then this weekend hit. And I still care.

It's not easy being a Jets fan in New England for a number of reasons...but primarily it's because the Jets are often televised opposite the Patriots. With the increase in the number of prime-time Patriots games, I've lucked into some TV windows where the Jets are the local TV option - but that hasn't had an effect on me recently because of the Sunday Ticket.

This year, though, I'm going to have to heavily rely on those days. And today happens to be one of them. With the Patriots playing Monday Night Football, the Jets-Texans is the nationally televised CBS game. And next week I'm going to the home opener (although it's a game I would have been able to see at home, since it's against New England). So two games down, 14 to worry about.

A small part of me misses the old days when I'd get to a bar that had the Sunday Ticket at around 11:30am, reserve myself a booth with a TV, and then eat lots of appetizers. I'm kind of excited to see who would be up for recapturing that element of our lives from five years ago.

But I'm realizing now that I'm a little worried about the days when the Jets face a must-win situation and I'm stuck in enemey territory, and I can't yell at the TV. I just hope I don't cry if they lose.

*I hope my head doesn't explode today. First full weekend of NFL, a few baseball doubleheaders, and a golf final round to boot.

*I've mentioned this before, but I'm not really buying the Houston Texans. I'll go with Jets 24, Houston 20. And if I'm smelling big upset anywhere, I look no further than Foxboro, Massachusetts. Now, this does come with a caveat - I did pick the Patriots in a survivor pool, so I feel pretty strongly that they're going to win. But if any team can stretch their defensive weaknesses, it's the Bills, with Lee Evans and Terrell Owens. Plus, there's the Richard Seymour trade. There are shades of the Lawyer Milloy deal here, when the Pats got plastered by the Bills in the game after that trade. But I don't get the impression Seymour had the same relationship with his teammates that Milloy had...I have it in my mind that Seymour was kind of a loner. That's how I imagine it at least. Anyway, maybe there are repercussions. But, again, I picked the Patriots, so this is just a thought I'm throwing out there. Of course, the fact that I picked the Patriots makes me feel strongly that they might lose, too, because that's the way things go for me.

*I forgot that Sports Illustrated had picked the Mets to win the World Series this year. I should have listened to my Red Sox fan friends who were quick to point out after that prediction that SI had also picked the Red Sox to win it all in a year they would rather forget. (I think it was 2003.) It's sad that the only teams below the Mets in the standings are the likes of Kansas City, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. Not the company a team with that kind of payroll should be keeping. I'll add that it was nice to see David Wright come through in a clutch situation and carry the Mets to a big win over the Phillies on Saturday...if a meaningless game in mid-September for the Mets counts as a big win.

*Your weekly update on Hall of Famer Gary Carter and the Long Island Ducks - the Ducks are at .500, and have a 2 game lead in the wild card chase with 8 games remaining, all against last place teams. Seems like the Ducks are right where they want to be.

OH RIGHT, IT'S STILL BASEBALL SEASON

2009-09-11T20:07:00.004-04:00

So I'm watching the Mets on their way to what's sure to be a slaughtering by Philadelphia, and realizing that you're probably wondering what I do with this next month, considering it's the first time in five years that the Mets have not had the ol' "meaningful games in September" thing going on.

Besides rooting for David Wright to hit doubles.

And the answer is quite simple - I root like the dickens for Josh Johnson and the rest of my fantasy baseball team.

Let me give you some history. (Wow, fantasy baseball history! The excitement is dripping from the walls!) Each year four of us from college get together and do our fantasy draft - a four-person league. Because it's such a small league, we have to narrow down the baseball universe, so it's just American League and National League East teams that we choose from. Hence the super-clever league name, "East Coast Bias".

Well, every year one guy, let's call him "Kevin", just dominates the league. He pretty much lives and breathes his fantasy baseball team, so it's not a surprise. What's so painful is that, not unlike my Mets, I've had season-long leads that have fallen apart in the last month of the season.

But not this year. This year I was in third or fourth place much of the early part of the year, and waited for everything to come together, until I took over first place in just the past couple of weeks.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, I drafted a really good team. I really did...I didn't worry about certain negative categories (like hitters' strikeouts), and loaded up on some big RBI/Runs guys.

More importantly, though, "Kevin" has some very important, and positive, things going on in his life that have leveled the playing field a bit. Now, he doesn't have two kids, which is the circumstance I will blame if I don't hold my lead, but he has some serious demands on his time that he hasn't had the past few years.

So one more month of rooting for the Phillies every fifth day (Pedro). One more month of rooting for certain guys to get wins (Beckett, Lester), but only by 2 or 3 runs, so I can get a save (Papelbon). One more month of sitting through the terrible Marlins telecasts for my dose of Josh Johnson. And one more month of juggling through the baseball channels to catch my hitters' at-bats (V. Martinez, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Evan Longoria, and Ryan Zimmerman, to name a few).

At least I don't have the Mets (well, besides Angel Pagan) to distract me from all that.

P.S.: School has started, and for those of you who don't know, that's my real job. So I apologize for the slowdown in posting...I'll find some sort of rhythm soon.

PLAYOFF PICKS

2009-09-08T00:01:00.001-04:00

You saw my picks for the regular season yesterday...today I present my playoff picks.

Not much for me to say about these, other than your guess is as good as mine.

Remember in the playoffs last year, the Falcons fumbled their opening possession in the second half, and the Cardinals never looked back? (If I remember correctly.) I have to think that's been sitting poorly in the Falcons' guts since then. It could have just as easily been them in the Super Bowl against Pittsburgh last season. Might as well be them this year.

YOUR 2009 NFL STANDINGS

2009-09-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

Like everyone else, I like to try my hand at the ol' NFL predictions, so here they are.

Warning: I don't know any more than you do.

A couple of clarifications:

-I would give these picks, especially the extremes (15-1 and 1-15, for example) a +/- 2 margin of error.

-Based on what I'm seeing elsewhere, I may have put too much stock in the Tennessee Titans, and too little stock in the New York Giants. But I don't get the love for the Giants - what makes them any different today than the team that fell apart at the end of last season? I'll stay with what I have.

-In the AFC North, it's not so much that I believe a tremendous amount in the Steelers and the Ravens, it's more that they have an easy schedule and the other two teams in that division are pretty bad.

-Tampa Bay is another one that I'm not feeling so great about my pick with...but who knows. It's the NFL...they probably will be terrible.

-I'm a bit surprised at how highly regarded the Houston Texans are in these pre-season publications. What am I missing there?

-Arizona might not be as good as I picked them to be, but I definitely don't think they'll fare as poorly as past Super Bowl losers. I definitely think they're the best team in their division, hands-down. I don't expect a Super Bowl run, but I do expect a division title.

-You'll notice I played it conservatively with the Jets. Still, I ended up with 9-7. They do have a tougher schedule this year, so it was easier to not pick them every week...but it was still a struggle. I was happy to read this week's Sports Illustrated, though, and the 'Point After' section, where Phil Taylor writes about unsuccessful predictions...and the chances of the Jets winning the Super Bowl. I'll gladly let him make the prediction instead of me if it helps the karma.

Tomorrow I'll play out my playoffs for you.

SUNDAY PAPER

2009-09-06T00:01:00.011-04:00

I'm a little disappointed in the way things played out with the new and improved extra-protective batting helmet that David Wright tried out this week.

I'll admit - the things look silly. Players from the Mets and Rockies apparently called Wright The Great Gazoo, referencing the Flinstones character...I think it brings to mind Michael Dukakis. Regardless, I think they're necessary, and I don't think David Wright helped matters much by deciding to ditch the helmet after one game.

According to Wright, the change was due to comfort rather than appearance, but he took enough ridicule from all angles that I have to think he was somewhat worried about his image.

And that's the problem, because Wright is a star, and his image could have helped garner more widespread use of the product.

The Rawlings S100 helmet has extra padding and has been shown to withstand 100-mile-an-hour pitches thrown from 2 feet away. David Wright, for example, was hit by a 90+-mile-an-hour fastball from 60 feet, 6 inches away. And he's just the most prominent example.

The head is a sensitive area - and this is an issue that becomes more and more relevant as pitchers throw the ball harder and harder. I think it sends a horrible message when players like Jeff Francoeur talk about how they won't wear the helmets because they don't want to look like "clowns".

The idea of the helmet is protection, not style. We're in the year 2009 here, so I'm sure there will be some sort of technological advancement soon where the same kind of protection is offered in some sort of slimmer model. But I think priority number one when they're sitting down testing these helmets is not to make sure Jeff Francoeur doesn't look like a clown.

Unfortunately, David Wright looked like a clown, and he didn't like it. Maybe it would have been better for him to try the helmet out at home, so at least he didn't get ridiculed by the fans.

As it stands now, Major League Baseball will require minor league teams to wear the helmets next season. Hopefully that carries into the majors soon...or Rawlings gets something together that doesn't look so padded.

The events of the past week have given the helmet a bit of a black eye. But if the players don't start wearing it, they might suffer something much worse.

*I hate poor sportsmanship. I hate self-congratulatory behavior, especially when it is directed at someone else specifically to put them down. And I hate seeing fights. So I'm pleased that a heavy punishment was doled out to Oregon's LeGarrette Blount for his sucker punch to the jaw of Boise State's Byron Hout. And I don't want to say Hout had it coming, but he certainly didn't help matters by going up to Blount to rub it in. Yes, Blount had done a lot of talking leading up to the game, and probably during the game. But Hout should have let the scoreboard speak for itself. I'm glad Boise State's coaches reacted to Hout's actions the way they did, and it's unfortunate the way Blount reacted...but none of it should have happened if everyone had been a good sport in the first place.

*One thing I took away from last week's Jets-Giants pre-season matchup is that I didn't realize Mario Manningham was with the Giants. I missed his four catches last season, I guess. It looks like he'll be a bigger part of their plans this year, which I like, because I'm liking the Manning-to-Manningham name connection.

*Lots of mixed feelings as I sat and watched a lot of college football on Saturday. I really enjoyed it, obviously, but that means there's no turning back - back to school, end of summer weather, all that. I do love the fall, but there's a tough adjustment period, especially this year.

*Your Long Island Ducks update - Their playoff position is in jeopardy - they're a game behind second-place Bridgeport, but they play Bridgeport later this week. Long Island is 26-28, six games behind the division leader. You better believe Hall of Famer Gary Carter will have his players fighting for that wild card spot this week. We'll have another update next week.

*Can't wait for the NFL to get going. I'll have some previews coming this week.

A QUICK PLUG

2009-09-03T21:32:00.003-04:00

I don't have HBO. Used to, but I don't anymore.

As such, I used to enjoy "Hard Knocks", back when I did have HBO. Of course, I'm sure I would still enjoy the show if I could still watch it.

I can't, but Justin from Sports Crackle Pop! can, and each week he gives a thorough recap of the show. Reading his recaps keeps me in the loop. You will enjoy them as well.

WRIGHT WATCH: Big day for David Wright in Colorado, incidentally. Double #32.

WELCOME BACK DAVID WRIGHT

2009-09-02T18:58:00.005-04:00

In a season full of disappointments, there was one highlight - maybe the highlight of the 2009 season - for the Mets on Tuesday night, when David Wright came back off the DL and went 1-for-3 in Colorado.

The initial reports were that Wright might miss the rest of the season after he was hit in the head by a Matt Cain fastball in mid-August. No one knew what to expect, since the injury was a concussion, and the Mets were going to be extra cautious with their star in an already-lost season, following a poorly-handled concussion and recovery suffered by Ryan Church with the team last year.

But Wright and the Mets played it smart, and there he was Tuesday night, back in the three spot in the lineup, and he got a hit into left-center field.

The only thing better would have been if the ball carried a little deeper into the gap and he could have legged out a double.

You see, I love rooting for David Wright. I want him to be a member of the Mets forever, and I want him to make a historical mark on the game. Unfortunately, he's not a big bomber (never more evident than his 8 homers this year), and he's not a speed demon (though a smart and efficient base runner), and he's not a tremendous defensive third baseman (though he has steadily improved each year since he was brought up).

He's just a solid baseball player. If there is a place where he can leave his mark on the game when everything is said and done, though, it's in the doubles column. So I watch David Wright for the doubles, and this year was going great until he spent his time on the DL.

Probably because of the vacuous Citi Field, Wright had 31 doubles in 116 games before the DL stint. That put him on a career-high pace of 43 doubles for the season, one behind the team record of 44 set by Bernard Gilkey in 1996.

Wright has made a run at that record every year he has played regularly, with 42 doubles in 2005, 40 in '06, and 42 in '07 and '08. He has 214 for his career, which puts him in a tie for second on the franchise list, 11 behind team leader Ed Kranepool.

So Wright will undoubtedly become the team leader in doubles, maybe even before the end of this season (though 11 doubles in 30 games is a tall order). But I have my eyes on a bigger prize.

Tris Speaker is the all-time leader in doubles, with 792. If Wright puts up 40 doubles a season for however many more years he plays, especially since it looks like Citi Field will sap some of his homers and turn them into doubles, I think it will be fun to see him chase that mark of 792. Believe me, I will keep you posted on this chase for as long as I write in this space.

So welcome back, David Wright. Now start hitting some doubles.

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

2009-09-01T00:15:00.002-04:00

With both Johan Santana and Oliver Perez set to undergo surgery today, we turn to the 200 Miles From the Citi futurives (opposite of archives, I made it up) to see just how pivotal a day in Mets history this was.

July 28, 2025 - Cooperstown, NY - Ollie and Johan. Johan and Ollie. Like Tinker, Evers, and Chance; Smoltz, Maddux, and Glavine; Schilling and Johnson; the names have been intertwined in baseball history.

They celebrated together on the mound after Perez relieved Santana in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, capping the Mets' fifth World Series championship in seven years. They kidded with each other as back-to-back co-Cy Young award winners in 2010 and 2011, beginning a stretch where each alternated as the NL winner of the award for eight straight years. And they sit together this weekend reflecting on a remarkable stretch which began with both of them on the disabled list and ends here, as they prepare to be inducted together into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"My success definitely traces back to the surgery," says Perez, referring to the controversial procedure conducted at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. "I came back from that a different pitcher."

"I don't really remember much about the past 16 years, to be honest," added Santana.

The players both had surgery on September 1, 2009, suffering from season-ending injuries in a terribly disappointing season for the Mets. For Perez, scar tissue was removed from the patella tendon of his left knee, and Santana had bone chips removed from his pitching elbow. Those surgeries were conducted as scheduled. What no one was told until the players' careers were over, though, was that doctors also took part of Santana's brain and implanted it into Perez's head.

"It was very strange," said Jeff Wilpon, whose father's sale of the team during the off-season was another move that has been widely credited with the team's turnaround. "It was like a Frankenstein setup."

"From that day forward, I was like a different pitcher," Perez recalls. "It was like, 'Oh, you're not supposed to walk guys. Especially with the bases loaded!'"

The effects of the surgery are reflected in the stats: both pitchers averaged 17 wins over the next 10 seasons. Santana reached 300 wins for his career in his final season, while Perez recorded 4,000 strikeouts for his career during that final campaign five years ago.

Neither pitcher reported any negative side effects following the surgery, though fans noticed that every time Santana struck out 10 or more batters from the 2010 season forward, he would wet his pants.

Asked about their time together with the Mets, Perez said of Santana, "I think I owe him everything."

Santana replied, "I don't remember anything."

SANCHEZ STILL LOOKS GOOD

2009-08-31T19:45:00.001-04:00

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

2009-08-30T00:01:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-27T19:20:00.001-04:00

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

2009-08-26T20:02:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-25T20:35:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-24T21:24:00.006-04:00

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

2009-08-23T16:23:00.008-04:00

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

2009-08-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

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

2009-08-21T22:40:00.000-04:00

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.