Hernandez the Next Manager of the Mets?

Mike Francessa just said on his show that he asked Keith Hernandez point blank last week at Yankees Stadium if he was offered the Mets job would he take it, and Hernandez said, "Yes." 

I don't know about you, but I would love to see Keith take over this club. You know he'd light a fire under this club and that's exactly what they need. 

Wilpons, Omar, if you're reading this (and I know you are), call Hernandez. Make the fans happy. 

Willie Could Be Out By Monday

According to an article in today's Daily News, if the Mets don't turn it around this weekend in Colorado, the Wilpons, not Omar Minaya, will drop the ax on Willie Randolph.

And to that, I say, amen. Put us out of our misery, please. Something needs to change.

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.

Great Read on Piazza

To read a great article on Piazza and Mets fans, check out Mike Vaccaro's piece on Foxsports.com.

Mike Piazza Tribute to Air on ESPN Classic

I've just been forwarded this info that there will be a five-hour tribute to Mike Piazza on Friday, starting at 2 p.m., ET. The Mike Piazza Tribute consists of three of his most-memorable games.

The following times are all EST.

2-3 p.m. July 8, 2000 Mets vs. Yankees Roger Clemens hits Piazza in the head, knocking him out of the game
3-5 p.m. October 22, 2000: World Series, Game 2 Mets vs. Yankees. Clemens vs. Piazza.
5-7 p.m. September 21, 2001 Braves vs. Mets Piazza belts a dramatic two-run home run in the eighth inning against Steve Karsay to lift the Mets to a 3-2 triumph over the Braves. The game was the first regular season professional sporting event held in New York City after the September 11, 2001.

They should have shown the 1999 decisive playoff game against the Braves and the massive 8th inning comeback game against the Braves instead of the July 2000 game against the Yanks.

But hey at least we've got a day of watching Piazza. Enjoy/

Goodbye Mike Piazza

I could spend a day writing posts about Mike Piazza and my memories of him as a Met. Yesterday, Mike Piazza officially retired from the game of baseball and closed the book on his hall of fame career.

Mike Piazza was the first Met since Darryl Strawberry that I was drawn too from the day he put on the uniform. I remember being home from college for the summer and picking up a Sports Illustrated that had Piazza on the cover and was talking about his trade from the Dodgers to the Marlins. I thought, "Why can't the Mets get a guy like this?"

And then they did.

I'll remember Piazza batting over .340 and thinking that I've never seen a Mets player hit the ball like this. I'll remember every time that he stepped up to the plate during a close game thinking that he was going to hit a home run. I'll never forget the home run he hit against the Braves in the first game played in New York on 9/11 and shedding tears while he rounded the bases thinking that he just gave a little ray of hope to New York during this troubled time.

I'll remember his curtain calls. I'll remember game 5 of the 2000 World Series in his final at bat thinking that he just crushed a home run off Mariano Rivera only to see it fall short. I'll remember his home run against the Braves in the 1999 playoffs where he single handedly brought the Mets back only to have Kenny Rogers blow it.

I'll never forget Piazza's home run to cap off a 9 run 8th inning to comeback and beat the Braves. I'll try and forget the Mets experimenting him at first base. I'll remember Mike Piazza as a Met.

I hope someday he finds his way back to the Mets organization as a broadcaster or a bench coach. Actually, I hope that Fox or ESPN pick him up as a commentator so I don't have to listen to Tim McCarver or Joe Morgan wax eloquent, but that seems unlikely. It's a shame that a player of Piazza's caliber and class never got a chance to win a World Series. The Mets just couldn't put the right pieces in place around him, but Piazza played hard every day regardless of the team he was on.

One thing is for sure, #31 should be retired at Citi Field next year.

Back To The Future

Welcome to 2001 Mets Lifers. You remember '01. We entered the season with high hopes as we just came off a disappointing performance in the World Series. Pretty much the same guys were back in the lineup. Hopes were high.

And then we started playing games. Yeah 2001 was the year we started to fall out of baseball existence. Careful folks. We might be doing it again.

2001 was the year the Mets finally got their act together in August/September and tried to make the playoffs only to fall a few games short. 2008 looks like the same kind of season.

I can't even comment on yesterday's games, but I got the sense that this team was going to do what almost every Mets team eventually does: tease you with the potential of winning.

The 2001 Mets did that. They got on a role won something like 11 games in a row only to crush your dreams in the final weeks of the season.

Prepare yourself Mets Lifers, the 2008 Mets are primed to do just that. The Mets will play .500 baseball up until August 1st and find themselves 5 or 6 games out of first. Then they'll win something ridiculous like 18 of their next 22 games. But eventually the gas will run out and we'll be left on the outside looking in.

That's what I'm expecting from the 2008 Mets. I so hope I'm wrong.