Valadius

Where the hell did this Nick Evans come from?

I knew MLK went to Morehouse. Went with the one guy I knew went there.

Fine then. Was it Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Hell, I don't know. Was MLK still there at that time?

I have come to the conclusion that the primary source of our funk this season is the lack of production from Carlos Delgado. If he goes on a roll, hopefully we will as well.

That's it. I've officially soured on Willie Randolph.

I was at that 2003 game. I bet he'd still turn out to be a great player. My dad thought he'd be robbed of his speed. Luckily, I won that bet.

After this season, to be with his ailing father, who is dying of brain cancer. ]ATLANTA (AP)�Pedro Martinez will rejoin the New York Mets for a bullpen session Wednesday as he looks forward to returning from an ailing hamstring. But he�s not sure if he�ll pitch beyond 2008. After his latest rehab assignment in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Martinez told the Daily News he was might retire after this season to be with his ailing father. Manager Willie Randolph doesn�t know whether Martinez has made a final decision. �I didn�t talk to him about it or really know about it,� Randolph said. �I know his dad has been ill and he�s been going back and forth trying to struggle with that. But I haven�t talked to him about it, so I don�t know if it�s really true or not.� Martinez�s 78-year-old father, Pablo, has a form of brain cancer. �It�s taking a toll on me and my family, my dad�s situation,� Pedro Martinez told the New York newspaper. �That�ll probably drag me away from the game a little sooner than people expect. After this season, I�m going to go back home and think about it and I�m going to decide.� The 36-year-old right-hander has been on the disabled list since April 2 with a hamstring injury. In his latest rehab appearance, he pitched 4 1-3 innings and threw 77 pitches against St. Louis� minor leaguers. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and topped out at 90 mph on the radar gun. He�ll throw a bullpen session at Turner Field before New York�s game against the Braves on Wednesday. �It will be nice to see him, see how he�s doing,� Randolph said. �He�ll come in and be Pedro, loosen the guys up a little.� Martinez could return for the Mets before the end of the month, possibly for a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers from May 29-31. The pitcher suggested it might be even earlier. �He�s close to where he wants to be. He�s feeling pretty good,� said Randolph, who is eager to get a firsthand look at Martinez�s progress. �You can just see the crispness of his pitches, his arm action, those kinds of things, the action on his changeup,� the manager added. �Just seeing him here gives you a better idea.�

You know how close I was to being able to experience a Mets World Championship? About four months. I was born in February 1987. My number one goal in life, besides my own personal goals, is to be able to witness a Mets championship.

I'll never forget when I heard that Mike Piazza had been traded to the Mets. I was playing in Little League when one of my teammates who I couldn't stand told me. I refused to believe him until I got home. Sure enough, Piazza was a Met. I remember thinking it was an awesome trade especially because I thought that nobody named Geoff Goetz could be any good. Sure enough, I was right. Many of you grew up with Tom Seaver as your Met hero. Well, I'm the lone poster of the generation that grew up with Mike Piazza as their Met hero. He was the Mets superstar, the sure-fire All-Star pick every year and sure-fire Hall-of-Famer. Hell, he was good enough that there was a Nintendo 64 game called Mike Piazza's Strike Zone. Out of all the players in baseball, they chose Mike Piazza. He was one of the best players in the game, and the player Mets fans of my generation had a poster of in their bedroom. He will be the second player to go into the Hall of Fame as a Met, and as such, his number should be retired. You guys had Seaver. His number's retired. Let my generation have Piazza's number on the wall.

]BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP)�Mike Piazza is retiring from baseball following a 16-season career in which he became one of the top-hitting catchers in history. �After discussing my options with my wife, family and agent, I felt it is time to start a new chapter in my life,� he said in a statement released Tuesday by his agent, Dan Lozano. �It has been an amazing journey � So today, I walk away with no regrets. �I knew this day was coming and over the last two years. I started to make my peace with it. I gave it my all and left everything on the field.� The 39-year-old Piazza became a free agent after last season and did not re-sign. He was not available to discuss his decision, according to Josh Goldberg, a spokesman for Lozano. Taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers on the 62nd round of the 1988 amateur draft, Piazza became a 12-time All-Star, making the NL team 10 consecutive times starting in 1993. He finished with a .308 career average, 427 home runs and 1,335 RBIs for the Dodgers (1992-98), Florida (1998), New York Mets (1998-05), San Diego (2006) and Oakland (2007). His 396 homers are easily the most as a catcher, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Carlton Fisk is second with 351, followed by Johnny Bench (327) and Yogi Berra (306). Piazza thanked his family, teams and managers, some of his teammates�and even owners, general managers, minor league staffs and reporters. �Within the eight years I spent in New York, I was able to take a different look at the game of baseball,� Piazza said. �I wasn�t just a young kid that was wet behind the ears anymore�I was learning from other veteran guys like Johnny Franco, who taught me how to deal with the pressures of playing in New York, and Al Leiter, who knew what it took to win a world championship.� He did not bring up two of the more memorable moments in his career: When the Yankees� Roger Clemens beaned him on July 8, 2000, and when Clemens threw the broken barrel of Piazza�s bat in his direction in Game 2 of the World Series that October. Clemens denied intent both times. �Last but certainly not least, I can�t say goodbye without thanking the fans,� Piazza said. �I can�t recall a time in my career where I didn�t feel embraced by all of you. Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and Miami�whether it was at home or on the road, you were all so supportive over the years. �But I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn�t have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful.� He's going in as a Met. Case closed. And retire his damn number.

I had to pop in and comment on the miracle that was Luis Castillo hitting a home run.

Finally saw it. AWESOME movie.

KABOOM for Schneider! 1-0 Mets.

I loved Speed Racer as a kid. I remember the buttons on the wheel that made the car jump and buzzsaws come out the front, and the little brother and Chim-Chim always in the trunk.

Title should read Bonds Indicted (Again)

Feel free. If I'm wrong, I'll kick my uncle-in-law (or whatever the hell he is)'s ass the next time we play golf.

I reverted the vandalism. The article should be fine now.

I have it on good authority that this is Carlos Delgado's last year playing professional baseball. My uncle's brother-in-law, the architect that built Delgado's house in Miami (on the same block as where my uncle lives), whom Delgado considers a friend, has told my uncle and my grandfather that Carlos has personally told him that as far he's concerned, this is his last year playing baseball, and that he'll retire after this season. I know this guy, I've been with him many times over the years, as my family is close with my uncle's in-laws. If he says Carlos Delgado told him this, I believe him. (OE: All right, all right, I changed the title. Jeez.)

I read about the scene on the front page of Yahoo.

I have to admit, I have not seen Iron Man yet. I've been too busy with finals to go.

And I have no doubt that they will.

A-Rod is creepy as hell.

]Feint-Rod: A-Rod passed out at daughter�s birth NEW YORK (AP)�Alex Rodriguez passed out during the birth of his first daughter. �The one nurse had a cold cloth on his head. The other nurse had the blood pressure on his arm. And my mother was like rubbing his back. And he is passed out on a couch. And I am there, in the middle of labor,� Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of the New York Yankees star, said on an episode of the YES Network�s �YESterdays� that is scheduled to be broadcast Wednesday night. �And really, I am not being paid much attention to besides the doctor and a couple of nurses,� she said. �And he is there moaning. In between pushing, I am going, `Honey, are you OK?� and `Are you breathing? Are you OK?� � Natasha Alexander Rodriguez was born on Nov. 18, 2004. �As tough and big as he seems, he is real wimpy around doctors or any type of medical situation,� Cynthia Rodriguez said, according to excerpts released Tuesday by YES. �I don�t know why I thought the birth of our child would be different. In the middle of the night, I realized that I needed to go to the hospital. I wake him up. The first thing that comes out of his mouth, `Can we call your mother?� � A few hours later, I said, `I think you can call my mom now.� Uh, and the color came back to his face when I told him he could call my mom.� A-Rod traveled from New York last week and arrived at a Miami-area hospital about 10 minutes after the birth of his second daughter, Ella Alexander Rodriguez, on April 21. Alex and Cynthia met in 1996 at a gym in Miami. �I scouted her out for a month,� he said. �I wanted to see her routine, and I wanted to see what time she came in, see how consistent she was. And sure enough, she was like a machine. She would come in right after work, and get on the treadmill and do her abs. And finally, I build enough courage after about 3 1/2 weeks. And I said, `I know you are going to go do some abs after. And do you mind if I join you?� Cynthia said she was unaware of his celebrity status at first. �I know he played baseball, because everybody in the gym said, `Do you know who that is? And he plays baseball� or whatever,� she said. �I didn�t grow up in a sports-oriented family. So, I wasn�t aware that you could have an entire livelihood off of a sport. So when they would say, `Oh, he plays baseball,� I always think, `Oh, I wonder what else he does��like `that�s a nice hobby�but what does he really do?�

Am I the only person here who wasn't alive then?