Today's Matchup

After a great win last night by the Mets (complete with the obligatory "get out of a bases-loaded jam that I created" by Billy Wagner) the Mets look to make it 2 out of 3 against the Braves. Here's the matchup:

John Maine (12-6, 3.27) vs. Tim Hudson (12-5, 2.95 ERA) - John Maine is coming off a horrible outing last time out and is looking to bounce back. The Braves, however, are 10-2 in games started by Hudson after a loss.

The lineups:

BRAVES

W Harris LF .326
K Johnson 2B .296
C Jones 3B .340
M Teixeira 1B .258
B McCann C .267
J Francoeur RF .306
A Jones CF .214
Y Escobar SS .325
T Hudson P

METS

J Reyes SS .307
L Castillo 2B .344
D Wright 3B .301
C Delgado 1B .251
M Alou LF .297
S Green RF .276
R Castro C .290
M Anderson CF .237
J Maine P

No Lastings Milledge in the lineup which follows a trend by Willie Randolph who seems to always sit Lasto down when there's a tough righty on the mound. Marlon Anderson gets the start instead. It's only his 9th start in CF ever for his career.

Not much more to say. Mets need to win this series in the worst way. Let's go Mets!

Bonds vs. Clemens: Who's The Bigger Cheater?

Now that Barry Bonds has finally injected his way to the top of the homerun record books, it's time to move past Bonds and focus our wrath on others who may have cheated their way into history.

Subject #1: Roger Clemens

Yes I believe Roger Clemens did steroids. Do we have any hard evidence? No. But then again, do we have any hard evidence on Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa? No we don't. But I think most people believe they juiced up as well.

So here are my thoughts on why I think Roger Clemens did steroids. First, just like Sosa, McGwire and Bonds, Clemens is huge AND a whole lot bigger than he was during the early part of his career. Don't believe me. Check this out:

http://cache.deadspin.com/assets/resources/2007/04/clemensnewandold.jpg

So if you convicted Sosa, Bonds and McGwire on their physical appearance alone, I think you almost have to treat Clemens the same way.

Next, say what you say about Jose Canseco, but Clemens makes an appearance in his book "Juiced," the book that started it all and brought the use of steroids in baseball to a more public light. Here's what was written:

http://thesteroidera.blogspot.com/2007/07/jose-canseco-and-roger-clemens-quotes.html

Canseco mentioned Rafael Palmeiro and we see what happened.

Next, Roger Clemens is apparently mentioned in the affidavit against former pitcher Jason Grimsley, who has admitted to using steroids. Check this out:

http://thesteroidera.blogspot.com/2006/10/evidence-against-roger-clemens.html

Until the affidavit is made public we'll never know. But usually when this information starts getting leaked, there's a flood that follows.

And finally, my own little personal aside... When Clemens threw that bat at Piazza back in the 2000 World Series, I've always felt like that was some sort of roid rage incident. The look on his face alone did it for me.

Add to this the fact that his career stalled in Boston and "magically" turned around once he went to Toronto and New York... I just think the guy looked for an edge and found one with the juice.

I'd go even more into more depth on this but honestly who cares? If Clemens juiced he juiced. Just don't act like Bonds is the only one who did the stuff and then single him out to be the lone villain.

Simply put, Bonds is a cheater and because of that he'll never be respected in my eyes. He's still a hall of famer, but top 5 all-time? Errrr, I don't think so. But neither is Roger Clemens. Holla back.

Congratulations Tommy!

Congratulations Tommy! You earned it.

Now as a Mets fan, I'm probably not as excited for Tommy as the rest of the world. Growing up as a teenager during the 90s, I had to endure some pretty lean years for the Mets (not to mention constant ribbing from obnoxious Braves fans doing the tomahawk chop and bragging about how many division titles the Braves had won in a row. How many World Series did that get ya tough guy?).

Plus, I always felt that Tommy was the beneficiary of a HUGE strike zone from a majority of umpires. He would get strike calls for pitches that were clearly 4-6 inches off that plate. I really hated that.

But now that I look back at it, was it really Glavine's fault that he got those calls? If anything, it just proves how precise, smart and crafty of a pitcher the guy is. He hit his spots on the regular and was rewarded for it.

Think about it, in the entire history of baseball... a game that's been around since the 1800s... only 22 pitchers have 300 wins. Glavine makes it 23. He's also only the 5th left-hander in history to achieve the feat. That in itself is amazing.

And think about it, by all accounts he did it without a dominating fastball (Nolan Ryan), without the use of steroids (Clemens maybe???) and without the help of spit, baby oil, vaseline, hair tonic or any other foreign substance that was available (Gaylord Perry).

(As an aside, having Gaylord Perry in the Hall after he admitted to doctoring the baseball and then getting on Bonds for steroids is the epitome of hypocrisy.)

But back to Tommy. He'll always be a Brave, and I'll always be a Brave hater. But I definitely respect his 300 gangsta. His 300 is just as impressive as the movie 300, which I watched for the first time on high def Blu-ray the other day. That movie was freaking sick. (Sony, you can thank me later for the plug).

So here's to the Hall of Fame Tommy Boy, you earned it. Holla back.