Welcome Back Marlon; Franco Slammed

The Mets have finally shipped David Newhan back to where he rightly belongs (Triple A)... and brought back an old friend. Marlon Anderson was signed by the Mets and will compete with Gotay and Valentin for time at 2nd base. Definitely a good move if it's a straight Newhan for Anderson swap. At best, David Newhan was a poor man's "Super" Joe McEwing... which really isn't saying much. Marlon Anderson is just the type of veteran/role player that Willie loves to have on his team. Plus who can forget all of the clutch hits Anderson had for the Metropolitans back in 2005. The guy was clutch. Let's hope he still has it.

Now on to this Franco thing... wow, who knew? Check this out:

From The Journal News:

Manager Willie Randolph said Franco should get more playing time with the Braves, and the reason he didn't with the Mets was a .200 average.

"If you play, you have to produce. That clubhouse stuff is overrated," said Randolph, who volunteered the information unsolicited.

Jose Valentin offered up that Franco was a less than eager participant in the club's pregame stretching.

However, what irked some players was Franco wouldn't hesitate to get in the face of some of the younger players about doing their jobs when he was hitting .200 with one homer with the Mets.

"To be a leader for me, it's not enough to talk all the time," Valentin said. "You have to go out and do it yourself."

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Wow. Now that's VERY surprising. The whole time I was under the assumption that everyone just loved Julio Franco and his "veteran leadership." Come to find out, Willie thought he was overrated and Valentin didn't respect him. And Valentin isn't the type to slam a player so this must be a sentiment that is shared with at least a few more Mets in the clubhouse. Wow.

And of course "Larrrrry" and the Tomahawk Choppers from Atlanta promptly picked him up and signed him. Honestly, I say that's great news for the Mets. Can't wait to see him return to Shea in a Braves uniform so I can watch him swing late at an 88 mph fastball from El Duque. I think I have more bat speed than Franco right about now. Holla Back.

D-Wright Showing The PSTriple Some Love

Got this from the official Playstation Blog. D. Wright, who is the cover boy for the video game MLB: 07 The Show, took some time out during the All-Star break to visit a few kids at the UCSF Children's Hospital in San Francisco.

While he was there, he signed a few autographs and handed out some free stuff courtesy of Sony. Great job on all sides, can't really hate on charity. In the words of Martin Lawrence...David loves the kids!

If I were those kids I'd take a few of those PS3s and sell 'em on Ebay... $500 bucks is alot to a little kid. I'd keep the autographs though, Wright is the man! Holla back.

Offense? What Offense?

The Padres are the worst hitting team in baseball. But you would never know it judging by how awful the Mets looked last night, and have looked pretty much for the whole season.

The Mets lost last night 5-1, getting shut down once again by Dave "I had too many shots at my local drinking" Wells. Is he the John Daily of baseball or what?

Carlos Beltran... well... let's just say he hasn't performed up to his expectations. Okay, THE GUY FREAKING SUCKS!!! Here's a number for you: .121

What's that? Oh that's just Smelltran’s average with runners in scoring position and two outs (He's 4 for 33 in those situations). And to think, the Mets thought they were getting a clutch hitter when they signed him to that 7-year $119M contract. Remember the 2004 playoffs with Houston? Even Smelltran has to wonder whatever happened to THAT guy.

I like how Willie moved Milledge out of the 8 hole last night. However, I don't think Milledge is a good fit in the 2 hole... at least not yet. Just put Lo Duca back in the 2 spot and stop all of this experimenting, Willie! If it ain't broke don't fix it. Lo Duca doesn't strikeout and he knows how to handle the bat. You can hit and run, bunt, and let Reyes go hog wild on the bases with Lo Duca at the plate. Milledge is probably a better fit at 6 or 7 on this team.

As much as I'm really turned off by Moises "the hypochondriac" Alou, I must admit, his right-handed bat is something the Mets could desperately use right about now. When he gets back I'd slot him in the 5 hole, push Delgado to 6, Milledge/Green 7, and Gotay 8.

So another lackluster game offensively for the Mets. And tonight, Super Jake Peavy is on the hill for the Padres. What's the Vegas odds for a no-hitter from Peavy tonight? My bet's on Peavy. Holla back.

Another Day, Another Milledge Attack

Boy... it must be a slow news day. Check out this "wonderful" piece of journalism from a website called the New York Press:

New York Mets outfielder Lastings Milledge made a bold prediction after his team defeated the Nation League-worst Cincinnati Reds 5-2 on Monday: The Mets would easily win the NL East this season. “We’re going to get back to where we were last year when we ran away with it,” Milledge said following the win.

Settle down, Mr. Milledge. We know you had a good series and you’re excited to be back in the big leagues, but let’s not get carried away. For the past six weeks, the team’s much heralded lineup couldn’t hit sand if they fell off a camel. Even after yesterday’s win, The New York Times—the country’s most distinguished newspaper—compared the Mets to a three-year-old girl. This remark comes after the Mets took three out of four from the Cincinnati Reds, which is like beating a paraplegic in a foot race. Their next seven games will be against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, arguably the two best teams in the National League; and the team behind them, the Atlanta Braves, also swept their opponent this weekend, and are generally playing great baseball. At this point, Mr. Milledge, it would be impressive if you just held your current lead. Also, it would be nice if you kept your mouth shut long enough for some of your teammates to actually like you.

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Wow. Now that last line is a doozy. Guess he ran out of punchlines after the sand, girl, and paraplegic jokes, which all came in succession no less. Can you say overkill?

Anyway, I'm quickly becoming a Lastings apologist which is something I neither asked to be or wish to do. Plus, I don't want to turn this blog into the Lastings Milledge drama hour. But when you get idiots like this bashing L-Millz just for the sake of bashing him... well I have a problem with that.

With his statement and comment, all Milledge is doing is exuding a little confidence in his team. And he didn't bash any players or teams in doing so. He didn't throw his own teammates under the bus or anything like that. So where's the harm?

The writer goes on to say that the Dodgers and Padres are the two best teams in the National League? Sorry but you need more than a few good pitchers to get far nowadays(Can you say Oakland and Minnesota?). The Mets, Padres and Dodgers all have the same number of losses. How are they any worse than those teams? The fact that they still have the lead even after all of the injury problems they had says a lot. To me, it says they may even be much better than their record indicates. Obviously L-Millz feels that way too.

But back to the blatant Milledge attack... I would have been fine with the piece if he stopped before that last line. Up until then it was simply an opinion column. I can live with that. But the last line turned it into an attack. From what I can tell, Milledge's teammates do like him. Alot. Did you hear Beltran basically wax poetic about Milledge the other night after his game winner?

Seems to me like the author is just a weeeeeeee bit biased don't ya think? And when it comes to L-Millz, this seems to be the norm. Holla Back.

A Lastings Effect

The Mets took 3 of 4 from the hapless Cincinatti Reds this weekend and L-Millz, Lastings Milledge, was a big reason for it. In all of the Mets wins, Milledge either scored the key run, hit the key run, or got a key basehit. Even in the Mets 8-4 loss on Friday, Milledge hit a bomb off of Mike "Where'd My Fastball Go" Stanton that gave the Mets some life late in the game.

So L-Millz is doing his thing thing. That's what's up. As Notre Rican noted in his blog entry, maybe the enthusiasm and semi-cockiness that Lastings brings to the table is just what the Mets need to jumpstart them in the second half. So far, so good.

I have a bone to pick with Willie Randolph though. First, why are you getting on Milledge for making a perfect slide that won you the ballgame? We all know that those things are instinctive. Milledge felt like he needed to make that slide... and it turns out that it worked. If you want to make the point that he could have slid and created contact then fine, but to imply that what he did was wrong is very shortsighted. Willie needs to calm down with that one.

Secondly, hitting David Newhan 7th and Milledge 8th is downright unacceptable. I mean, what has Newhan done this year other than NOT get a hit? The guy is batting a cool .200 on the season. Plus, by hitting Milledge directly in front of the pitcher's spot, it almost guarantees that he will see little to nothing to hit... which is probably the worst thing you want to do with a young ballplayer. But then again, Glavine is probably a better hitter than Newhan so if Milledge hit in front of Newhan that's almost the same as hitting him in front of the pitcher. Guess Willie's hands are tied with that one lol.

I really think Willie just doesn't like Milledge. It's sorta like New School vs. Old School. Remember how your parents would freak out when you started listening to hip hop, sagging your pants, wearing baggy jeans and talking all sorts of crazy slang? Okay maybe that was just me but the point is, the older heads always think their way is the right way. And if someone doesn't follow their way, they are quickly deemed to be "a problem." But things have changed, it's a new era and kids don't act like they did 20 years ago. Once Willie accepts that fact then I think he'll finally accept Milledge. But for some reason I see another Victor Diaz situation on the horizon.

A few more thoughts about the weekend. Ollie P. looked great which is good news for the Mets. Ruben Gotay continues to smack the ball around and Beltran and Delgado continue to smack thin air. The boo birds keep getting louder and louder for those two. Pretty soon the boos are going to sound just as loud as all those 747s that fly over Shea Stadium.

Next up, the San Diego Padres. This is a pretty good test for the Mets. The Padres have a great pitching staff and with the way the Mets have been hitting, I can easily see them being stymied by this group. However, if the Mets start hitting against Peavy and the gang, it would do wonders for the team's confidence.

So all I can say is Let's Go Mets! Holla Back.