Fan Dumps Beer on Shane Victorino

Honestly, this is uncalled for. It really is. I'm being serious. It's wrong. Absolutely, totally and utterly wrong. I hope the fan was thrown out of the game for this.

Ok, let's watch the video again.

Things I Have Learned from the 2009 Mets

• No game is worth staying up past your bedtime to watch
• Baseball fundamentals are more important than anyone gives them credit for
• There's a reason why Angel Pagan hasn't ever been an everyday outfielder
• Bench players rarely become contributors on a regular basis
• Fernando Tatis is the perfect example that lightning never strikes in the same place twice
• You can turn the Mets game off if they are down by more than 2 runs after the second inning
• Tim Redding is a better mid-reliever than starting pitcher
• Star players get big money for a reason
• Livan Hernandez's better days are behind him
• Bad baseball is more painful to watch than Judge Judy
• Although I hate him, the Mets need a guy like Shane Victorino on their team
• It's quite possible that Pedro Martinez would be the #2 starter on this team
• Chances are we'll never see the John Maine who pitched the second to last game of the 2007 season ever again
• David Wright desperately needs a wingman
• Luis Castillo is better than I ever expected him to be this season
• Both Omar & Jerry Manuel need to move on, just to change the scenery a bit
• Daniel Murphy is not an everyday first baseman
• Jeff Franceour should stay a Met
• It's easy to be a Yankees fan
• I remember why I lost a little love for baseball in the mid 90's
• Brian Schneider is this century's Charlie O'Brian
  

Random Thoughts after a Sweep of the Phillies

So much is running through my mind that I can't put together a cohesive post on a single topic so here comes a stream of thoughts:

-Mike Pelfrey looks good. Nice velocity on his pitches and he's throwing strikes. It seemed like every Phillie batter was driving the ball into the ground. That's when you know you're doing something right as a pitcher.

-David Wright might be coming out of this funk. Hitting a home run 420 feet tends to do that to you. Plus he went 3 for 3 with two walks, a homer, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. That can also be interpreted as "productive."

-Jerry Manuel might be the most enjoyable manager to watch getting thrown out of games.

-Shane Victorino is an ankle biter. He's the John Stockton of modern baseball. Weasel of a player who's scrappy and knows how to be really, really annoying and get away with it.

-Is it just me or is it weird having a bullpen that holds?

-The Mets should (I repeat, should) go on a run here. Coming off some huge wins in Atlanta and against the Phillies, they now have the Pirates come into town before a trip out West. If there ever was a time to set this team in the right direction, it's now.

-All the recent success has come with basically no production from Jose Reyes. If he gets hot, this team will start rolling.

-Charlie Manuel is undoubtedly the all time worst looking manager in a uniform.

Pesky Little Victorino

I love this quote from Jerry Manuel after last night's game. He was talking about Billy Wagner's pitching performance, but it was his comments about my new least favorite Philly, Shane Victorino, that caught my attention.

" He did an outstanding job…He got that little pesky Victorino out finally.  That little rascal, I’ll tell ya, he some little player.  But, umm, that was good to see, see Billy come in and do the job like that."

"Pesky Victorino". Perfect description. "Little rascal." Even better.

Maybe it's the double-eared helmet that makes me loathe him so. He kind of reminds me of Fievel from An American Tale now that I think of it.

A Must Win Was Won

Hey, all's forgiven. At least for 12 more hours.

The Mets impressed me tonight. Their performance wasn't so exceptional, but it was the fact that they overcame the collapse last night and all the media hype that surrounded it to get a big win against their NL East nemesis.Yes, in my mind, the Phillies have surpassed the Braves as our division nemesis.

The Mets scored enough runs to put themselves in a position to win. Jose Reyes continues to impress. Big time home run on a pitch up in the zone. The amazing thing was his swing was totally level. Usually Reyes likes to throw an uppercut swing at you, but he kept his bat level and crushed it.

Who knew the bullpen could hold a three run lead like it was a walk in the park? Schoenweiss, Smith, and our much beloved prodigal son, Billy Wagner, all pitched without any drama or troubles.

And wasn't it great to see Marlon Anderson in left field again? Who wouldn't want a left fielder batting .203?

The play of the night may have been Billy Wagner beating Shane "I'm Really Annyoing" Victorino to the first base bag. I honestly thought Wagner would have given him an elbow to the face if necessary to get that out. I wouldn't have blamed him if he did.

Rubber game tomorrow. A series win would be big for the Mets psyche, especially after Tuesday's debacle.