Benjamin Grimm

Yes, Downey's appearance in Incredible Hulk is the first step in stitching together a big-screen Marvel Universe. Rumor has it that it's laying the groundwork for an eventual Avengers movie.

We're going tomorrow night. I can't wait. Iron Man was never my favorite either, but there are few movies that I've so eagerly anticipated. I've just been getting a good vibe about this movie. I think Downey was a great choice for Tony Stark. (I would have picked Clark Gable, but he's dead at the present time.) And Favreau seems to be a real fan who knows what makes the characters tick. (As opposed to those clowns who did the Fantastic Four movie.) Let's have a little sing-along: Tony Stark Makes you feel He's a cool exec With a heart of steel As Iron Man, all jets ablaze He fights and fights with repulsor rays Amazing armor He's Iron Man Ablazing armor He's I-ronnn Maaaaan!

I agree with Elster. And no, it's not necessarily bad that Wagner called out Perez. But it shouldn't be in the media. If it has to be done, it should be done behind closed doors.

smg58 wrote: Good analysis. I have to say the D-Backs scare me. We really only have to worry about Arizona (most likely) if we play them in October. They should easily win the division, so they likely won't be a wild card rival for the Mets this season. And I'm a long way right now from being concerned about potential playoff rivals.

I might be okay with Oberkfell. I don't know much about him. As I've said before, I want a smart guy to be the manager. (I consider the Mets to have had two smart managers, and they're my two favorites: Davey Johnson and Bobby Valentine. Is Oberkfell smart? I have no idea. Are there many smart guys to choose from? Again, I really don't know.) Some possible candidates from within the Mets organization: Ken Oberkfell Manager in New Orleans. In his fourth year as a AAA manager. Has also managed one year a AA (Binghamton) in 2004. Managed St. Lucie in 2002 and 2003, Capital City in 2001. Managed at Single A in the Phillies organization from 1997 through 2000. Tim Teufel Managing the St. Lucie Mets, and losing a lot of games. Managed in Savannah last year, St. Lucie in 2004 and 2005, Brooklyn in 2003. (I don't know where he was in 2006.) Edgar Alfonzo Managed Brooklyn in 2007 and will be there again in 2008. Also managed the Cylones in 2001. In between he was coaching in St. Lucie and Binghamton. Also managed Kingsport, in 2000. Nick Leyva Manager of the Kingsport Mets this year. Had a losing record as the Phillies manager from 1989 through 1991. Tom Nieto Named Baseball America's best managerial prospect (1997). Has seven years of managing experience at the Single A level in various organizations. (None with the Mets.) Jerry Manuel Managed the White Sox from 1998 through 2003. (Record of 500-471.) Al Manager of the Year in 2000. Bench coach for the 1997 Marlins. Six years as a third base coach in Montreal. Howard Johnson Managed the Cyclones in 2002. Four seasons as a minor league hitting instructor in the Mets organization. (St. Lucie, Binghamton, Norfolk.) Sandy Alomar Sr. Many years as a major league coach. Interim manager for Iowa (AAA) in 1991 and Williamsport (A) in 1994. Has also served as a manager in the Puerto Rican winter leagues. (Manager of the Year in 1986 and 1993.)

I acknowledge that finding an in-season replacement can be difficult, unless you promote from within the organization. (Jerry Manuel and Nick Leyva are two that I can think of who have managerial experience, but I'm not advocating for either of them.) Bobby Valentine, for both of his big league jobs, was an in-season replacement. With the Mets, he was promoted from Tidewater to replace Dallas Green. He was also hired away from the Mets (where he was their third base coach) in 1985 by Texas. I don't remember how they pulled that off. Did they ask the Mets for permission, and interview Bobby, before they fired Doug Rader? Generally speaking, I would think that if Willie were fired during the season, he'd either be replaced by a permanent or interim manager from within the organization, or an interim would be appointed to hold the fort while the Mets looked both inside and outside for a replacement. And while I don't think this has happened yet, if Willie were to convincingly "lose" the club, like Bud Harrelson even admitted doing as revealed by Marty Noble in his MBTN interview, then I think he has to go right away. Even if the Mets are still within reach of a playoff spot at that point. Especially if the Mets are still within reach. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do suspect that Willie's days are numbered. I don't think Citi Field is much of a consideration either. I think what the Mets want more than anything for the Citi Field opener is the chance to raise a championship flag on Opening Day. And if they think they have a better shot at that with someone other than Willie Randolph in the dugout, then they'll make a move.

Tuesday night's Mets win at Shea against the Pirates will close on Friday morning.

Greg Luzinski's place has a nice selection of barbecue. Next time I go to Shea I think we'll pack our lunches. (The kids will be disappointed, but it's not their 40 bucks.) The Mets will still get my money for soda and ice cream, I'm sure.

In starting this poll, I wasn't saying that Willie should be fired because of today's blowout. But everyone here knows that there are better managers to be had. Sooner or later the Mets will realize that too. I'm just trying to get a temperature check on when we think that might happen.

There were better choices at Tradition Field when I was there in March than there were at Shea when I was there two weeks ago. Shea has variety at the Field Level, but if you're in Loge or above, it's not much more than pizza or hot dogs. (You can also get nachos and sausage heroes. But I think that's about it.)

Put me down for June.

When will Willie be fired?

Box score Figueroa 1 Heilman 0.4 Feliciano 0.2 Church 0.4

Willie's using his reserves as pinch hitters when he should be using them to get his stars out of the game. Let Wright and Beltran sit out the last few innings.

This is a nice low-pressure spot to get Heilman an inning.

Yeah. I'd rather see him (Figueroa) as a long reliever than as a regular starter. And based on his last three starts, Oliver Perez is welcome to leave via free agency at his earliest convenience. I'm sure he'll be better than he's been, but I won't mourn his departure if that's how it plays out.

Figgy's the one most likely to be displaced by Pedro, whenever he finally returns. That is, unless Oliver Perez gets Zitoed.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: ... or someone like him, takes' Ollie's job in the rote. Was Perez injured? Is he going to miss some starts?

After Beltran was called out on strikes in Game 7 of the NLCS I went to bed and slept soundly. And the next day I just resumed my life.

Who had Delgado in the hitting streak contest?

Holy crap! I just got out of a meeting and checked the score for the first time. Yeesh!

A lack of happiness doesn't have to mean sorrow. A Mets win makes me happy. A Mets loss fails to make me happy, but it doesn't make me angry or sad. It's a good place to be.

I saw him on the pre-game. He also did the postgame. I don't think he's expected to do any in-game commentary. He talked about how the Mets teams that he played on knew that they had to stay "up" when they played the lesser teams, like the Pirates are now. That they had to beat up on those teams. (Nothing extraordinary there.) He was also talking about Fernando Martinez. I think he predicted that he'd be in Flushing before long, maybe even this year. I couldn't really hear what Darryl was saying because with kids, a dog, and The Suite Life of Zach and Cody there was a lot of ambient noise in my house.

Well said. If the Mets make the playoffs it will add some fun to my October. If they don't, then October is just an ordinary month. Last year's collapse was painful to watch, but it didn't adversely affect my life. One theory is that Mets fans are still "hurting" over what happened last September. If a fan who's, say, 16 years old or younger feel that way, I can kind of understand it. I'm even okay with people up to 20 or 21. (The age where people think they're grown up but they really aren't.) But anyone whose adult life is underway should have a sense of perspective. It's only a game, and whether the Mets win or lose really doesn't reflect on us at all. I find it hard to believe when people who are even older than I am (and I'm 44) get so angst-ridden over a trade or a loss.

AG/DC wrote: The Mets are a half game out of first. Just thought I'd say so. Yeah, but they suck anyway because they haven't clinched the division yet.