A Game That Had Everything...But A Win

What a way to open a new stadium. Actually when you think about it, it was opened in typical Mets fashion.

The leadoff hitter for the other team gets a home run to open the game. The Mets starting pitcher struggles. Defensive errors score runs. The Mets come back but can't come back all the way. A balk drives in the winning run.

What other team does this kind of stuff happen to other than the Mets? It was a bizarre first game at Citi Field. Pelfrey struggled not only locating his pitches, but he even fell off the mound at one point. Feliciano's balk may have been the most subtle balk in major league history. I watched the replay at least 30 times and still couldn't understand why that's a balk.

There were two highlights tonight. The first being the pre-game festivities which included a ceremonial first pitch from legend Tom Seaver to future legend Mike Piazza.

The second highlight was David Wright's blast to left field. Wright was crushing the ball last night and hit another shot 405 feet to center, but the ball was caught against the wall. The best thing about Wright's homer was his reaction and intensity while running the bases. He wanted this game bad.

Many a Mets fan will comfort themselves by saying it was only one game. We can only hope it's not symbolic of how things will fare this year.

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. 

The Johan Santana Disease

It's not just a disease. It's an epidemic.

When Johan Santana steps on the mound the Mets lineup is crippled by his mere presence. They are in such awe of the circle change that their own bats turn to rubber. Santana's fastball is so filthy that their gloves spontaneously grow holes in them and every fundamental fielding principle they ever learned flies right out the window.

That is the power of the Johan Santana disease and it plagues the Mets every time he steps on the mound.

Santana was masterful. He struck out 13 batters while only walking one, and the 2 runs scored against him were both unearned thanks the Mets fantastic play in the field.

In typical Mets fashion, they waited to the very last minute to make things interesting by scoring a run in the top of the ninth and getting the tying run on base. But it was not meant to be as Josh Johnson won the day in the end pitching the first complete game of the MLB season.

If I'm Johan Santana, I'm not talking to any of the Mets players for at least a week. It's not like this is the first time something like this has happened. It seems to happen every time he pitches. If Santana gets 2 runs of offensive support that's a lot.

The days Santana pitches should be almost automatic wins for the Mets, and today should have been one of those days. The disease continues.

The Mad World of Oliver Perez

I predict that Oliver Perez won't get a single win against the Reds, Pirates, Nationals and Padres this season. It's pretty much a guarantee. Nothing like spending a ton of money on a pitcher who can't beat the worst teams in baseball.

But we all knew this is what we were getting when the Mets signed Oliver Perez to a lucrative deal this offseason. There was the hope, way back in the recesses of our mind, that Perez had matured as a person and a pitcher, and that we might see some changes this year.

That's not the case.

The same old Oliver Perez showed up to pitch yesterday and gave up 8 runs over the course of his start. The Mets scored 6 runs to make the game interesting, but the damage was done.

Call me old school, but I'm of the mindset that if you score 6 runs in a game, you should probably win. The positive spin from yesterday's game is that the Mets keep on hitting. Outside of Castro & Cora, everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit.

Reyes, however, did strikeout 3 times, but still was on base twice.

It's off to Florida to go see Hanley Ramirez and the Marlins. Who knows what John Maine has in store for us?

Mets Bats Show Up on Day 2

Last night's game started out pretty painful. After Delgado stroked a bomb to right in the top of the 1st to give the Mets a 2-run lead, Pelfrey pitched a painful first inning that felt longer than an episode of American Idol.

Pelfrey is still working his way into mid-season form and it showed last night, but the amazing thing is he got the win. Delgado drove in 4 RBIs. Schneider and Beltran added an additional two a piece. And everyone in the starting lineup but Luis Castillo got a hit.

Man does Delgado look good swinging the bat or what? Can you tell he's in a contract year?

Now the bullpen held the levees last night, but it wasn't as smooth as we like to see. What is it about the Mets that forces relievers to make things interesting. Bases loaded? Long fly ball to the warning track? Tell me you didn't think that ball was gone off the bat?

Looks like KRod will follow in the footseps of Franco, Benitez, Looper & Wagner as a closer who has to at least get a few people on base before he can seal the deal. At least we've come to expect it.

Early game today that starts around noon. Who's anxious to see Alex Cora?

Link: An Ode to Kiner

Brad Bortone over at Bugs and Cranks, who is as witty a blogger as you'll find online, has put together a fantastic post highlighting the genius of Ralph Kiner and what we've come to know as "Kinerisms."

Pretty much every Met fan that has grown up watching the Mets has listened to Kiner call a game at one time or another. He's been old for the last 30 years, but there's something endearing about the guy. I remember as a kid asking my dad who on earth this crazy guy was calling games with that other really obnoxious guy (a.k.a. Tim McCarver).

It wasn't until I knew more about baseball that I realized that this is one of the games greatest players who had the unfortunate luck of being stuck on some of the worst teams in history.

In any case, you have to read Brad's post over on Bugs and Cranks and I guarantee you it will take you back to some of those Kiner classic moments.

Johan Santana Handshake Club

Looks like Johan Santana has a special handshake for every player on the Mets. This video shows him hand jiving with pretty much every player in the dugout and no handshake is the same. Maybe that's the secret to his changeup.