Mets Are A Tease

Just when you think the Mets are on the right track, they slip back into the mediocre club you know they are. During today's broadcast even Gary Cohen got caught up in the Mets tease of a win streak stating that they might find themselves back in the Wild Card race next week.

Wishful thinking Mr. Cohen.

The Mets had an unbelievable opportunity this week to make baseball interesting again, but instead they split the series against the Astros and failed to sweep the Pirates behind another complete game by Johan Santana. And so the Mets find themselves in no better place than where they were a week ago.

Treading water seems to be the plight of this team. They can't seem to go anywhere.

So the Mets return home to face the Marlins and soon the rest of the NL East will have their way with them.

Even Gary Cohen Is Disgusted with the Mets

As the 9th inning came to a close, Gary Cohen vehemently declared that the Mets had just lost a series to the team with the worst record in baseball. The statement is obviously true, but the manner in which Cohen communicated the fact led me to believe that even this stellar broadcaster has seen enough of this team's pitiful play.

I honestly don't know why the Mets even bother finishing games when they fall behind by more than one run. There should be a mercy rule like in little league. If the Mets fall behind by two or more runs, the umps should just call the game.

Mike Pelfrey bounced back from his last start, but Josh Willingham just owned him tonight and it ultimately cost the Mets the game. Angel Pagan continues to impress, but unfortunately the Mets can only score runs when the other team makes mistakes.

The Mets should bat Pagan cleanup at this rate.

A much needed off day (is there any other kind this year?) arrives on Thursday. Lets you dwell on losing to the Nationals for an extra day.

Be Thankful for Our Broadcasters

I know that we rip on the snooze quality of Wayne Hagin's WFAN broadcasts, but honestly we have some of the best broadcasting teams working for the Mets. Over the weekend I was down at the Jersey shore and listened to parts of the Mets games via XM radio which forces you to listen to the home team's broadcast.

The Reds radio announcers are possibly some of the worst in the business. First off they alternate between two one man teams. So there's no banter, no commentary, just one guy making the calls. There were at least a dozen times I thought XM lost its signal on because there was nothing but dead air coming through the speakers for 30 seconds at a time. All this on top of the fact that you couldn't tell if a guy just hit a home run or into fielder's choice because the inflexion in the announcer's voice was the same for 9 straight painful innings.

Now Hagin is easily the weaker broadcaster on the radio, but the Reds guys make Hagin look like the Vin Scully of radio.

Of course, our SNY team of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are a Mets Lifer's dream broadcasting team, but even industry people applaud the way they call a game. Their unbiased and unabased in their commentary and that's what makes them great.

Even Kevin Burkhardt is a great asset to the SNY team. For a young sideline reporter he asks tough questions in the post game interviews and does a great job in the mid-game cutaway segments. Newsday is even following around Kevin to do special piece on him in the upcoming weeks. In fact today our own Kevin Burkhardt speaking at a local sports broadcasting camp run by Bruce Beck and Ian Eagle, talking to kids about the in's and out's of broadcasting. Who knows maybe he's even speaking to one of his future replacements?

So don't take what we have for granted. We easily have the best broadcasting team in New York and I'm sure we outshine much of the other MLB teams as well. Enjoy what we have while it lasts.

And if you're in Cincinnati, don't operate heavy machinery and listen to the Reds game.

Thank You Ralph Kiner

Tonight is Ralph Kiner night at Shea Stadium, and no one is more deserving of a night of recognition.

Ralph Kiner has been one of the voices of the Mets since their inception in 1962. I remember as a kid having Kiner & Tim McCarver (who I can't stand) call pretty much every regular season game for the Mets. At the time I used to make fun of Kiner because from time to time I thought he was to old to be broadcasting. I remember one time he uttered his famous "Going, going, gone goodbye" for a home run, when the left fielder actually caught the ball on the warning track.

But as I got older and learned more about baseball I realized what an incredible talent Ralph Kiner was as a player. He had the unfortunate luck of being on an awful Pittsburgh Pirates team throughout his career, but his accomplishments rank him as one of the top ten baseball players of all time in my book.

As Kiner began to call fewer games I found myself enjoying his commentary more and more. The stories he has to tell and his dry sense of humor are a lost art in the days of Fox Saturday Baseball telecasters.

The stories of Kiner's corner after every Mets game are classics to be heard when Kiner recounts them to Gary Cohen & Keith Hernandez in the booth. I know that very few of today's younger baseball fans will learn about Ralph Kiner, and it bothers me to think that this man's legacy will be lost amongst steroid scandals, asterick-marked records, and pure greed.

Ralph Kiner is a class act and one of the most gifted players to ever take the field. He's been there for many of my Mets memories and I hope you'll enjoy his guest appearances in the booth as much as I do.

Enjoy your night, Ralph. You deserve it, and it's long overdue.

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.