Yee-Gads! The SanFran Giants have succumbed to the will of the wily "super agent" Scott Boras and agreed to pay pitcher Barry Zito $126,000,000 over SEVEN years!

Now, as a Mets fan, I would certainly have considered Zito a nice signing in New York but laying out a contract for a pitcher that goes beyond five years is insanity - a guaranteed $18 Million a year from now through 2013? No thanks. Boras strikes again. Wow. And he doesn't even have to move (he's currently on Oakland's roster).

Sure, maybe he'll pitch at "ace" levels until he's 35. Maybe he'll avoid throwing out his arm. And maybe if his production starts to fall over the years, there'll actually be a team out there willing to trade for him and take on his gi-normous salary.

But if I were a betting man...nah.

Posted by: Gary at 02:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This news is a little stale but as a Mets fan I wanted to weigh in on it. I'm really happy Glavine will be coming back to New York for what will likely be his last year in MLB. Just ten wins away from number 300, he's considered his options (in the context of his family who lives in Atlanta) and will be taking the mound for the Mets come April.

Not only is Glavine a solid arm in the rotation but I've always liked him, even when he was striking out Mets as a member of the Braves. Some fans hold a bit of a grudge against him because of his role with the player's union and the strike of '94 but Glavine has always been a class act. The head office in Flushing entered into a gentleman's agreement with the future Hall-of-Famer last year when they renegotiated his contract (something Glavine was not obliged to do), in which both parties would not act on their respective off-season options in order that Glavine could consider an opportunity to sign with Atlanta, if there was one.

The Mets had asked Glavine to give them a definitive answer before the start of the winter meetings in Orlando so they'd know whether or not they needed to pull the trigger on a deal for his replacement. Glavine could have reneged and waited for Atlanta to clear some salary, but he acted in good faith with the Mets and re-signed last Friday.

The strain caused by Tom's separation from his kids during the school-year portion of the MLB season has been tough. As a father, I can completely sympathize. And if the team had just given him some more run support a couple of years ago, he may very well have already hit his 300-win goal which is his stated trigger for retirement. It's extremely likely that number 300 will occur sometime this summer and it'll be nice for him to hit it as a Met, making his years here in New York that much more meaningful.

Welcome back, Tom. We would have missed ya.

Posted by: Gary at 11:16 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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To Citicorp.

The name of the Mets' new home ballpark will be Shea no more, come 2009. The successor to Shea, the club's home since 1964, is to be named CitiField, according to several newspapers and Internet reports. The name comes from CitiCorp, Inc., the biggest bank in the nation, according to reports which put the value of the naming rights at as much as $20 million annually.

CitiField.

Feh. You just know that when the team is in a down year, fans and non-fans alike will call it ShittyField.

UPDATE: (11/15/06)
OK, a few days later and I'm still not thrilled about it. But after reading this quote from Marty Noble, a writer for MLB.com, in response to a disgruntled fan I at least have a little perspective.

If you have so much passion for the Mets that you will embrace Shea forever, you probably will want the Mets to be competitive too. Selling the naming rights to a ballpark is a way of life now, a way of life that will cover the average annual value of the next Beltran contract by itself.

Given what it is, Citi Field isn't nearly so offensive to the ear as 3-Com, U.S. Cellular or Minute Maid. It has the sound of City Field. Say it that way and save your outrage for something more troubling.

Posted by: Gary at 06:24 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Dallas police are reporting the Dallas Cowboys receiver, Terrell Owens, tried to off himself by swallowing a bunch of pills. Apparently, he was reportedly "depressed".

What is wrong with this idiot?

UPDATE:
T.O. says that's B.S.

Posted by: Gary at 09:49 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The last time the Mets won their division I was still in college.

Damn! I feel old.

Congratulations, guys! On to October!!!!!

Posted by: Gary at 10:49 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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With last night's win over the Florida Marlins, the Mets have officially ended the era of the Atlanta Braves' dominance of the National League East Division.

The Braves are now OFFICIALLY eliminated from the pennant race.

Excuse me a moment...ahem...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!...OK, back to this post.

Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com posts an open letter to Braves Manager Bobby Cox:

"I have spent most every minute of the last 12 years swearing and screaming your name, taunting your relief pitchers, mocking your batters, and praying for your bus to stall on its way to the stadium – and now that your journey is over, I find myself grateful for all of the emotions you exposed me to. You see, it takes a lot to dislike a team as much as I’ve disliked you – and, in some ways, you’ve made me the rabid fan that I am.

So, thank you, Bobby – and here’s to hoping you become as bitter towards me and the Mets over the next 14 years as we’ve become towards you and the Braves.

Have a happy and uneventful October, and weÂ’ll see you next April."

*** Apologies to my relations in Norcross, GA who know I'm only teasing. ***

Posted by: Gary at 04:30 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The NFL has been frothing at the mouth over this one: the Manning Bowl.

Win or lose it should be a pretty good game.

Nothing like the first day of football season. Go GIANTS!!

-----------------------------------------
UPDATE: 11:25pm
Colts 26
Giants 21

Aw, crap. Not to take anything away from the Colts. They're a playoff caliber team. But jeezus! Dropped picks. Missed field goal. Give the ball back right after an interception. Penalties left and right. Bogus offensive pass interference call.

The fact is that the Giants defense completely shut down the Indianapolis rush. They could have won this game if they had stayed focused and executed. They didn't.

If they do, then the Giants are a playoff caliber team. Let's hope this is an aberration. If they repeat this kind of performance again - with this schedule - they're in deep sh*t.

One other note on NBC's coverage. I hate the fact that they almost never show the play clock.

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The NY Mets magic number is now 8. Well on their way to de-throning the Atlanta Braves, the team is scheduled to play one more series in Turner Field starting Sept. 27th. The Mets will have wrapped up the division title long before then, however. It would have been interesting to have them clinch the division during that final run through Atlanta's house, but...eh...oh well.

The NY Daily Post has an article that quotes Braves pitcher John Smoltz as saying "we're not a below-.500 team".

66-73? 20.5 games out of first?

Yes you are, Johnny. Yes, you most certainly are. Not easy to take, is it.

Have a nice winter.

Posted by: Gary at 01:47 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 Screw you, Gary. You're just bitter. BITTER, I SAY!!! See if I get YOU tickets for Turner Field again!

Posted by: Georgia Girl at September 07, 2006 09:45 PM (EvFfn)

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How freakin' sweet it was to have the NY Mets lay a hurtin' on the Braves this past weekend to the tune of a series sweep at Turner Field - pushing those chumps back FIFTEEN games out of first. (queue Chris "Mad Dog" Russo voice: "Oh...Baby!)

The Bravos almost had a chance in the bottom of the ninth Sunday with newly-acquired Manny "eyeball" Aybar on first with one out and Marcus Giles wiffing strike three as Paul Lo Duca throws Aybar out stealing second. SMACK!!

The best take on that last play comes from the guys at Amazin' Avenue:

"The coup-de-grace, the strike 'em out throw 'em out to end the game on Sunday, couldn't have left Booby Cox any more humiliated than if he had been personally de-pantsed on the pitcher's mound by Mr. Met himself, forced to bend over, and been given an exaggerated, rodeo-style, hat-waving dry hump while a re-enactment of Sherman's March took place in center field."

It's a new era boys. Kudos to Omar Minaya for putting together such a fantastic team. Is it October yet?

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Congratulations to Italy for winning their fourth World Cup.

Defeated French players took the loss in stride:

Nice.

Posted by: Gary at 09:19 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I happen to like soccer, as my daughter plays. (Not that I pay attention to international soccer.) It can be very exciting! Yet if you like it or not, we can all be glad France lost to Italy! Nothing like a little humiliation for a country of cheese-eating surrender monkeys to make my day!

Posted by: Pam at July 10, 2006 10:29 AM (rx9LD)

2 Is that what the French do when they throw a tantrum? Self-wedgies? Good grief. Like Glenn Beck said, the French were waiting for the US to come in and help them out...

Posted by: GroovyVic at July 11, 2006 05:17 AM (rifla)

3 Yes, Soccer is gay. Very gay. Yes, the French are irrelevant. Totally irrelevant. The picture says it all! Well done, Gary.

Posted by: Polarbear at July 15, 2006 10:34 AM (uAPvk)

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Soccer?

A little to "personal" for my tastes. Do they issue penalties for giving wedgies or is this just a cultural thing and I don't get it?

Do you think the guy even considered running around his opponent or was "straight through his crotch" his first instinct?

Posted by: Gary at 03:45 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Imagine if the fellow in the blue shorts was facing the other direction!

Posted by: mdmhvonpa at June 30, 2006 01:11 PM (i/17h)

2 Hey Gary. Trackbacks appear to be "fruitcaked" over the weekend and continuing, so I wanted you to know that I did a "gay soccer" post that you might find amusing.

Posted by: agent bedhead at July 05, 2006 01:50 PM (xV63t)

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Jonathan V. Last at The Weekly Standard explains why America will never embrace professional soccer (i.e. non-American "football"), the ceremonial "flop-'n'-bawl":

Turn on a World Cup game, and within 15 minutes you'll see a grown man fall to the ground, clutch his leg and writhe in agony after being tapped on the shoulder by an opposing player. Soccer players do this routinely in an attempt to get the referees to call foul. If the ref doesn't immediately bite, the player gets up and moves along.

Making a show of your physical vulnerability runs counter to every impulse in American sports. And pretending to be hurt simply compounds the outrage. Basketball has floppers, but the players who do it--like Bill Laimbeer, whose flopping skills helped the Detroit Pistons win two NBA championships--are widely vilified and, in any case, they're pretending to be fouled; they never pretend to be injured. When baseball players are hit by a pitch, the code of conduct dictates that they can walk it off, if they must, but by no means may they rub the point of impact. And pretending you're hurt? There's not even a rule against that--every red-blooded American baseball cheater knows nobody would ever do that.

Not to mention that a scroll through the most recent posts at "Caption This?" doesn't exactly reinforce a "manly" image of the sport.

Posted by: Gary at 12:18 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 In US sports, there are only wusses :-) They fear aproaching the court w/o halmets and 100lb of other protective devices and 10-inch thick air sneakers. Guys even cheat by measuring their height with sneakers on.

Posted by: ding at June 27, 2006 01:08 AM (6RVEW)

2 I can only assume your references to helmets and protective gear are directed at American Football. Yeah, I can see how participants of such a full-contact sport would be "wussy" for not wanting to suffer severe head trauma or full paralysis. What's the worse that can happen in soccer? Somebody accidentally kicks you in the nuts? "Guys even cheat by measuring their height with sneakers on." And this comment makes zero sense. What American sport has a minimum height requirement?

Posted by: Gary at June 27, 2006 07:54 AM (QoxB+)

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Somebody pinch me! The best record in the National League, and second best overall behind Detroit!

Over that last three months I've seen something in this team that transcends the talents of the individual players. And that is chemistry. It was chemistry that made all of those Yankee teams from 1995-2004 so dominant.

How far will it take these guys? It's too early to say, but it's going to be a fun playoff season. You can bet on that.

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The way the rest of the world gets all jacked up for this World Cup thing?

You'd think this was life and death or something.

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My cable company has finally signed a carriage agreement for SportsNet New York (SNY), which means that I won't have to miss some 120 Mets games this season (not that I have time to watch them all).

And as an added bonus, get a load of one of the new announcers for SNY that I also get to look at all summer:

SNY's Julie Donaldson

Cue Glen Quagmire: "Heh, Heh...Ooooooooooh yeah!"

The Team. The Time. The Hot Sports Babe!

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Smacking the Nats down at RFK 13-3 in the seventh inning. Well on there way to being 7-1.

Posted by: Gary at 03:07 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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UPDATE - 4:15pm:
METS WIN!!! 3-2
Glavine pitches a solid 6 innings for the win. Wagner turns out the lights - three up, three down. Excellent.

--------------------------------------------------

Finally!

Ah, spring. Opening Day, when every team is tied for first.

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Game is being live-blogged via phone in at Metsblog. Ain't technology great?

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Scrimmage games have begun for MLB!!!!

Opening Day can't come any sooner for me. Especially considering the current weather in the northeast. Grrrrrr.

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Pitchers and catchers report today! Whoo-hoo!

I gotta tell you. I hate this time of year as far as sports is concerned. The NFL season is over. MLB is still six weeks away. I don't follow basketball, hockey or the March Madness NCAA Tourney. Right now there is NOTHING going on in the world of sports that interests me. Yeah, the Olympics are going on right now but...eh. So what?

At least this year the Mets are a hell of a lot better (at least on paper) than they were last year. The division is ripe for the pickens!

But the best part about baseball is you know that when it's here, so is spring.

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