Mea Culpa, and My Thoughts [J. Mark English]

I've been absent for sometime from the blog. Many thanks to Chrissy, A.J., Addison, and especially David for keeping the site alive and well. Gotta love the behind scenes pics from Philadelphia that Chrissy provided. Addison kept things in perspective in regards to the A.L. East race. A.J. gave us some good old hockey highlights. David otherwise kept us up to speed of the daily events in the sporting world.

Meanwhile, I've been incredibly busy from both work, as well as being unable to access the Internet due to computer problems. But because of the great additions to this site from the aforementioned people, the blog continues to thrive.

Thank you to all the readers who give us the time of day to see what we have to say. Obviously this site does not claim to be filled with professional sports writers. The writing on this blog is not about to win a Pulitzer Prize any day soon. But instead the blog is compilation of ordinary people with observations about sports from a fans point of view.

Now that I've gotten all that out of the way, I'll weigh in on a few things in the area of New York baseball.

As a Mets fan, its hard not to be giddy about the situation that is developing in Flushing, Queens. The last two wins against the limping Yankees have been most satisfying. What was even more satisfying was their win against the Cubbies last Thursday. Because their previous game ended so early in the morning of that same day, they nearly benched the whole team. When I turned on the game I was expecting to see palm trees in the outfield because the Mets were playing with a spring training lineup. Stars like Beltran, Wright, LoDuca, and Reyes were all sitting out. As logic might dictate, they were losing 5-1 in the bottom of the ninth, and seemed like a team that was just tossing in the towel from the first pitch. But the team refused to go down without a fight. They mounted a comeback, and their stars eventually had the chance to pinch hit. They committed high way robbery against the Cubs, and stole a win against the odds of certain defeat.

The Mets may not be a championship team, but championship teams have moments like this sprinkled through out the season. The New York Mets look like a team on a mission. They have a swagger, and display quiet confidence that echoes with a presence that says "we beat you no matter what."

If this team can carry on forward, in relatively good health, they will be a force to reckon with come October. No one, especially me, expected the backend of their pitching rotation to be as solid as it has been thus far. John Maine is pitching like a Cy Young award winner. Jorge Sosa has been solid. Oliver Perez has had some games where he looks like Doc Gooden from 1985. El Duque has been alright when he pitches. Tom Glavine is still as good at the age of 40 as he was when he was 30. If, and when Pedro Martinez returns, this will be one of the best rotations in all of baseball.

As for the Yankees... The other day, Conan O'Brian did one of his classic SAT style analogies. This was one was hilarious:

Tigers Woods strokes is the best in golf :: as to Roger Clemens may have a stroke on the field.

Roger Clemens may have a stroke before even taking the mound. The Yankees are obviously not out of it yet, and Addison is right, its much too early to write them off. But pretty soon they'll have to pull off a historic comeback to even make the playoffs. You can point towards events like Bucky Dent, or when the Giants surged past the Dodgers in 1951. But we remember those moments because great comebacks in the standings like that are RARE. It is not every year that a team which is ten games back comes back towards the end of the year to win the division.

Furthermore, the Yankees can hardly rely on the wild card as a sure bet. They are nearly ten games out in the wild card race as well. This team is in real danger. Even when Clemens comes back, how much can he help? He'll only pitch once every five games, and he'll only pitch about five to six innings. The bullpen will still have ample time to retard his efforts.

Their offense is terrible right now. Where is the patience at the plate that this team used to convey? Time was when Paul O'Neil, Bernie Williams, and Tino Martinez wore the pinstripes, that the team would take a ton of pitches. They would wear down starting pitching, and let the game come to them. Now they are forcing things, they are trying to will a victory not on patience, but power.

As a result they are undisciplined and streaky. Bobby Abreu is a joke of a player. I wouldn't be surprised if he has more hits via bunting, then regular hitting. He can never get on base when it counts. He is not a catalyst. He is not a team player.

Johnny Damon is over the hill, and may be in the twilight of his career.

Alex Rodriguez is only one man, and he's falling back down to earth from his historic start in April. He carried the team offensively in the early going, but no longer.

Robinson Cano looks like he has lost focus. He has a low batting average, and is still in the bottom part of the order.

This is a sad looking team. If we can't write them off yet, it won't be too long before we're able too. Get your forks out, because sooner rather then later you can stick it into the once mighty Bronx Bombers.