seawolf17

"Hang on. I know a guy."

They said during one of the broadcasts against the Brewers that his parents wanted to name him JJ, but his middle name was almost "Jeter," after an uncle or something. That would have been weird, looking back now. The kid's having a great year (.301 / .350 / .574 with 15 HR).

I think he made the right play. If he goes home and throws the ball to the backstop, then it's 2nd-3rd, one out and one run already in. Get the out; if Winn is a hair slower, it's a DP. In any other inning, maybe you go to second first... and if the bases are loaded, then you throw home first... but in that case, I think it's the right play.

Come on, Ira. You know they HAVE to play the games so we can see how far out the Yankees end up. Besides, then the press would have nothing better to do than follow A-Rod around.

He only played 85 games in 1976... he must have retired mid-season. Interestingly, #754 was a walk-off in the bottom of the tenth.

AAAAAAAAA!

Jon Benson?

And an appearance from Fatheaded Steve Trachsel means Ollie's done for the night.

Sure, Tim Lincecum. you've pitched in the big leagues before. But this is Shea Stadium, bitch.

Party at Soup's! Everybody be there by 7!

I'm not condoning nor reprimanding the booers. I'm just saying he gets booed. Loudly.

I bet Zito gets the crap booed out of him tomorrow night.

Piazza?

Good times last night; great weather, packed house (6,008), and a win for the home team. The Ducks picked up three in the first and two in the fourth, but the Warriors answered with three in the fifth and two in a tediously long seventh inning. Sidewinder Ben Grezlovski picked himself up a few Blue Points (my Ducks version of Schaefer Points, named after LI's Blue Point Brewery) by coming in after lefty specialist Mark Watson allowed Ian Bladergroen to tie the game and throwing one pitch -- an easy 1-6-3 DP that kept the game tied. The Ducks took the lead right away in the bottom of the seventh on a leadoff walk, bunt single, and RBI single by Petey Rose; Danny Graves closed it out with a 1-2-E6-3 ninth. Blue Points: Jorge Piedra 1 (RBI single in 1st) Damian Rolls 1 (2-run 2B in 1st) Ray Navarrete 1 (leadoff walk in 7th, scored go-ahead run) Kevin Haverbusch 1 (bunt single in 7th) Li'l Pete Rose 1 (GWRBI) Randy Leek 2 (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) Ben Grezlovski 2 (one pitch, two outs to kill the rally) Danny Graves 1 (SV) Two quick observations: * All those who think Edgardo Alfonzo is still capable of being a major leaguer, think again. He looks fat and old. He had a couple of hits and scored a run, but looked lazy at third. * "Haverbusch" (pronounced with a short a) is the best unintentionally funny baseball name since "Poo-holes."

Space Truckin The Mets have activated El Duque to pitch tonight against Sergio Mitre (2-2, 2.25)... they have not announced who will leave the roster to make space. Mitre has never faced the Mets, but has won his last two starts, pitching will in Pittsburgh and Tampa. El Duque beat the Marlins in April, and hasn't lost to the Fish since July 2000. Saturday night, the Mets send the suddenly human John Maine (5-2, 2.77) to face Wes Obermueller (1-2, 3.71). Obermueller pitched three scoreless innings on May 2 at Shea in a 6-3 Fish loss. Sunday afternoon, Jorge Sosa (3-1, 3.75) will take on the crazy Scott Olsen (4-3, 4.76). Olsen got the win on April 30, pitching six innings, giving up ten hits and two runs. Olsen is perhaps best known for being just a little bit crazy. And not in a good way, as he's even fought teammates. The Mets will miss Dontrelle Willis in this series, who is 11-3, 2.46 in his career against the Mets, despite giving up seven runs in five innings in a loss earlier this year. Walk Away No pitching staff in baseball has had worse control than the Marlins', who have walked 203 batters in 427 innings. Hand Me Down World The Mets have dumped several would-be prospects on the Fish in recent years. Only one ex-Met will be in the opposing dugout this weekend, though, fireballing Mormon righthander Matt Lindstrom. Mike Jacobs and Henry Owens both went on the DL recently, and Jorge Julio, erstwhile Met, was exiled to Arizona. Owens is currently rehabbing, though, and could come back this weekend. A few former Fish on the Mets' roster: Ramon Castro, Carlos Delgado, Damion Easley, Paul LoDuca, the suspended Guillermo Mota, and the injured Moises Alou have all called Miami home. Bad Reputation The Marlins come into tonight's game off a crazy 11-inning win against the Phillies, a game that featured an 85-minute rain delay, manager Fredi Gonzalez's first managerial ejection, and bench-clearing brawl. The Marlins used six relievers in the game, so they should be nice and tired this weekend. Thank You Lots of interesting promotions this weekend at Dolphin Stadium. Tonight 100 lucky fans will win autographed Fredi Gonzalez lineup cards. Tomorrow night, the first 5,000 cars receive Marlins windshield visors, and the first 25,000 fans receive Thunder Sticks, so you might want to turn the CW11 to "mute" and just watch the game. Sunday afternoon is Dan Uggla Youth Bat day, and it's also Jewish Heritage Day, so let's all wear our Shawn Green 20 shirts! I've Got A Feeling Wear shorts, bring an umbrella. Low 80s, high 70s all weekend, with scattered thundershowers the whole time. Basically, Florida weather. Day of the Eagle The Marlins have hit 13 first-pitch home runs this season. Only the Braves (15) and Rangers (14) have hit more. Ball of Confusion Todd Linden was claimed by the Marlins last week. We last saw Linden in San Francisco misplaying a Jose Reyes fly ball into a bases-loading hit, allowing David Wright to drive in two runs off former Met Armando Benitez, who used to be a Florida Marlin before he fell off the cliff. Ah, the circle of life. Rock Bottom Nobody strikes out like the Marlins do... they lead the NL with 393 K's in 47 games. Their closer situation is also still pretty unsettled, as only one team in the NL has less saves than the Marlins' 10 (the Reds have nine). They've blown eight saves this season. Stealin' Jose Reyes leads the major leagues with 26 stolen bases. Hanley Ramirez, also known as the third-best young shortstop in the NL East, is tied for fourth with 15. Miguel Olivo has thrown out only 5 of 21 runners, and Matt Trainor is 0 for 9. Ramirez, however, leads the majors in runs with 43. The Marlins are 16-12 in games where he scores, and 6-10 when he does not. He has also hit in ten straight games, batting .395 during that stretch. Bell Bottom Blues Kevin Gregg appears to be the guy answering the call at the end of games for the Marlins these days, picking up their last three saves, including two in consecutive games on May 20 & 22. Gregg is a journeyman, though, and Henry Owens will likely take the job back when he is activated. Honky Tonk Women Backup catcher Matt Treanor is married to beach volleyball player Misty May. Backup catchers get all the chicks. Dear Mr. Fantasy Some of the Fish hitters have been hot lately; if your league allows daily transactions, you might want to activate Dan Uggla (10 for 26 over the past seven days), Hanley Ramirez (9 for 27 with 2 HRs), and Miguel Cabrera (9 for 28). On the flip side, Jeremy Hermida, recently activated off the DL, is 5 for his last 25 with 7 K's. Miguel Olivo is 3 for 18, and Alfredo Amezaga is 2 for 13. As far as the pitchers go, Dontrelle Willis and Byung-Hyun Kim both start twice next week. Willis is a good bet, facing Jason Marquis and the Cubs, followed by the slumping Chris Capuano and the Brewers. Kim is riskier, largely because he sucks.

Oops. Forgot. I'm on it.

We got a third seat this year for MiniWolf, but our plan gives us all night games, so I don't know how many games we'll actually get to. We have good seats, behind third base and covered. As the games get closer, I'll post if we have any tickets available.

No, it's just that his name is... Pete Rose Junior. Obviously he's Pete Rose's son. Even if it's Pete Rose of Kalamazoo, Michigan and not the gambler; he's still Pete Rose's son.

Hey, we might be there for one of those games! I'll let you know.

Moron sitting behind us last season: "You know, that's Pete Rose's son."

Finally heading to our first Long Island Ducks game tonight. The Dux are 10-8, 2.5 games back in the North Division. They host the Road Warriors tonight -- the team that the Atlantic League uses as their dummy team, spending their entire season on the road, with no home ballpark. Lots of Duck ex-MLBers, including a few we know well -- Danny Graves, Donovan Osborne (didn't he come to ST with the Mets once?), Carl Everett... And of course, this guy: The Ducks' offense is led by P.J. (formerly Pete Jr.) Rose at .369. (Fonzie is hopping along at a .182/.273/.303 clip, but has only K'd twice in 55 AB, so maybe he'll come around.) Former Met Kevin Baez was a coach the past few seasons, but was actually just hired back by the Mets as a minor league instructor. Buddy Harrelson is still coaching first base, and former Cardinal Dave LaPoint is the manager. Other ex-MLBers on the roster include John Halama, John Riedling, and Damian Rolls. Some names you know on the Road Warriors also, including former Met Jeff Tam, who has thrown one inning; and Ian Bladergroen, who went to Boston in the Doug Mientkiewicz deal. Former Stony Brook Seawolf Chris Flinn, a righthander who bopped around the D-Rays' system, is on the DL for the Warriors.

I always wish Willie would get more fired up and get in umpires' faces also, but I've always assumed that he doesn't, just by design; it's not his way. You look at the Piniellas and the Coxes, and Bobby V stamping out the tracks after the Knoblauch double, and Chuck Cottier throwing everything he could get his hands on out onto the field (two of my favorite "crazy manager" moments I've ever seen in person)... but how much does it work? Fact is, he won 97 games without going bonkers last year. And as much as I'd love for him to show some energy, I guess that's just not his style.

Fool nothing. He was one of the top, if not the top, FA pitcher out there. There were lots of teams after him, not just the Yankees. Yes, they probably overpaid, but a lot of that is hindsight now. I know that I thought it was likely a mistake at the time, because he was moving from the NL to the AL and was likely to be worse, but I don't know that anyone expected it to be this bad.

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_123431.jpghttp://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_209315.jpg That would be David Newhan and fatheaded Steve Trachsel.

And Kelly Johnson follows with a triple just outside Delgado's reach. Ugly.