Which Relievers Should Be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

We don't yet have a clear idea of what gets a reliever into the Hall of Fame. So I'm going to run a comparison, between those who are in, and those who some people say should be in.

First, let's take Hoyt Wilhelm and Dennis Eckersley out of the equation, because they both spent significant time as starters. And John Smoltz, while pretty good as a reliever, was a starter for the vast majority of his career.

That means that there are only 6 relievers in the Hall of Fame. In order of election, they are: Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith.

Let's look at a few other relievers of note: Dan Quisenberry, star reliever of the 1980s; Jeff Reardon, another 1980s reliever, and the all-time leader between Fingers and Smith; John Franco, the all-time save leader among lefthanded pitchers; Billy Wagner, right behind Franco in that regard, and who, a few days ago, fell 5 votes short of election; and Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez, who has the most saves of any pitcher not in the Hall, eligible or otherwise, and holds the single-season record.

And if you think I missed any relievers worth considering, let me know. Just don't suggest any that are not yet eligible.

Saves: Rivera 652, Hoffman 601, Smith 478, Rodriguez 437, Franco 424, Wagner 422, Reardon 367, Fingers 341, Gossage 310, Sutter 300, Quisenberry 244.

Earned Run Average (ERA): Rivera 2.21, Wagner 2.31, Quisenberry 2.76, Sutter 2.83, Rodriguez 2.86, Hoffman 2.87, Franco 2.89, Fingers 2.90, Gossage 3.01, Smith 3.03, Reardon 3.16.

ERA compared to the league average (ERA+), with 100 being exactly average: Rivera 205 (making him the all-time leader, among all pitchers), Wagner 187, Rodriguez 148, Quisenberry 146, Hoffman 141, Franco 138, Sutter 136, Smith 132, Gossage 126, Reardon 122, Fingers 120.

Walks and Hits (BB + H), Divided by Innings Pitched (WHIP): Wagner 0.998, Rivera 1.000, Hoffman 1.058, Sutter 1.140, Rodriguez 1.155, Fingers 1.156, Quisenberry 1.175, Reardon 1.199, Gossage 1.232, Smith 1.256, Franco 1.333.

Why do I not count Wins + Saves? Because it's not that hard to blow a lead, then still be your team's pitcher of record when they retake the lead. For a reliever, Wins is a misleading statistic.

Why do I not count Strikeouts (K's), or K/Innings Pitched, or K/BB? Because, while strikeouts help, outs in general matter more than how you get them.

The main case for Wagner is his career save total: He's 2nd all-time among lefthanded pitchers, right behind Franco. But most people supporting the election of Wagner do not support that of Franco. Also, until he was surpassed by Hoffman, and both were surpassed by Rivera, the all-time leader in saves was Smith. And yet, it took the Veterans Committee (or whatever that's called now) to get him in. The writers did not consider his all-time leadership in a major pitching category to be enough to elect him. Given where he ranked in the other categories, they had a point.

Based on Saves, ERA, ERA+ and WHIP, a case can be made for both Wagner and Rodriguez.

Based on Saves, ERA and ERA+, a case can be made for Franco. However, his WHIP is noticeably higher than the next-lowest reliever mentioned.

Based on ERA, ERA+ and WHIP, a case can be made for Quisenberry. But the cumulative one, saves, is one on which he trails by a lot.

Based on Saves and WHIP, a case can be made for Reardon. But ERA and ERA+ don't help him.

Then again, based on the preceding judgments I've made, Fingers, Sutter and Gossage might not have enough saves. And Gossage and Fingers might not have a high enough ERA+. Gossage and Smith each have a WHIP that seems a bit high. Each of those assessments could be explained by things being different in their era, which would then help their contemporaries, Quisenberry and Reardon.

Clearly, Hall voters took the pitchers' effects on their teams into account. So let's look:

Rollie Fingers, In: Reached the postseason with the Oakland Athletics in 1971, '72, '73, '74 and '75; and the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981 and '82. Won Pennants in 1972, '73, '74 and '82. Won the World Series in 1972, '73 and '74. Was key to all of that.

Bruce Sutter, In: Made the postseason only once, but he was critical to it, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win the 1982 World Series -- over Fingers and the Brewers.

Goose Gossage, In: Made the postseason with the New York Yankees in 1978, '80 and '81; the San Diego Padres in 1984. Won Pennants in 1978, '81 and '84. Won the World Series in 1978. Was key to all of that.

Dan Quisenberry, Out: Made the postseason with the Kansas City Royals in 1980, '81, '84 and '85. Won the Pennant in 1980, beating Gossage and the Yankees; and '85. Won the World Series in 1985, beating the Cardinals after they foolishly traded Sutter. Was key to all of that.

Jeff Reardon, Out: Made the postseason with the Montreal Expos in 1981, the Minnesota Twins in 1987, the Boston Red Sox in 1990, and the Atlanta Braves in 1992. Won the Pennant in 1987 and '92. Won the World Series in 1987. Was key to all of that, although results varied: He had a 0.00 ERA in 4 games for the '87 Twins, but a 13.50 ERA in 2 games that may have helped cost the Braves the '92 Series.

Lee Smith, In but had to wait for the Vets Committee: Made the postseason with the Chicago Cubs in 1984, and the Red Sox in 1988. Didn't win the Pennant either time. Clearly, this didn't help his bid for election.

Trevor Hoffman, In: Made the postseason with the Padres in 1996, '98, 2005 and '06. Won the Pennant in 1998. Was key to all of that.

Mariano Rivera, In: Made the postseason with the Yankees in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10 and '11. Won the Pennant in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '09. Won the World Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000 and '09. May well have been the biggest key to all of that, including 1998 over Hoffman and the Padres.

Billy Wagner, Out: Made the postseason with the Houston Astros in 1997, '98, '99 and 2001; the New York Mets in 2006; the Red Sox in 2009; and the Braves in 2010. This is where the case for Wagner takes a huge hit: He may have been the worst pitcher in postseason history, going 1-1 with a 10.03 ERA and a 1.971 WHIP. In addition, he was with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005, when they missed the National League Wild Card berth by one game. If ever a pitcher could not be counted on when you needed him most, it was Billy Wagner.

John Franco, Out: Made the postseason with the Mets in 1999 and 2000, winning the Pennant in 2000, although he was no longer the closer by that point. Nevertheless, he did save Game 3, their only win in the 2000 Series. He helped the Cincinnati Reds reach 2nd place 4 straight seasons, 1985-88, and it certainly wasn't his fault that they didn't reach the Playoffs; but they traded him to the Mets before he could be a part of their 1990 title team. That doesn't help much.

Francisco Rodriguez, Out: Made the postseason with the team now known as the Los Angeles Angels in 2002, '04, '05, '07, '08; and the Brewers in 2011. The fact that he helped those teams, among the least successful in the post-expansion era, reach the postseason is remarkable. The fact that he was key to the Angels' only Pennant and only World Series win in 2002, his rookie season, speaks volumes. In between the Angels and the Brewers, he pitched poorly for the Mets, which may, thus far, have made a difference in keeping him out, but I'm not sure it should.

CONCLUSION: Among these names, Wagner and K-Rod are the closest to being Hallworthy. Quis, Reardon and Franco are certainly worthy of consideration. I can't definitively say that any of them should get in. But I don't think much of a fuss should be made if and when any of them get in.

There will be, though. There are plenty of people who will say the Hall has been "watered down" with the election of guys who should have remained in "The Hall of Very Good."

But some of those people were fine with the election of steroids cheats like David Ortiz, so to Hell with them.

Boone Logan Must Go, Carlos Beltran Does

I had a feeling the Yankees would lose yesterday's series finale with the Seattle Mariners.

And lookey what we have here: Phil Hughes got outpitched by "King" Felix Hernandez, but did not pitch badly: 6 innings (okay), 9 hits (a lot), 1 walk (very good), 2 runs (reasonable with what our lineup can do). But Hernandez allowed only 1 run over 7.

But the final score was Mariners 9, Yankees 2. It was the bullpen that messed it up, including... ARGHHHH... Boone Logan!

Cory Wade started the 7th, and got the first out, then allowed 2 hits. Then Joe Girardi brought Logan in, for the only purpose for which a pitcher like Logan is supposed to be brought in: To force a lefty-on-lefty matchup.

The batter was Dustin Ackley, a rookie infielder who entered the at-bat with 133 major league plate appearances to his credit, albeit with a batting average of .301, an on-base percentage of .351, a slugging percentage of .512, an OPS of .863 and an OPS+ of 145. Thus far, lefties have a 138 OPS+ off Logan, whose sole purpose is to get lefties out.

As they say in the military, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?" (Check the initials.) I don't know about you, but in my opinion, this invalidates Logan's very reason for being in the major leagues.

But Girardi brought him in. Now, in all fairness, the Yankees were already losing (though only by 1 run, 2-1), and Wade had already gotten in trouble, putting the potential 3rd and 4th Seattle runs on. But Wade hasn't already gotten on my nerves the way Logan does.

Logan appeared to do the job. He got Ackley to ground to 2nd. Should have been a double play. Except Robinson Cano threw it away. 3-1 Seattle.

Then Logan walked Justin Smoak. Can't blame his defense or the preceding pitching for that. Bases loaded, one out. To his credit, Logan struck out Adam Kennedy. Bases loaded, two out.

Logan gave up a triple to Adam Kennedy. Bases cleared. 6-1 Seattle.

Out goes Logan, after giving up 4 "Logan's Runs." Luis Ayala came in. Not much better: Frankie Gutierrez doubled home another run. 7-1 Seattle. Hector Noesi was no prize, either, allowing 2 more Seattle runs in the 9th, after the Yanks got one back in the 8th (RBI groundout by Cano, hardly making up for the error, but I'm not going to blame him for the loss).

On the one hand, the Yankees had already won the first 2 games of the series. On the other hand, the Mariners had lost 17 straight games, and The Scum won, too, so the Yanks are back to being 3 games out of first place.

*

The Mets had 4 big question marks regarding big stars and big salaries. They have now answered 2.

Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez took his mercurial ways to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are a very good team. That trade may win a Pennant, but not for the Mets.

Now, the Mets have traded Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants, the defending World Champions. That trade could win a Pennant as well -- but not for the Mets.

That leaves David Wright, solid and mentally stable, but prone to injuries and disappearing acts by his bat in September; and Jose Reyes, spectacular at times, but not right in the head, and also prone to injuries and disappearing acts by his bat in September.

The Mets will probably keep one, but not both. Which one do they let go?

Whichever they choose, it will turn out to be the wrong one. This is the Mets we're talking about.

Even if they have won 3 straight in Cincinnati against the Reds, a Playoff team last season and having a shot at it again this season.

For every trade of Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey for Keith Hernandez, the Mets usually have about five Rusty Staub for Mickey Loliches. Staub for Lolich would have been a great trade after the 1966 season. Or even a reasonable trade after 1970. The Mets made it after 1975, and Staub then reached his peak, while Lolich was pretty much done. They did get Staub back, but...

Ah, the Mets, the Mets, the Mets, the Mets.

*

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 2, this Saturday, in the Emirates Cup, the preseason tournament hosted by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in London. At 9:00 New York time, the Red Bulls will play Paris Saint-Germain, the largest team in the French capital; the nightcap of the doubleheader will feature Arsenal play Boca Juniors, the legendary club out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Usually manned by European clubs, the Emirates Cup is hosting Western Hemisphere teams for the first time. On Sunday morning, PSG will play Boca, and the Red Bulls will bring Captain and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry back onto his former pitch to play his former club. The ovation should be huge. Let's be clear about this: I'll be rooting for the Red Bulls against PSG (a club with a reputation for bigotry of various kinds), but against Arsenal, they're out of luck. Although the Red Bulls were playing as my "home team" for 12 years before I became aware of Arsenal, it was Arsenal that drew me to get into this sport, and thus guided me to the Red Bulls -- not the other way around.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 8, a week from tomorrow night, on Friday, August 5, at Fenway Park. Just one week.

Days until Arsenal play again in a competitive match: 16, on Saturday, August 13, against Newcastle United at St. James Park. Just over 2 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls play another "derby": 23, on Saturday, August 20, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Just 3 weeks. And they next play their CLOSEST rivals, the Philadelphia Union, in their regular season finale, on Thursday night, October 20, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 35, on Thursday, September 1, home to North Carolina Central. Just 5 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 43, on Friday night, September 9, at Monroe. Just 6 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby: 65, on Saturday, October 1, at White Hart Lane. Just 9 weeks.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 72, on Saturday, October 8, at 7:00 PM, in their season opener, at home, against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Prudential Center. Just 10 weeks. The first game against the New York Islanders is a day-after-Thanksgiving matinee, Friday, November 25, at the Nassau Coliseum. The first game against The Scum isn't until Tuesday night, December 20, at the Prudential.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 107.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 119. Under 4 months.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 265, on Wednesday night, April 18, 2012, against the Chicago Bulls, at the Prudential Center. Under 9 months before New Jersey no longer has an NBA team.

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 365 (July 27). One year.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 712 (estimated -- adjusted for his current injury). Under 2 years.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 843 (estimated).

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 920 (tentatively scheduled for February 2, 2014, although it could end up being moved back a week or 2).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,454 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,568 (estimated).

Met Pie? How Dare They!

The Yankees were winning 2-1, and Mariano Rivera needed just one more strike to complete the sweep.

But another really good start by Freddy Garcia -- 7 innings, 6 hits, no walks, 1 run, on a day when Cliff Lee, the man the Yankees infamously didn't get, lost -- went to waste when Mo walked Jason "He's an Expensive Bum, Toss Him and His Contract Into Flushing" Bay, allowed a single to Lucas "The Met Fan Ladies Sing This Song" Duda, and finished the blown save by allowing a game-tying single to Ronny "No, I'm Not the Guy Who Played 14-Year-Olds to Cheat at the Little League World Series 10 Years Ago" Paulino.

Luis Ayala (1-2) then blew the game in the 10th. The Yankees had men on base in the 8th, the 9th and the 10th, but could get to Francisco "K-Rod" "Frankie" "Father-in-Law Beater" "I Wanna Be a Yankee" Rodriguez (2-2). Mets 3, Yankees 2.

The winning run scored on a hit by Bay. And what did the Mets do? Hit him with a cream pie, like the Yankees do in one of their newer "traditions."

The Mets and their scummer fans celebrated winning this one game as if they just won the World Series -- something they have (just barely) done in a quarter of a century. As they say in English soccer, the Mets are a small club. And they even copied the "walkoff pie"! How dare they?

*

At any rate, the record between the teams stands as follows:

Regular season: Yankees 49, Mets 34. Yankee winning percentage: .590 -- a 96-win pace over a full season of 162 games.

All games that count, including the 2000 World Series: Yankees 53, Mets 35. Yankee winning percentage: .602 -- a 98-win pace.

All games, including spring training and in-season Mayor's Trophy games: Yankees 81, Mets 56, 1. Yankee winning percentage: .591 -- a 96-win pace.

Dominance.

Met fans, you miserable low-down sorry-ass Flushing Heathen... Find your own way to celebrate. I'm still calling you out for stealing our standing-on-2-strikes which we invented for Ron Guidry in 1978, which you believe (I won't say "think") you invented for Dwight Gooden in 1984... before he pitched a no-hitter and won a World Series with us in 1996.

*

Anyway, tonight, the Yankees start a series in Cleveland, A.J. Burnett starting against Josh Tomlin, and Derek Jeter is expected to play. Hopefully, he'll end that series with 2,999 hits, and lead off the Friday night game at home against Tampa Bay with a typical Jeter hit, a clean opposite-field single to right, and that'll be Number 3,000. And, hopefully, Curtis Granderson will hit one out to make it 2-0 Yanks.

"Arrogant much?" you say? You do know what team I root for, right?

Jeter hits 2994 6
Rivera saves 580 21
A-Rod homers 626 137
A-Rod hits 2758 242
Magic Number 79 (to eliminate Scum, 75 for Rays, 69 for O's, 68 for Jays)

*

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 2, this Wednesday night, home to Toronto FC.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 5. He needs 6 hits. Coming back from his injury, I'm guessing he'll do it this Saturday, at home, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the Red Bulls play another "derby": 5, this Saturday, against the team that is usually considered their biggest rivals, D.C. United, on Saturday, July 9, at Red Bull Arena. They play their REAL rivals, the New England Revolution, on Saturday, August 20, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. And they next play their CLOSEST rivals, the Philadelphia Union, in their regular season finale, on Thursday night, October 20, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 32, on Friday, August 5, at Fenway Park. Just over a month.

Days until Arsenal play again in a competitive match: 40, on Saturday, August 13, against Newcastle United at St. James Park.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 59, on Thursday, September 1, home to North Carolina Central. Under 2 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 67, on Friday night, September 9, at Monroe.

Days until the next North London Derby: 89, on Saturday, October 1, at White Hart Lane. Under 3 months.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 96, on Saturday, October 8, at 7:00 PM, in their season opener, at home, against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Prudential Center. The first game against the New York Islanders is a day-after-Thanksgiving matinee, Friday, November 25, at the Nassau Coliseum. The first game against The Scum isn't until Tuesday night, December 20, at the Prudential.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 131.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 143.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 293 (estimated, as the coming NBA season's schedule has yet to be released, and the lockout throws the entire schedule into question. At any rate, if the season starts and ends on time, it'll end on the 3rd Sunday in April, which in 2012 is the 22nd). Unless new owner Mikhail Prokhorov decides he'll stay in the Prudential Center, the great new arena he's already got.

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 389 (July 27).

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 700 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 831 (estimated).

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 944 (tentatively scheduled for February 2, 2014, although it could end up being moved back a week or 2).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,442 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,556 (estimated).

K-Rod is a Symptom, the Mets' Disease Is Spreading

Met closer Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez has now served the 2-game suspension his team gave him for having been arrested on a charge of assaulting his common-law wife’s father. (His common-law father-in-law?)

This is like the situation on Friends when Joey (Matt LeBlanc), having previously played Santa Claus while working at Macy's, got demoted to Elf, and he came into the apartment wearing his costume, and Chandler (Matthew Perry) was overwhelmed: "Too… many… jokes… must… mock… Joey!"

How many different Top 10 lists could I have made about K-Rod? Worst Ballplayer Freakouts. Biggest Met Transaction Blunders. Worst Moments In Met History. Worst Free-Agent Signings In Baseball History. Most Overrated Pitchers. Most Annoying Relief Pitchers. (Not worst, but most annoying. I have to admit, there are times when Joba Chamberlain would qualify for that.)

K-Rod wouldn't make any of those lists, except maybe the last, for the simple reason that, except for the last, he has not had the chance to stand the test of time.

But Yankee Fans have disliked this guy ever since the 2002 American League Division Series, when he was the closer for the team then (and should still be) known as the Anaheim Angels, and he shut the Yankees down and had too intense a celebration, on the way to the Angels winning the World Series.

K-Rod is a showboat and a jerk, but if he's pitching well for your team, you overlook that. But he's been a liability for the Mets this season, and Wednesday night -- even if the father-in-law was at fault -- he did something that obscured even a typical Met bullpen blowup, the kind of game that puts the M, the E and the T in "MELTDOWN." (Paging Mel "tdown" Rojas.)

Yesterday, the New York Post's back-page headline was, "JAILHOUSE ROD." They even put K-Rod's face on Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock costume, coloring the prison duds orange and blue instead of black and white.

If I were a Met fan, right now I would be praying for a falling-out between Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, for one to buy out the other, and for the bought-out one to then buy the Mets from the feckless House of Wilpon and bring the Big Stein attitude. If something like what K-Rod did had happened on the Early George Yanks (1973 to 1979) and especially on the Middle George Yanks (1980 to 1990), heads would roll -- probably the pitching coach's head as well as K-Rod's.

When the Mets had similar disciplinary issues, as well as being terrible on the field, in 1993, then-GM Gerry Hunsicker (who went on to considerably more success in that role with the Houston Astros) said, "We need to stop being reactive and start being proactive." And WNBC-Channel 4's Len Berman said, "But what if they become radioactive?"

Too late then, Len, and too late now, Fred and Jeff. Blow it up and start over. If even someone as obstinate as Orioles owner Peter Angelos can do it, so can you.

Except for K-Rod, all the Mets and their fans have had to worry about this season has been bad baseball. This is a far cry from the aforementioned 1993 season, when Bobby Bonilla was threatening reporters with bodily harm, Vince Coleman was setting off firecrackers in a parking lot and injuring a child in the process, and Bret Saberhagen gave a new meaning to the words "bleacher bum," squirting bleach at a reporter.

Then, with nice-guy manager Jeff Torborg replaced by Dallas Green, his tough-guy reputation intact then as now, the disciplinary problems stopped, and the Mets lost "only" 103 games that season, instead of threatening their modern-day major league record of 120 losses from their 1962 debut. He couldn't stop the losing, but he could at least make them act like professionals.

Jerry Manuel is doing neither, and with a team that, at least in theory, is considerably more talented than the '93 Mets, who should have won a lot more considering they had Saberhagen, Bonilla, Coleman, Jeromy Burnitz, Tony Fernandez, Frank Tanana, John Franco, future Hall-of-Famer Eddie Murray, and 1986 holdovers Dwight Gooden, Sid Fernandez and Howard Johnson.

The Met situation is not going to improve until Jerry Manuel goes. I don't think even that will do any good until Omar Minaya goes. And that won't happen until Fred Wilpon takes the keys to the car away from son Jeff.

As much as I hate the Mets, I think it's a good thing to have both of New York's baseball teams doing well. In fact, of the Tri-State Area's 9 major league sports teams, only 3 made the postseason in their most recently completed season: The Yankees (World Champions), the Jets (advanced to the AFC Championship Game before losing), and the Devils (lost in the first round). The Giants and Rangers both fell a little short, and in each case did so because they made fools of themselves in their season finales. The Mets, Knicks, Nets and Islanders couldn't see the postseason with binoculars.

The Knicks and Nets still look pathetic, but at least they give the impression that, however weakly, they are trying. So do the Giants. The Rangers and Islanders are still spinning their wheels, and in the Isles' case this could be fatal, at least as far as their residency in the Tri-State Area is concerned. So, as my boss (a Staten Islander) would say, these teams gotta get crack-a-lackin' here.

The Mets? They're just crackin'. And K-Rod's crackup isn't helping.

Mets Need To Blow It All Up

The Yankees took 3 out of 4 from the Kansas City Royals at The Stadium Mark II: Winning 10-4 on Thursday, winning 7-1 on Friday, losing 7-4 on Saturday and winning again 12-6 yesterday with a rain delay nearly as long as the game.

CC Sabathia wasn't great, but he won; A.J. Burnett was very good, and he won; I guess Sergio Mitre is not the answer for the rotation slot of the injured Andy Pettitte; and Phil Hughes was fine until the rain delay, after which they were not going to send him back out.

Curtis Granderson hit 2 homers yesterday, and while he did have an RBI double yesterday, Alex Rodriguez remains at 599 career home runs, and says he's okay after getting plunked on the hand in the 8th inning.

Alex is okay, right? After all, he wouldn't lie to us...

*

Is there another Major League Baseball team in New York? Since October 26, 2000, the only correct answer to that question has been, "No, that's just a vicious rumor."

And getting more vicious. The Mess just finished a roadtrip that was (Choose One: A, Atrocious; B, Maddening; C, Typical Flushing).

As of this typing, Jerry Manuel is still their manager, and Omar Minaya is still their general manager.

The Mets need to blow it all up. Admit that the experiment, as conducted by Minaya, has spectacularly failed. Failed as badly as conservatism, although, unlike conservatism, it isn't costing nearly enough jobs.

The Mets of the last few years have been built around the following guys: David Wright, Jose Reyes, Tom Glavine, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez, Billy Wagner, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Johan Santana, Francisco (K-Rod) Rodriguez, and, most recently, Jason Bay.

Glavine, Delgado, Pedro the Punk and Billy Wags are gone, having given the Mets precious little.

It is time to dump the rest, except for Santana. Not because he is great, but because he is the one guy in that bunch who can legitimately be said to not be at fault for the disaster that the Mutts have become.

Wright, on a few brief occasions, looked like the best 3rd baseman in New York, better than Alex Rodriguez. I do not expect any more such occasions. He can't take the pressure.

Reyes is a joke. He was never better than Derek Jeter. At anything. Except maybe in growing hair. And in making himself look like a damn fool.

Beltran has spent almost his entire Met career underachieving -- much of that due to being injured, although he sure was healthy when he didn't take the bat off his shoulder at the end of Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, which is likely to remain the last postseason game the Mets ever play for several more years unless they give it up and start a new plan, which may get them back to the 2nd week of October in 4 years instead of 12 -- if that. (Unless, of course, Bud Selig tampers with the schedule again.)

Beltran's return from injury has not yet been particularly effective, and has been a disruptive influence on the clubhouse. "Addition by subtraction" is required here. Somebody might suggest that Beltran is already headed for "What if he hadn't gotten hurt?" speculations, but, face it, he was doomed the moment he decided that Flushing Meadow was the way to go. The Curse of Kevin Mitchell is powerful.

Maine and Perez stepped up with unexpected, yet superb performances in the 2006 postseason. Unfortunately, performing very well in the postseason only helps if you get into it. Since then, Maine has struggled, and Perez has been a nightmare for Met fans. He's actually back on the roster. Why? Apparently, one of the Wilpons (not sure whether it's father or son) is insistent upon him justifying his contract.

K-Rod has blown too many saves, and come close to blowing too many others. And when he does well -- especially after he blows a save, the game stays tied, the Mets score in the top half, and he gets out of it in the bottom half, and he perversely ends up as the winning pitcher -- he still celebrates as if he's just won the World Series. (Which he does know about, with the 2002 Angels. Along with Rod Barajas of the '01 Diamondbacks, Luis Castillo or the '03 Marlins and Alex Cora of the '07 Red Sox, although all of those except K-Rod's are steroid-tainted). You don't celebrate a win after you've blown a save, or else you look like both a fool and a jackass. Right now, K-Rod seems to be good for only one thing: Driving WFAN hosts crazy. In the case of some, it's a short drive.

And Jason Bay can't hit at Citi Field. Or maybe he can't hit in New York. I don't think it's that he can't hit outside Fenway Park, as he wasn't a bad road hitter with Boston, and he hit fairly well everywhere when he played for Pittsburgh. But he's done next to nothing for the Mets.

I would keep Santana, Barajas, Castillo (yes, don't judge him by that one blown pop-up against the Yankees last season), Ike Davis, Jeff Francoeur, Angel Pagan, Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey, and one of their two Japanese pitchers (I'm not sure which one, I can never keep them straight, but one has been a fair starter thus far). These players are not totally hopeless, and in fact might be the basis of a good team if Met management does the right thing and gets rid of the failures.

But they won't. They won't do the right thing. Why? Because if they did the right thing, they would not be the Mets.

Would they?

Probably not: Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is suggesting that the Mets will make a trade with the Royals to bring in, among others, Kyle Farnsworth.

That's right, Kerosene Kyle. Not a Darn's Worth. True, he's having his best season in 5 years, but he can't pitch in New York, and he's 34.

If the Wilpons bring Farnsworth and his attitude in, I'm goin to start thinking that they don't love Met fans anymore.

*

New York Football Challenge yesterday: Sporting Clube de Portugal (a.k.a. Sporting Lisbon) managed a tie with Tottenham, and the Red Bulls beat Manchester City. Of the 4, only the Red Bulls played anything like their starting lineup, although, with substitution rules relaxed as these were exhibitions/friendlies, they played half their starters in the 1st half and the other half of them in the 2nd. But there were plenty of starters from the other 3 clubs.

As an Arsenal fan, I loved seeing Thierry Henry out there for the Red Bulls, and Kolo Toure for Man City. I was disappointed that Man City did not play Patrick Vieira.

And I gave Emmanuel Adebayor all he deserved, although I didn't make bus jokes. The Togo team bus massacre goes alongside the Munich Air Disaster, and the deaths at Ibrox, Heysel and Hillsborough as things you don't joke about, no matter how much you hate the other team.

Memo to Spurs fans: Your game was over, and Sporting had already wrapped up the "tournament" championship, so what were you still doing there during the 2nd game? Were you there just to boo Thierry Henry, a greater player than your franchise has ever had or ever will? Or was it just to sing your stupid songs, half of which were ripped off of better clubs?

They are such idiots. First, they sang "When the Spurs Go Marching In" so slow it sounded like they were smoking pot. After 3 choruses, then they went into it so fast it was like they were on amphetamines.

Being a Spurs fan messes up your brain worse than any drug. Friends don't let friends choose Spurs. Dopes.

Forza Red Bull, and Up The Arsenal!

*

This countdown has been corrected for changes in estimates and for my own errors.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 600th career home run: 3 (an estimate I've moved around more than Joe Torre moved him around in the batting order).

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 11, starting a week from this Friday night, at Yankee Stadium II. Under 2 weeks.

Days until the new English Premier League season starts: 19. Under 3 weeks. Arsenal's lid-lifter is the next day, Sunday, August 15, against Liverpool at Anfield.

Days until the first football game at the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed): 20, the Giants against the Jets in a preseason exhibition (with the Jets as the "home team"), Monday, August 16, 8:00 PM on ESPN.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 38.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 47. Under 7 weeks.

Days until the first regular-season Giants game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 48.

Days until the first regular-season Jets game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 49.

Days until the Devils play hockey again: 74, on Friday, October 8, at home at the Prudential Center in Newark, against the Dallas Stars. Under 11 weeks.

Days until Rutgers and Army play the first college football game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 82.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 90, on Sunday, October 24, at Madison Square Garden against The Scum. 3 months. Then the Rags come to the Prudential on Friday, November 5. The first game of the season against the Islanders is on Friday, November 26, the day after Thanksgiving, at the Nassau Coliseum, followed the next day by the first game of the season against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers, at The Rock.

Days until the next North London Derby: 118, with the British TV schedule having bumped it up a day to Sunday, November 21, at New Highbury. A little under 4 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 122.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 298 (estimated). 10 months.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 474.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 629 (estimated).

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 732.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 815 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 1,078 (estimated).

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 1,287.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,741 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,765 (estimated).

Yanks Hang 11 On Jays, K-Rod Implodes

Today, the Yankees trusted Chan Ho Park with an 8-run lead. He did not blow it. A whopping 11 runs in the third inning, and the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-3.

Andy Pettitte pitched 6 strong innings for his 239th career win. Dustin Moseley made his Yankee debut, tossing 2 perfect innings, and Park pitched a perfect 9th. In that 3rd inning, A-Rod hit a 3-run double, and Brett Gardner, who almost never homers, hit a grand slam.

Whereas, in Washington, the Mets actually managed to have superrookie Stephen Strasburg beat... and Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez blew it, turning a 5-3 Met lead into a 6-5 Nationals win.

On WFAN, Steve Somers -- "the Schmoozer," a humongorious Met fan -- could do little other than say, over and over again, "Frankie Rodriguez!" He was having a conniption. "Frankie Rodriguez!" He was fielding calls from Met fans once again wondering if they might not have what it takes to compete with the 1st-place Atlanta Braves (who won today) and the 3-time defending NL East Champion, 2-time defending NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies (who are beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 as I type this).

"Frankie Rodriguez!" Somers compared "Frankie Rodriguez!" to Armando Benitez and Mel (tdown) Rojas. "Frankie Rodriguez!"

This guy was supposed to be the difference-maker, the man who was supposed to turn them from the choking team of 2007 and 2008 into the World Champions of 2009. Or 2010. Then again, so was The Great Johan Santana, wasn't he? He isn't. And neither is "Frankie Rodriguez!"

Wherever he is, Tug McGraw weeps. "You gotta believe"? Can anybody believe that the Mets wouldn't have been better off holding a seance and trying to bring the Tugger's screwball back from the great beyond to finish off the Nats? Because, at this point, a dead man who hasn't thrown a baseball in a regulation professional game in 26 years would be better than "Frankie Rodriguez!"

Now, K-Rod did make the difference for the Angels in 2002, their first World Championship and the only Pennant they have ever won. And he got them into the postseason 5 times in 7 seasons -- before that, they'd made it 4 times in 41 seasons, and that's if you count their 1995 choke into a Playoff for the AL West title that they also lost. And he collected a record 62 saves in 2008, his last season with the Halos.

For the 2010 season, 28-year-old "Frankie Rodriguez!" is making $12.17 million. For the same season, 40-year-old Mariano Rivera (who was not necessary today) is making $15 million.

Mariano is 18 of 19 on saves this season (95 percent), with an ERA of 0.86 and a WHIP of 0.686. "Frankie Rodriguez!" is 19 of 23 on saves this season (82 percent) with an ERA of 2.63 (a little higher than you want your closer to be) and a WHIP of 1.320 (a lot higher than you want your closer to be).

Mariano Rivera vs. "Frankie Rodriguez!" Reason Number 42... or is it Reason Number 75?... that it's better to be a Yankee Fan than one of the Flushing Heathen.

Nice Game in Toronto, Eh? Not for the Mets!

Nice game, eh? Yanks 5, Jays 3, at the SkyDump -- excuse me, the Rogers Centre -- and they beat Roy Halladay, one of the biggest Yankee Killers ever.

Andy Pettitte, nice start; Mariano Rivera, the save. How many times have we heard that?

Homers from Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui. Thank you very much, muito obrigado, and domo origato.

Can we be confident going into this hee-yuge series with The Scum? As today's birthday boy -- and I do not mean Roger Clemens -- would say, "Yes we can, yes we can!"

*

It's not just that John Flaherty has basically turned one hit (his 13th-inning walkoff double against The Scum on July 1, 2004) into a broadcasting career -- then again, Fran Healy was a pathetic-hitting backup catcher for the Yankees and he didn't even do that much -- it's also that he's a very strange-looking man.

Could be worse. Ever see the Devils' "studio show" from the Goal Bar at the Prudential Center's north end? I swear, every time I see Chico Resch and Ken Daneyko, I'm thinking, "Hey Gomez, hey Lurch, where's Morticia?" If John MacLean, once the Devils' all-time leading scorer but now a totally bald assistant coach, ever walks in there, he is so going to look like Uncle Fester.

*

Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez blew another save for the Mutts. As I write this, it's Mets 7, Cardinals 7 in the bottom of the 9th at Pity Field.

The Phillies have lost, and so have the Marlins (of course, the Marlins losing means the "Washington Natinals" have won), but the Mets are barely within binoculars' range of the Wild Card now.

Oh, the Mets, the Mets, the Mets, the Mets...

I'd watch them blow it in extra innings, but Countdown is coming on, and it's time to watch Keith Olbermann take apart all those right-wing lunatics.

As Keith himself might say, You want me to watch the Mets? How dare you sir! Watching the Mets is torture!

Good night, and good luck!

*

Update: So much for good luck. Top of the 10th, St. Louis loads the bases, and the Mets bring in Sean Green -- not to be confused with the now-washed-up now-ex-Met Shawn Green. And Sean Green starts by pitching to ex-Trenton Thunder star Mark DeRosa, and with his first pitch, remember, the bases are loaded, with his first pitch... hit him!

They say that baseball is a game where you never know when you're going to see something you've never seen before. I've seen pitchers hit batters with the bases loaded, but never in extra innings. (Gee, ya think it was on purpose?)

Hey, no big deal, it's still only 8-7. And the Mets still only needed one more out to get out of the inning. The batter?

Young man name of Jose Alberto Pujols. Phat Albert. Since, in St. Louis, Stan Musial is forever The Man, Pujols is El Hombre.

Swing and a miss, strike one. Swing and a miss, strike two. Maybe, maybe... LONG drive down the left-field line, foul at the last instant. Maybe, maybe...

As Ralph Kiner, whose 369 career home runs now stand just 14 ahead of Pujols, would say, "It is going, it is going, it is gone, goodbye!" 12-7 Cards.

That's 36 for the season, and with his 355th Pujols passes Lee May (as far as I know, legit) and Luis Gonzalez (anybody thinks he's legit, you're delusional), and ties Greg Vaughn (I'm not sure about him). Next up for Pujols, Yogi Berra with 358, Johnny Mize with 359, Gary Gaetti with 360 and Joe DiMaggio with 361.

Another really bad loss for the Mess. As they said in the movie Wildcats, "U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you ugly!"

Yogi Was Right: It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over!

It is appropriate that the Mets have a minor-league affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, named for a rollercoaster. The Mets put their fans on a rollercoaster all the time. Sometimes these fans end up saying, "Wheeee! What a ride!" Sometimes they end up throwing up all that Blue Smoke and Shake Shack stuff they ingested.

We have now had Interleague play long enough to know what a typical Yankees-Mets game is like. Last night's game, the 1st between the teams not at the original Yankee Stadium or at Shea Stadium, was typical.

1-0 Yankees. 2-1 Mets. 3-2 Yankees -- and I knew then that this game was not going to end benignly. Something was going to happen to make those who watched it, in the seats at YSII or on TV, talk about it for the next 50 years. 4-3 Mets. 6-3 Mets.

Has any broadcaster ever driven his own team's fans crazy as much as John Sterling? John, please, if you're not completely sure it's going to go out, don't get us going. No more, "Theeeeeeee pitch, it's swung on! And it's driven to deep right!" unless you know it's going to be A, over the fence, and B, a fair ball. Three times last night, he did that, leading me to think the Yankees had just hit a home run, but it turned out otherwise. On top of the times they actually did.

But then, as Hideki Matsui came up, on his 35th birthday no less, Sterling left no doubt: "It's swung on! And there it goes! Deep to right field! That ball is high! It is far! It is gone! It's a thrilla from Godzilla!"

7-6 Yankees. Still, I knew it wasn't over. Yogi Berra managed both the Yankees and the Mets, and was managing the Mets in the whacked-out NL East race of 1973, when he said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." And at 7-6 Yankees, I knew this game was far from over.

Sure enough, Phil Coke wasn't it -- again. And Joe Girardi used Joe Torre's panic move, bringing Mariano Rivera in for the 8th inning. Like most panic moves, it didn't work, and it was 8-7 Mets.

Now it was over. I was sure. Well, I've only been watching these 2 teams play for 33 seasons, so what the hell do I know?

Bottom of the 9th, 2 out, the Yankees down to their last chance, but with the tying and winning runs on, and who's up? Alex Rodriguez. Oh, well, game over. A-Rod will strike out or pop up. He can't be trusted in a situation like this. And, sure enough, Francisco Rodriguez (no relation), who hasn't blown a save since he became a Met, got him to pop up! I knew it! Game over!

Met 2nd baseman Luis Castillo settled under it. Can o' corn. Easy play. I could have caught this. Game over.

Except... HOLY COW! He dropped the ball! Castillo dropped the ball! Tying run scores! Winning run scores! Yankees 9, Mets 8! Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win! HOW ABOUT THAT!

This was less a "classic Yankee win" than a "classic Met loss." Once I got over the shock and stopped laughing, I felt awful for Met fans.

This was in the bag. K-Rod pitching against the Yankees (which he sure knew how to do for the Angels)? Needing only to get A-Rod for the last out? This was as close to a sure thing as exists in baseball.

And K-Rod didn't blow it. He got A-Rod do to what A-Rod does so well, screw up in a clutch situation. A-Rod knew it, slamming his bat down in disgust. (Well, at least he does one thing as well as Mickey Mantle. Or Paul O'Neill.)

Met fans were ready to party like it's 1969. Or 1986. Then Luis Castillo turned it into 1962. Or 1979. Or 1993. Or 2002. And Yankee Fans partied like it's 1999. Or, more accurately, October 2000.

Did Met fans deserve this? Well, some of them. But this was a game practically already in the standings. The Daily News headline writers were already coming up with something -- maybe along the lines of "WHOSE HOUSE? Mets win first Subway Series game in new Stadium." Bill Gallo was already drawing his "goat-horns" cartoon. And then... It's going to ring in Met fans' (pardon me) minds for generations: "Castillo dropped the ball!"

I know, I know, it's only June 12. Not September. A regular-season game, just 1 of 162.

Still... And the Mets couldn't take advantage of the Phillies losing to the Red Sox, either. (Though they did spare the Yankees dropping another game behind The Scum.)

Greg Prince, author of the blog Faith and Fear In Flushing (and the terrific book of the same title), says he has a friend who calls rooting for the Mets "Metsochism." A play on "masochism." How true, how true.

This would have been bad enough for Met fans against any team. But against the Yankees? Not the Braves, not even the Phillies, but the team they truly hate the most, the Yankees?

I suspect that, somewhere, there is a Met fan now writing what I was writing after various losses to Boston: "This is unacceptable... My team has no heart... Clean house! If you can't win, then at least don't lose with the same guys!"

Do I have sympathy for this hypothetical fan? Do I have sympathy for all the Met fans who feel like this? Yeah, I do. Damn, maturity sucks sometimes.

Two more games in this series. And you just know at least one of them is going to be another epic.

Meet the Mets, meet the Mets.
Step right up and BEAT the Mets!
Bring your kiddies, and bring your wife.
They'll beat the Mets to within an inch of their life!
Because the Mets are really dropping the ball!
They've got their backs up against the wall!
East Side, West Side, they're all watching the Mets go down!
Yeah, they're the M-E-T-S, Mets, the New... York... Clowns!

An oldie, but a goodie. Like I said, maturity sucks sometimes.

You know, with all that money he makes, the least A-Rod can do is buy Luis Castillo dinner. Or introduce him to Kate Hudson, or whatever chick he's dating this week.

*

As you can see by that New York Post headline, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings last night, clinching the Stanley Cup, and reversing the result of last year's Finals.

Sidney Crosby has his 1st Cup. I hope it's his last. He shouldn't even have had this one. Fuck Gary Bettman and his little pet project.

UPDATE: It wasn't Crosby's last.

Oh, Say, Can You CC? Yes, We Can! And Flash In the Hall

CC Sabathia is apparently about to sign with the Yankees. So he gets the best of both worlds: He pitches for the baseball franchise, and he can afford the off-season house on the West Coast that he wants, leading many to think he would sign with the Dodgers.

Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez, who set a new single-season record by recording 62 saves with the Angels, has signed with the Mets. Which means K-Rod walks home a Pennant-losing run with the bases loaded (think: Kenny Rogers in 1999), or gives up a cheap home run to some banjo hitter (think: Armando Benitez many times from 1996 to 2001 or Aaron Heilman in 2006).

The Cleveland Indians appear to be close to signing Kerry Wood, the former Cubs starter whose brilliant career was cut short by injury, until he became their closer this year, and was reborn. Then they got rid of him. Dumb decisions like this are why, in the words of Steve Goodman (the late, great songwriter who wrote the train song "The City of New Orleans"), "The law of averages says anything will happen that can, but the last time the Cubs won a National League Pennant was the year we dropped the bomb on Japan." 1945.

*

Joe Gordon, the Yankee 2nd baseman from 1938 to 1946, was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans' Committee.

Good choice. But, again, two obvious choices got hosed: Ron Santo, the Cubs third baseman of the 1960s and 1970s, and Gil Hodges, the Dodgers first baseman of the 1940s and 1950s, who managed the Mets to the 1969 World Championship.

"Flash" Gordon, nicknamed for the comic strip character played in movies by Olympic swimming Gold Medalist Buster Crabbe, died in 1978, so he won't be accepting in person. Hodges died in 1972 while still Met manager, and has never been able to speak up for his own cause, which includes being one of the top power hitters of his era, the best-fielding first baseman of that time, and did I mention that he actually managed the Mets to a Series? Santo, the top National League third baseman of his time and a really good hitter, is still alive, and broadcasting for the Cubs, but has diabetes and has lost both legs to it, walking on prostheses and crutches. I don't know how much longer he has, but if anyone in baseball has reason to be bitter (through everything that's happened to both himself and the Cubs), he's the one.

*

Days until the Devils play another nearby rival: 2, Friday night, at home against the Rangers (who suck).

Days until Rutgers plays again: 19. (I'll have an entry about them soon.)

Days until the end of the Bush Administration and the Obama Inauguration: 41.

Days until the dismantling of the original Yankee Stadium begins: 95.

Days until the new baseball season begins: 119.

Days until the new Yankee Stadium opens: 127.

Days until East Brunswick plays football again: 275.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 351.