I usually hate saying the word Chipper

Call it a chip off the block, a chip shot, a chip and dale, no matter how you put it Chip Ambres first career hit as a Met was a enormous one(and by the way he said he did it for his dad). In just his third AB as an Amazin, he bounced one through Nomar (seemingly the only ball that got past Nomar on Sunday) to give the Mets a 5-4 lead, the teams first lead of the game and one which would allow the Mets to take 3 of 4 from the Dodgers, take 4 out of 7 on this supposed dreaded road trip where many critics were predicting the Mets were going to lose their NL East supremacy, and once again establishing the Mets as the best team in National League. In one run games this season the Mets are now a startling 14-5 much of which can be attributed to Billy's effectiveness and teams never say never attitude. Heilman looked amazing on Sunday, boosting his trading stock or even more important solidifying an unhittable bullpen with him,Smitty, and Feliciano, setting up for the Sandman.

Who should be batting in the two hole? Milledge,Gotay, or Lo Duca.
The case for Lo Duca is simple. Last season he was one of the main catalysts for the Mets seeing a lot of fastballs in the two spot. The mets were the best team in the National League with Reyes and Paulie always on base. This season while Paulie has struggled batting .265 with just 5 HRs and 27 RBIs(Perhaps because hes not in the two hole)ist easy to see why Willie has looked elsewhere. Lo Duca, no matter how much difficulty he has faced at the plate this season, still refuses to Strikeout as he strikes out just 1 out of every 14 plate appearances, good for second in the league behind Juan Pierre.
Ruben Gotay has recently been handed the Mets starting second base position, a promotion which has long been overdue. He is batting .346 with 4 HRs and 16 RBIs with an OBP of .366 in just 47 games. He has made an immediate impact at the plate while struggling a bit in the field. He is slugging a whopping .495 for such a little guy and has made Mets fans completely forget he has Royals blood. Gotay looked lost at the plate, however, when he was in the Eight hole on Sunday, and since he was given the starting job. To me, at least right now, it looks like he has a case of the Endy's ( A great reserve/role player who when starts every day struggles somewhat compared to his previous success).
This is why the best option for the Mets in the two hole is Lastings Milledge. Boy this kid can play. The five tool wonder that Steve Phillips and Jim Duquette couldnt trade away for nothing is finally blossoming. He has the new haircut to go along with the new attitude. And while hes only been up for 12 games, the two spot will provide him with a plentiful of fastballs which he should be able to handle as it is finally time for him to shine. He said he was bred to be a Major League baseball player since he was nine. Well, its time Lastings. Bust out the whooping stick. Its time for the Mets to make the World Series and you need to fill that two hole. Now the obvious question is well Alou is scheduled back this week. Where will he play? With Alous injuries hell need to rest more then usual. And Shawn Green has hit the recent double play streak where he cant hit lefties. So Milldege will be out there regularly whether hes in Green's spot or in Alou's, Its time for Willie to let him hit.

As for this week, The mets play seven games at home vs the Pirates and the Nats. We need to take at least 5 out of 7 ..So tell Paulino not to show.

On a side note, Buster Olney reports that Kyle Drabek, the Phillies' No. 1 pick in last years draft, is out for the rest of this year and will undergo Tommy John surgery this week. Haha..poor philthies.

Clutch Hitting

Taken directly from a post by Anthony De Rosa at Metsblog today:


2 outs, RISP

Batting Average / On Base Percentage
Jose Reyes - 2007 : .218 / .368 | Career : .295 / .377
Paul Lo Duca - 2007 .186 / .255 | Career : .282 / .369
Carlos Beltran - 2007 : .118 / .250 | Career : .275 / .372
David Wright - 2007 : .178 / .339 | Career : .265 / .381
Shawn Green - 2007 : .310 / .444 | Career : .234 / .361
Carlos Delgado - 2007 : .174 / .296 | Career : .250 / .422
Ruben Gotay - 2007 : .333 / .429 | Career : .250 / .314
Jose Valentin - 2007 : .136 / .296 | Career : .247 / .360
Ramon Castro - 2007 : .429 / .467 | Career : .205 .379

Late & Close
(plate appearances in the 7th or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck.)

Batting Average / On Base Percentage
Jose Reyes - 2007 : .244 / .370 | Career : .268 / .335
Paul Lo Duca - 2007 .195 / .267 | Career : .252 / .315
Carlos Beltran - 2007 : .121 / .375 | Career : .262 / .340
David Wright - 2007 : .340 / .400 | Career : .319 / .403
Shawn Green - 2007 : .286 / .333 | Career : .273 .352
Carlos Delgado - 2007 : .200 / .265 | Career : .253 / .363
Ruben Gotay - 2007 : .385 / .385 | Career : .236 / .281
Jose Valentin - 2007 : .158 / .238 | Career : .225 / .303
Ramon Castro - 2007 : .143 / .300 | Career : .188 / .252

L-millz….Trading in the Bling for Cleats

Great series against Cincy…its awesome to see gems by recently struggling tommy g and oliver perez straight off the dl…perhaps even more encouraging though has been the call up of the seemingly new and matured lastings milledge, L-millz for those of you more familiar with the rap industry than baseball…watching from the stands in the first game of the series, I was already aware of the call up as a result of Julio’s excruciating but very necessary goodbye.. however, I was astonished to see the new milledge..maybe I didn’t notice the changes back in the three games he played in early april, but totally gone was the Edgerrin-James-like locks and that shiny cross around his neck…milledge was introduced to loud cheers, but not nearly as loud as the ovation he received after scoring the game winning run in the eighth inning that night…only two nights later Lastings would account for the game winning run again as he would single home the difference in a 2-1 Mets victory…even in the 8-4 loss, Lastings looked great with a homer….no fan high fives though…and today a 1 for 3 effort which included a two run double to break a tie in the fifth…look I don’t know if its Ricky Henderson’s advice or manny-d’s, lastings boy and rap partner but whatever the hell it is, keep it up millz…curious when shea is gonna start playing Lastings song ‘bend ya kneez’ for his at-bats…I can definitely see it…. NOW BATTING, THE LEFT FIELDER LASTINGS MILLEDGE….’I said turn around spread ya legs bend ya kness and touch your toes…collect my money and go this ain't monolopy’…whatever, it could work…show your support to my man Lastings at his rap site http://www.souljaboirecords.com/....

So number 10,000 finally came tonight…I got home just in time to watch on ESPN the cardinals defeat the philthies for the philthies 10,000th franchise loss, a first ever in any sport…fun to watch…10-2…as if the cardinals were trying to rub it in or something with each run representing 1,000 losses …glad they didn’t score 11, 13, or 25..wow 10,000 … we shouldnt make fun though… just like the philthies, the Mets one day will lose their 10,000th game as a franchise….just one difference… were 6370 losses away.... in honor of this amazing milestone, I will pay tribute to one of the mets’ biggest rivals by posting some of my favorite quotes from phillies history demonstrating how much they suck…props to sports illustrated for the quotes..

July 29, 1921
‘Not anymore. I’ve been traded to the Giants.’
----Casey Stengel, gimpy-kneed phillies outfielder when asked if his leg was still hurting him. Told of the trade during a rain delay, Stengel elatedly proceeded out to the field, half-clothed, and started to circle the bases, sliding into each base.


September 24, 2000
‘On Fan Appreciation Day, my tires were slashed.’
-----Terry Francona, former phillies manager


June 15, 2007
‘If we have 10,000 losses and 8800 victories, that means we’re only a hundred and something wins away from reaching the .500 mark.’
----Charlie Manuel, arithmetically challenged phillies manager

Cant wait for win number 300 for glavine…

---the boss

Some Tips from the master

And the Midseason Awards goes to

The Team's MVP: Jose Reyes - The Mets surely go as Jose runs. Its been amazing to watch the tremendous improvment in Jose's game as he is growing up in front of our eyes. Remember a time when he would swing at pitches out of the strikezone and never walk (a la Carlos Gomez). Well, now he leads the team in walks, 47 at the break with 10 of those being intentional passes. The press will constantly hound him for his lack of extra base hits this season but I dont care because I know hell take second anyway, its free right?. Besides leading the team in Triples (9) and in batting average (.307) and in OBP (.387), He leads the majors in SB with 46 and was the fastest Met ever to reach the 30 SB plateau in a season. All this added together means that the second half of the season will only come along with more chants of Jose,Jose, Jose, Jooooooooose, Joooooooooose. In addition I would like to add a new chant taken from a certain Mike Jones. It goes like this John Kruk..Hanley Who?

The Team's Cy Young: John Maine - The maine mane who has quickly elevated himself to the ace status on the ballclub. Who would have thought the Orioles would have produced such a talent outside of Bedaaaaaaard. His stats dont's lie: the maine event was 10-4 with a 2.71 ERA good for best in Wins and fourth best ERA in the NL. Can someone please tell me how he didnt make the All Star team oh right I remember now because La Russa's a drunk, makes sense. He leads the team in K's with 93 and his OBA is a mere .285 versus the nasty righty. And on a side note why has the world crowned Cole Hammels the next up and coming ace in the NL. Can I say it any louder. JOHN MAINE!!!! Here's a brief comparison:
Career: Hamels - 41 starts 19-12 3.91 ERA 1.234 WHIP
Maine - 41 starts 18-13 3.74 ERA 1.239 WHIP
Season: Hamels - 18 starts 10-4 3.72 ERA 1.218 WHIP
Maine- 17 starts 10-4 2.71 ERA 1.147 WHIP

Rolaids Relief Pitcher: Pedro Feliciano - With all due respect to Billy Wagner who has blown just one save this year. Pedro Feliciano has asserted himself as the dominant Pedro on the team. He's no one year wonder, he is the real deal and when Sanchez and Padilla come back next year our bullpen is going to be straight up unstoppable. Including the post-season, he has not allowed a run in 90 percent of his appearances dating back to the start of last season. Left-handed hitters are batting, get this, .087 against him. So Im pretty sure if he was throwing a beach ball lefties still couldnt hit him. Sorry Ryan and Chase.

Youngest Stud: Joe Smith - Now dont get me wrong, I cant wait for Gomez and F-Mart to come up. But Joe Smith is 23 years old and was drafted last year. Now under his belt is 40 career games and has given up just 11 runs giving him an ERA of 2.75. He started the season with 15 straight appearances without giving up a run. Now let me get this straight..Do you know what Chad Bradford's doing this season? Neither do I and I sure dont care.

Golden Globe Award: David Wright - How could you not give the Golden boy this honor. He is the poster boy for the best team in NY. Along with Reyes, are the strongest left side of the infield in all of baseball..for the next twenty years. So he got off to a cold start. After April, he has been tearing the cover off the ball. He has 16 HR and 51RBI's. His OBP is .373 and leads the team in slugging percentage with .506. Basically Davey's awesome and I love him for life.

Samson Award: Shawn Green - Keep the long locks buddy
Invisible Man: Moises Alou - Where have you gone? Lefties are killing us.
Richest Person in the Neck: Carlos Beltran - So rich, so much potential, suck a great last season, time for a big second half surge..earn that paycheck.
Over the Hump: Tom Glavine - Tommy needs to get to that 300 win and then hell be able to roll..Youre almost there ..keep the faith
Bermuda Triangle award: Carlos Delgado - Stop trying to be Julio Lugo and wake up. We need you and your 35 HRs and 120 RBIs
Most Potential to replace Maine as the Mets Ace: Oliver Perez - Peterson Project..enough said.
Please Retire : Julio Franco - Will he ever pull a ball ever again?
Totally Insane and Awesome award: Paul LoDuca - Captain Red-Ass himself is firery as ever
Should be starting at second base: Ruben Gotay - Willie are you blind stop being Joe Torre
and Lastly Cult Hero: Endy Chavez - He will forever be engraved in a Mets fans heart.

If you have any ideas for any other Met awards let me know.

The Maine Man

June is over..I repeat, June is over..No more losing series the rest of the season..arite boys...sounds good. The Mets ended the month winning three straight series against good teams well maybe except the phillies who look like a shell of "the team to beat in the NL East". Sorry Jimmy, not only are you not going to the All star game for the fifth time (maybe you should stop trying to hit homeruns and put the ball on the ground some more..your a leadoff hitter for crying outloud) but your sad excuse for a franchise is now 5 games back of the boys in orange in blue and 4 games back of that 10,000th franchise loss, a game that will remain in futility, or maybe thats infamy..Im not sure..Either way, the Mets looked(scratch that) the Mets were dominant in the first three games of the series against the phillies.. The starting pitching, the hitting, the bullpen, it was like a book of poetry..Even Schoenweiss was able to pitch a scoreless inning keeping his road ERA at a whopping 0.00. I repeat 0.00...memo to Willie dont pitch him in Shea anymore..

Write in John Maine for last man in the NL balloting.. How could the NL have snubbed this guy anymore besides Chris Young, Maine has posted better numbers and a lower ERA then any of the other guys (Roy Oswalt, Brandon Webb, and RHP Carlos Zambrano) on the last man ballot. So granted Smoltz with his big name and worse numbers would have a spot on the team but Hammels (the only reason he made the team is high noteriety as a future star, Maine outduelled him Friday)Fuentes (the guy just blew four games in a row and lost his closers role) and Valverde (seriously?) deffinetly doesnt deserve the Mets Ace's spot. Also the Mets failed on thier attempt to have LoDuca start for the fifth straight year with Martin deservingly so getting the nod and "im an overated brave false hope prospect" Mccan getting the reserve catcher position. But Congrats to Jose, Davey, Billy and Carlos (leading the NL in voting) for making the team with our three position players starting for the second straight year. Last year, the NL infield was the youngest of all time signifying a shift to youth in a better league. Well, this year has even surpassed last year eventhough 3 out of 4 players (Reyes, Wright, and Utley) are the same with just the slimming Fielder replacing the even slimmer Howard. Fielder edges Howard by 10 pounds with listed weights of 262 to 252.

-Its time to get rid of Julio Franco, hes taking up a invaluable roster position and clearly can no longer produce. I was asked who I'd rather have up in a tie game in the Ninth inning Franco or Pat Burrell and i thought for a second and came up with the obvious answer..NEITHER!

- What's happening to our pitching staff again. First Sosa injures his hammy running out a near double play. Now, Ollie might be following suit with a sore back. Cmon guys get this together. A Buherele for Milledge and Heilman may be on the horizon.

- I cant stand listening to Tim Mccarver and Joe Buck butcher a baseball game's broadcast.

- I would've liked the sweep in both the Cardinal series and the Phillies but 2 out of 3 and 3 out of 4 aint bad..Keep truckin boys ..keep trucking