FLUSHING Down The Toilet

The New York Mets are in major, major, major trouble. To start the season I thought maybe the Mets were just getting a slow start. But when the season is rounding May going into June and a World Series winning team is below .500, there is a huge problem. Perhaps the hitting is slumping, the pitchers are still tight, the defense hasn't taken enough ground balls, or the bullpen just isn't there, but whatever the problems are, it has to be a team effort. I will side with Billy Wagner here; players have to stick around after the game and leave as a team. Even something like that can be fixed, but where is the spark, this team's personality that launched them onto the cover of Sports Illustrated a year ago? I don't see as much joking, giggling in the dugout, or homerun handshakes. That aspect alone was a weapon in this young team's gameplan. Now all I see is complaining, groaning, and disunity. But with that, there is no hitting, it is just too inconsistent. Their catalysts Wright and Reyes are hitting in the .270s, Beltran has improved to .256, Schneider has fallen off now hitting a mere .266 to his .300 mark before he went on the disabled list. For Keith Hernandez's sake, Oliver Perez, that inconsistent pitcher who is costing New York more games than he's winning, is hitting better then slugger Carlos Delgado. Now the best time to break out of this misery and to get back onto the basepath is tonight against the Florida Marlins. The Mets have to prove right here that the Marlins are not a first place team, and promise their fans that they were only kidding the first quarter of the year.

No More Pizza Deliveries

Yesterday, all time homerun leading catcher Mike Piazza retired. The eight-year New York Met and future hall of famer hit 20+ homeruns for six of his eight years with the Mets and always gave fans a sense of hope when he got up to the plate. When Piazza was signed in 1998 by a very crummy New York team, he brought with him Al Leiter, and a chance at postseason success for the first time since the late eighties and early nineties with Davey Johnson at the helm. But then it was Bobby Valentine, and there was no Keith Hernandez or "Doc" Gooden to lead this team, but then Piazza brought out the best in a fantastic infield, who hadn't shown their full potential yet; a so-so pitching staff, which gave captain John Franco a chance to shine; and an otherwise unknown outfield. While Piazza was slugging homers, fans started to love this guy; they got his jersey, they brought pizza boxes, and marriage proposals. A Yankee killer, he drove them to the point where they threw a broken bat at him in Game 2 of the 2000 "Subway" Series. Then when the Mets wished their magnificent infield goodbye piece by piece, Piazza kept the Mets' fans coming back to see an otherwise dull team. So after 16 seasons, and more specifically, a great eight seasons, I just want to stay thanks Mike. When Todd Hundley left, I had no idea if the Mets would win another game for the next ten years. But Mike you kept me with it, you gave me memories, you gave me something to be proud of, so thank you.

No Hitter No Fair

Last night in Fenway Park, Jon Lester pitched the 18 no hitter in Red Sox history to help the Sox get a 7-0 win. This no hitter puts the Red Sox second all time to the Dodgers, have 20. This story is especially exceptional because it was only last year that Lester was able to make his first start after battling cancer. Now a year later, he pitches a no hitter, the first Red Sox lefty since Mel Parnell in 1956. Yes what a great story, from cancer to the World Series to a no hitter. But the sad thing here is that the New York Mets are still absent a no hitter. Yeah the Red Sox have been in Major League Baseball for over a century, to the Mets 46 years in the big leagues, but Boston has four more no hitters in this decade than the Mets do in their entire history. Why is this? New York had Seaver, Koosman, Gooden, Leiter, and now Santana, each of whom have not a single no hitter. Is Flushing secretly a former Indian Burial Ground? Does each pitcher walk under a ladder, or spill the salt, or break mirrors before each game? When will the Mets get a no hitter? By this rate, you know it's the apocalypse when someone wearing blue and orange pitches a no hitter. But when it happens wherever it is, I hope I will be there.

Where$ the Offense

The New York Mets were predicted by many to at least make the World Series, but at this point, it is going to be a struggle to make the playoffs. While the Mets are sitting squarely in second place, they have not looked good doing it, behind the surprise Florida Marlins. The worse part about their play so far, is that the National League East is not a good division at all. The Marlins don't have anybody outstanding in their lineup except Hanley Ramirez, so it should be a matter of time before that team starts falling face first into the ground. But the Mets have also taken four out of six from a fairly weak Philadelphia Phillies team. The sad part is that the Philthies should be the only team contending with the Mets in the East, but after a fifth of the season, it has not turned out that way. It seems that New York's offense has been the biggest concern - next to the starting pitching longevity. Outfielders Moises Alou and Ryan Church, and catcher Brian Schneider have been the only players on this team that have shown any success at the plate - and they have each spent time on the disabled list this year. Catalyst shortstop Jose Reyes has a dismal .260 batting average and .327 on base percentage, which should be much more. David Wright is hovering around .270 and sluggers Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado look like they should be playing in Brooklyn with batting averages stuck around .240. If these players, who the Mets have paid most of their payroll on, don't start hitting and resurrecting this team and helping out their pitchers, it is going to be a long season.

Knicked

Earlier today, the New York Knicks and Mike D'Antoni "agreed in principle" to next year's head coaching job, four years for $24 million; this makes the former Phoenix Suns' skipper the third highest paid coach in the NBA. Now D'Antoni may have thought he was given a head "coaching" job, but all he really got was a head "ache". Here is a team that in my opinion, could get beaten by certain college basketball teams. Stephon Marbury is a worthless, non hustling, injury prone, complaining woosie, and he's their best player. Everybody else is either an attitude problem or just not good, except for David Lee. Plus you can add on the fact that the Knicks are not a good team at all, matching their worst record of all time last season. According to ESPN.com, Donnie Walsh knows that it is going to take time to rebuild the team. If Coach D'Antoni was smart, he would establish that he means buisness and that he is going to get this team to work, or else the Knicks will continue their six season losing streak to seven.

Boston D-Party

The Boston Celtics is arguably one of the most successful franchises in NBA history. Last year, they might have had the worst season of the franchise. But now the Celtics bring two other key players in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce, and all of the sudden, Boston is the best team in the NBA. Most people might think that it's the three pointers that Allen brings, or the points in the paint that Garnett brings that makes the Celtics a great team, but in fact it is the defense. Yes they had a tough series with the Atlanta Hawks, but that was because the offense never got going. It was their defense that kept them in the series. And it's not just Garnett blocking shots in the key, it's Pierce's agressiveness playing for a couple of steals a game. It's back-up center Glen Davis coming in and also blocking a couple of shots a game off the bench, and collectively putting pressure on three point shooters. So at this rate, with the defense performing the way it is, and that tri-offensive threat, I couldn't see the Celtics trophy case absent a 2008 NBA Finals trophy.

Tinch beats Finch

At about 9:00 last night, America could have watched a very exciting game that happened over a month ago on ESPN. The United States national softball team is preparing for this year's Olympics at Beijing by playing college softball teams around the U.S. ESPN is now starting to air some of the games they have played. One of these games that have aired is U.S. versus the Arizona Wildcats, one of the best college teams in the nation. But yesterday, ESPN aired a March 26 game between the U.S. and Virginia Tech. Yes everyone knows who Jenny Finch is, but how many can say that they know Angela Tincher? Finch, the powerhouse pitcher for team U.S.A. went a mere four innings and only gave up one run on four hits. That is a pretty fantastic game most days. But on that day, Tincher decided she would go one up, and up she went. She went the distance while no hitting the Olympic Team. Considering the fact that pitching generally dominates softball games, Miss Tincher will always remember the day she beat Jennie Finch