Mets Have Worst Pre Game Show Ever

Let me start by saying I'm not a huge fan of pre-game show's to begin with so I may be coming into this with a tainted view. Even so, I think the Mets have the worst pre-game show I have ever seen.

SNY decided to mix things up this year by having Chris Carlin and Bobby Ojeda replace Matt Yallof and Lee Mazilli in the pre-game show lineup.

It's not like Mazilli and Yallof we're Emmy winning hosts, but they look like Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams compared to the current two hosts.

Carlin gives you a headache within the first two minutes of listening to him. He makes Terry Bradshaw sound like Barry White. He's a great personality for a show like Loudmouths, but he's not an "anchor" for a pre-game show. 

Ojeda, who's not your notable A-list Met that you'd expect SNY to recruit as a face for their Mets programming, is as animated as wallpaper paste. Tell me what is he known for? He's got zero personality, and the most memorable thing he did as a Met was slice open his hand while trimming his bushes at home that put him on the DL for half a year. And can someone tell me if he's wearing a piece or does hair naturally go all two-tone on you after wearing a hat for all those years?

I'd almost rather have Darryl Strawberry on there with his butchering of the English language because hey, it's Darryl! 

There's got to be a better pair available than those two clowns. 

Mets Broadcaster Ron Darling Talks About New Book

Former Mets pitcher and current SNY broacaster, Ron Darling, sat down the Good Day NY crew to talk about his new book called The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching and Life on the Mound.

I personally love Ron Darling and the insight he brings to the Mets telecast. I think he's arguably one of the most articulate color guys in baseball and has the ability to explain pitchers' mechanics and mentality like few others on TV. Check out this interview he did and you'll see the book highlights the '86 Mets, baseball in general and what are his thoughts on the game he loves.

Metsblog.com and the Butterfly Effect

The butterfly effect (or sometimes referred to as chaos theory) is a phrase that refers to the effectual relationships between two seemingly unrelated events.The theory goes that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Japan, it may cause a tsunami in the Phillipines.

So with that in mind I have come to a conclusion: The Mets have Metsblog.com to thank for their current downward spiral into oblivion.

You see Metsblog.com is an extremely popular blog about the Mets. Chances are if you're reading this right now, you've probably already been on Metsblog.com at some point today. The fact is Metsblog.com is not only one of the most popular New York sports blogs, but one of the most popular sports blogs nationally.

Is it coincidence that over the last 3 years Metsblog.com has made great strides in popularity and website traffic and the Mets continue to struggle in the clutch? Is there a relationship between Geico's sponsorship of Metsblog.com and the fact that it is now officially a part of the SNY network and the continued collapse of the Mets in September?

Could it not be a possibility that the more comments Metsblog.com gets on their daily posts is causing more problems in the Mets bullpen and forcing Ryan Church into a drunken stupor of strikeouts night after night?

It's something to think about. Or it could just be that Jobu put a curse on this team. Or that Omar Minaya sold his soul to the devil for a new 4 year contract.

There has to be some explanation because no team can choke this much year after year on their own accord. They've got to be getting help from somewhere. I think Metsblog.com has some soul searching they need to do.

Burkhardt a Rising Star

Those of you who read this site know that Dave and I are big fans of the work that Kevin Burkhardt does on SNY. Simply put, he's quickly becoming one of the best broadcasters in the biz, and his future looks bright.

Check out this article on Burkhardt from Neil Best at Newsday.

The Mets should lock him up for a long time; either doing what he's doing now, or as a replacement for Wayne Hagin on the radio broadcast. This is New York, and we need to have the best talent. Kevin Burkardt, is the next star in baseball broadcasting.

Giuseppe Franco Sighting

This is too priceless not to share. Recently MetsBlog.com creator, Matt Cerrone, went on vacation to California and happened to run into SNY commercial celebrity, Giuseppe Franco.

If you've ever watched a Mets game on SNY, you know Franco for his Procede promos for balding men. I love the fact that there's actually a person who will tout that he's friends with Gary Busey as a good thing. Or that any guy will admit he does Gary Busey hair.

In any case, check out Cerrone's encounter with Giuseppe Franco in this Metsblog post.

And if you don't have a clue what commercial I'm referring to, you can watch it here.

What Changed this Team?

It appears we have a little win streak on our hands. Man, do the Mets love Brad Penney or what?

But what changed since Monday? Why does this team all of a sudden look way better than last week?

Let's remove the issue of the Willie Randolph meeting with the Wilpons. If that was a motivator, we would have seen some life in this ball club on Monday, but they were completely dead.

Has the pitching been more effective of late? Not really. Our starters are still giving up 3+ runs every night. The bullpen has been more clutch, except for Duaner Sanchez's lone hiccup on Wednesday night.

Has the hitting magically gotten better? Kind of. Reyes is now on a nice streak. Beltran has been hitting the ball hard for over a week now, but just recently is starting to find holes. Wright showed some pop last night. And the super subs are filling in nicely.

Has the defense improved? Not really. Castillo, Delgado & Endy have all flashed the leather this week, but it's not like we're all of a sudden the impenetrable defense that was the 2000 Mets.

So what is the key? Timely hitting. It doesn't matter if you get a ton of hits or home runs, but it's that one hit at the right time that makes all the difference. Lee Mazzili made an excellent comment during the SNY Post Game last night. He said "Sometimes you don't get a 2 out base hit during an entire week. The Mets had 6 two out hits tonight."

Maz is right. That's how we won last night when we scored 4 runs in an inning all with 2 outs. The night before is the same story because we got hits with runners in scoring position. The Mets during this win streak have found a way to get hits with 2 outs or with runners in scoring position.

And that my fellow Mets Lifers makes all the difference. If the team continues to execute like that, we might finally see this team go somewhere.

Props to Kevin Burkhardt

We all talk about how fortunate are we to have Gary Cohen, Darling and Hernandez doing the games every night but I have to acknowledge the great job that Kevin Burkhardt does on SNY night in, night out. He's insightful, honest, articulate, does fantastic in-game reporting, and best of all, the guy asks a lot of tough questions when he's covering this team pre and post game. He asked good questions at Monday's silly press conference and last night was asking Johan Santana point blank questions about Willie, about being the stopper, and whether or not he's actually brought his best game yet to the National League. Also, before the game last night, while a guest on Loud Mouths, Burkhardt spoke candidly about this team not hitting, about how guys need to step up and start performing the way they're supposed to. While not groundbreaking news here, it is certainly refreshing to get this kind of honesty. I'm not sure how all of you feel, but I for one, think he does a great job and I enjoy his commentary on this team.

By the way, Keith Hernandez said he really enjoyed being so close to the field last night, getting a different perspective, while broadcasting from behind home plate. He said he felt like playing again...or maybe...managing? I dunno...but Freddie and Jeff should find out.

My Mets Vacation

So this weekend I head down the Jersey shore for a much needed vacation from the Mets. You see this team is unwatchable, but every night I find myself right there turning to SNY or WFAN in the car.

I'm a Mets Lifer. I'm a glutton for punishment. I can't get enough of it. Sure it's 8-1, but the Mets get a few hits, score a run and all of a sudden I'm thinking if Delgado homers this could get interesting.

One inning with Scott Schoenweiss later and I've missed out on an hour of my life. Although if you watched George Michael's performance on American Idol last night then you lost a solid hour of your life too.

But this weekend there's no SNY down the shore. WFAN coverage is spotty at best so I'll be in Met exile surrounded by obnoxious Phillies' fans.

You know what I'll be doing. Watching the gameday tracker on my Blackberry.

I'm sick and I need help, but not as much help as this Mets team.

P.S. Thanks for the apology Willie, but a win in Atlanta would have sufficed.

SNY HD is Awesome

I'm an HD snob. I'll admit it. If it's not on in HD, I won't watch it.

That's why it bothered me so much the last few seasons that the Mets away games were not in high definition. It's a disgrace to my plasma that I am forced to watch the game with those annoying gray bars on either side.

But now SNY has committed to broadcasting every single Mets game in 2008 in HD, whether it's home or away.

And let me tell you that SNY HD this season is fantastic. They must have boosted their HD signal this year to 1080i or 1080p broadcast frequency because the picture was unbelievable for the Mets opening day game in Florida.

The SNY HD picture rivals the Sunday Night Football game on NBC HD which to me is possibly the best quality video for a sporting event, but SNY is easily rivaling them in quality.

A great opening day. Santana pitches. Mets win. Wright, Reyes & Beltran get a few RBIs. And SNY shows the game in the most stunning HD quality that I've seen for a Mets game.

Kudos to you SNY, and thanks for finally broadcasting away games in high definition. Next year, spring training?

Mets to Air All Games in HD

This is an answer to prayer. I've been whining about the Mets away games not being in HD for the last two seasons and finally my voice has been heard.

SNY has announced that all Mets games will be aired in high definition this season. Really was it that hard to get this done?

Now we can look forward to seeing Luis Castillo's limp, Jose Reyes' grin, El Duque's non-existent leg kick, Alou's injuries, and Santana's circle change in blazing high def.

That is if everyone's not injured by opening day.

Johan Santana: His Colors Are Orange and Blue

Saw this on SNY last night. Who's ready for the 2008 season? I know I am.

Fox Baseball vs. ESPN Sunday Night Baseball

Which do you prefer? The annoyance of Tim McCarver on Fox Saturday Baseball or the drone of Joe Morgan on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball?

I'd prefer neither actually. McCarver has been annoying me since I was 8 years old and watching the Mets on WWOR (that's the old channel 9 for those who may not remember). I remember at even 9 or 10 years old thinking that McCarver was really annoying and always seemed to be anti-Mets.

Now that McCarver is with Fox it's almost worse because he's teamed with Joe Buck (who I like in football, not so much baseball) or Kenny Albert (also pronounced "nepotism") who is just plain awful. But I'm not sure if they're any worse than Joe Morgan on ESPN.

Joe Morgan might be the worst color commentator in all of TV baseball. Scratch that, I've listened to Paul O'Neal on YES Network, so Morgan is the second worst. Wait Lou Pinella did the playoffs on Fox last year so he's #2. Morgan is definitely bottom 5 though. He just drones on and on and poor Jon Miller, who is a fantastic play-by-play guy, has to suffer next to him. At least Morgan somewhat likes the Mets so he's not bashing them as much as McCarver likes to.

I'm not sure which is worse, but I expect better from ESPN. As soon as Mike Piazza retires, ESPN needs to hire him as a color analyst. Fox used to have him do the postseason, but for some reason don't use him anymore. Maybe I'm just biased.

So Mets Lifers, appreciate what you have on SNY in one of the best commentators ever in Gary Cohen, and two guys with personality and baseball knowledge in Keith Hernandez & Ron Darling.

I Want My Away Games in HD

I've got my 50 inch plasma TV. I've got my digital cable from Cablevision. I've got my Mets on SNY. Why can't I get my away games in high definition?

Is it really too much to ask? Actually the away games that are on SNY HD are broadcast on an HD signal, but they're not full HD like the home games. That's why it's viewed in the 4:3 format as opposed to the widescreen format which you see for all home games.

I don't get this. Is it really too much to carry the HD cameras on road trips? You can't tap into the HD signal that the home team is broadcasting in? It's really inexcusable. There's no reason we as Mets Lifers shouldn't be able to enjoy our Mets all season long in glorious 1080i HD (or 1080p in the not too distant future).

I really like SNY and the job they do in broadcasting the Mets games, except for this one issue. I know that YES Network does the same thing for Yankee away games, but shouldn't we be a step above?

I challenge you SNY to be the first to broadcast away games in HD.

SNY on YouTube

This may be very old news, but I've recently discovered SNY's page on YouTube. I tip my hat to SNY for embracing the age of Web 2.0 and openly distributing some of its on air content to the Internet community.

Pretty much every Mets postgame report, Mets weekly, and Daily News Live is available for viewing on SNY's YouTube page. Check it out if you're like me and never hang around for the post game report. Great for catching highlights the morning after a game.

Jose Reyes Imitates Moises Alou

After Moises Alou's 8th inning home run, he sat down in the dugout next to the always excited Jose Reyes. SNY captured the moment which was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.

It was like Reyes was Tigger and Alou was Eeyore (sorry, I have a 3 year old) as Reyes was all smiles and giddy where Alou looked like he needed a nap.

The funniest part came when Reyes imitated Alou's home run swing and nailed it like an accomplished imitator. I've been trying to find the video online, but haven't had any luck.

If you get a chance try and catch the Mets pre-game on SNY tonight as I'm sure they'll show it again.

You have to love Reyes' energy.

Tom Glavine's Road to 300

Good interview on SNY with Tom Glavine as he discusses his career and the pressure of getting to 300 wins.

On the Bright Side

Everytime I pick up a paper, read a blog or watch SNY, everyone is always saying how fortunate the Mets are still holding a 2 game lead in the NL East. Guess what? They are! Better to stink and be in first place than to stink and be the Phillies!

Read Murray Chase's article in the NY Times on why a weak National League has greatly benefitted this struggling Mets team.

Some amazing stats to ponder:
They reached the start of the midseason break yesterday after staggering to a 15-22 record in the previous 40 days. Yet they were in the same position in the N.L. East standings — first place — as they were when their problems began.

Their lead actually shrank, from five games to two, but in a normal league, they would have been long gone from first place. Yet while the Mets were playing at a .405 pace (that computes to a 66-96 season record), their chief competition, the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies, could not compile winning records.

Carlos Gomez is the Fastest Man in the Majors

You might think the title is a bit of a hyperbole, but I assure you it's not. During Sunday's Mets game, Carlos Gomez legged out a bunt base hit like I have never seen before. I mean I know he's fast, but what happened next was unreal.

The SNY crew timed Gomez from the batter's box to first base. Ralph Kiner remarked that the record for going home to first was 3.3 seconds and that was by a left handed batter.

Gomez was clocked at just over 3.4. And he bats right handed. And, as Gary Cohen noted, he looked backwards twice on his way to first base.

I had heard people say he's faster than Jose Reyes, but sometimes it's all hype. This is proof.

3.4 seconds to first base. I can't even type "3.4 seconds to first base" in 3.4 seconds. Can't wait for Carlos Gomez to develop and have him and Jose Reyes atop the Mets lineup for years to come.