Valadius

One strike.

Jon Miller annoys me.

The MFYs are now in 4th place in the AL East in September.

If there's one thing about MLB that bothers me, it's that they don't force teams to play all 162 games.

I'm sorry, I can't see the name Tony Bernazard without the phrase "street Spanish" popping up in my head, which causes me to burst out laughing.

David Wright now has four consecutive 100-RBI seasons. He is the first Met to achieve this distinction. In fact, he is the only Met to have four 100-RBI seasons at any point in their Met career.

Don't forget, you gotta include the fact that we managed to keep Pelfrey in all analysis of the deal. I gotta admit, I was totally wrong about how the deal would turn out, but then I'm always overly cautious about trades involving prospects.

I'm with Bucket, but I'm seriously excited that we're on the cusp here.

I check the score of the Mets game shortly after 4 AM here in Israel and find that the game's already over. Great job by Pelfrey. The Santana trade is looking better and better by the fact that we kept him out of it.

I begrudge him nothing but his first game and his last game as a Met - and I refuse to blame him for the '07 collapse. Any one win in September would have saved our asses, and it was primarily the bullpen's fault. He was integral to the thrilling run of '06. Give him some damn credit.

To quote Chris Matthews: "HA!"

Unfortunately, this is finals week for my summer classes. So I don't know if I'll be able to make it.

I can't believe we didn't make a move. Ryan Church better come back soon.

Peterson is one arrogant dude.

Saltalamacchia had that one big game last year.

Tiger's first name is Eldrick.

I miss his lightning rod pre-at-bat prep.

Marlins catcher Matt Treanor is married to U.S. Olympic volleyball player Misty May-Treanor.

I can just hear the media now: "But, but, but, intangibles... Jeter-ness... JOE NAMATH!"

No problem. Glad I could help.

This may be the only picture we get of Brandon Knight in a Mets uniform:

Well we got a couple back. I'm really hoping Knight doesn't pitch like this during the Olympics.

]IBAF changes rules for extra innings By JOEDY McCREARY, AP Sports Writer Jul 25, 4:29 pm EDT DURHAM, N.C. (AP)�Extra innings will have a new look in what could be baseball�s last Olympic appearance. Each team�s at-bat in the 11th inning and beyond will begin with runners on first and second bases. Teams may start the 11th at any point in their batting order under format changes announced Friday by the International Baseball Federation and adopted in time for next month�s Beijing Games. Baseball and softball are making their last appearance for a while, after the International Olympic Committee voted to eliminate the sports from the 2012 London Games. Both sports are working to be reinstated for the 2016 Olympics. Federation president Harvey Schiller said the extra-innings change was adopted to save time. �Extra-inning contests can bring about the most exciting results for players and fans, but such circumstances also make it difficult in the context of the Olympic program,� Schiller said. �We must demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee (that) not only does our game belong alongside the other great sports of the world, but our sport is manageable from a television and operational standpoint.� Under the new format, the 10th inning will be played normally. At the start of the 11th, teams will have the option of beginning at any point in the existing batting order and placing the previous two batters on base. For example, a team that opts to lead off with its No. 3 hitter would begin with its No. 1 batter on second base and its No. 2 hitter on first with no outs. �It�s kind of the same thing (as the traditional extra-inning format),� said U.S. pitcher Jeremy Cummings of Triple-A Durham. �You just get two guys on, so more than likely, guys in the Far East will probably bunt them over. So you�ve got one out with guys on second and third, so that might make the bunt defense come into play a little bit more.� The 12th inning and beyond would begin where the previous lineup left off, with the two hitters ahead of the batter scheduled to lead off that inning being placed on first and second bases. Initially, USA Baseball executive director Paul Seiler was opposed to the format change, but he warmed to the idea after discussing it with general manager Bob Watson, field manager Davey Johnson and the rest of Team USA�s on-field personnel. �The traditionalist in me says, �No way.�� Seiler said. �The IOC is really managing-slash-massaging sports within the Games. We�re one of those few sports that baseball people or traditionalists would say, �We do have a tiebreaker�we keep playing until the game�s over.� �But you know, in the Olympics, where you have (a) finite amount of time to get your program finished (and) the early game goes 15, 16, 17 innings, then what does that do? Television is affected, transportation is affected�a lot of logistical things that we don�t have to worry about on a Friday night in Durham. It�s a domino (effect).� The new rules are being tested at a youth tournament this week in Canada and will take effect for all tournaments under the federation�s umbrella.

One start and then off to the Olympics.

Brandon Knight. He's being called up to pitch in Pedro's spot.