Of Course This Happens To The Mets

What a coincidence that this......



.....found its way onto the Mets broadcast after the Mets lost their opening day game.



Yes, that actually happened. LOL Mets.

"I Hope [David Wright] Gets Cancer Like Me"

After a ton of build-up on the internet, Onion SportsDome has been seen as less than successful than some. Having seen some segments of the show myself, I concur. But, last night they actually did something real funny. Mocking various sports show fluff pieces about kids with a disease getting a sports wish, Onion SportsDome did a satirical "WishZone" segment, where they focused on an 8-year old girl and Philadelphia Phillies fan who wanted nothing more than to heckle David Wright.



Well done, Onion SportsDome. That was funny.

2010 NFL Season Week 3 Live Blog: Break

"Break away from everybody, break away from everything. If you can't stand the way this place is, take yourself to higher places."

The Latest Weird Philly Fan Moment Caught On Camera: Little Girl Picks And Eats Booger

Philly fans have done it all this season. Off camera they have thrown up on little girls. 3 idiots have run onto the field sparking 3 high profile incidents, one of which made international headlines when Philly police tasered the kid, little kids have been caught drinking out of beer bottles, and now the latest. I present to you: little girl picks and eats booger!



Disgusting.

As far as the game went, the Phillies 11-game win streak was snapped, the magic number to clinch the NL East is still at 2, and the magic number to clinch the playoffs is still at 1. I am hosting the NFL live blog tomorrow, though from 1:35 to at least 4:05, my attention will be focused almost all on the baseball games, switching to football only at commercial.

Mets-Phillies Live Blog: To Clinch A Playoff Spot

Because the Giants and the Padres play a 3-game series later this season and one of those teams must lose at least 2 of those games, the Phillies can clinch a playoff spot with a win today by beating the Mets. Feel free to talk about any and all college football games. I'll be flipping to them during commercials.

Meet The New York Hindenburgs Mets

It was a bad Wednesday for the New York Mets. First, a story about Johan Santana getting sued. Then, the Mets lost another game Wednesday night to the Colorado Rockies 6-2. Leading 2-1 in the 8th, Mets manager Jerry Manuel, in a show of real confidence towards his closer, elected not to use K-Rod to get the final 4 outs. Despite another Mets bullpen meltdown, the real fireworks occurred after the game:

Francisco Rodriguez was charged with third-degree assault early Thursday morning after an altercation with his father-in-law at Citi Field, the police said.

Rodriguez was in custody after the altercation, the police said, which occurred after the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies. His father-in-law, whose name was not disclosed, was taken to an area hospital with a bump on his head and an abrasion to his face.

On the plus side, this is probably the first time K-Rod has actually done a good job beating someone since signing with the Mets. It's hard to believe the Mets at one time led the NL East this season.

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Comparing The Phillies To The Mets And Yankees

The Philadelphia Phillies just acquired yet another ace in Roy Oswalt, thus giving them a top 3 rotation of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt. Naturally, given that, the fact they have won the NLCS in the past 2 years, made the playoffs the last 3, and have a bunch of big names on their team now, the comparisons are going to come that the Phillies are the next, Mets and Yankees, at least in the mind of the casual fan. But the question remains, are the comparisons valid? Are the Phillies the 2nd coming of teams most casual fans hate?

I will answer this by comparing how the Phillies acquired the top players and starting pitchers and closer on their current roster in comparison to the top players and starting pitchers and closer on the other teams' current roster. Up first, how the Phillies acquired their players (yes, I am aware that there are more players than this on the teams; this piece concerns the big names and the regular starters when everyone is healthy, not the role players, bench players and the fill-ins for injury, i.e. Wilson Valdez).

Phillies
Carlos Ruiz: Signed as an amateur free agent in 1998.
Ryan Howard: Drafted in the 5th round of the 2001 draft.
Chase Utley: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2000 draft.
Jimmy Rollins: Drafted in the 1st round of the 1996 draft.
Placido Polanco: Signed as a free agent (for the 2nd time) in 2009.
Raul Ibanez: Signed as a free agent in 2008.
Shane Victorino: Drafted by the Phillies in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft.
Jayson Werth: Signed as a free agent in 2006.
Roy Halladay: Traded by Toronto to Philadelphia in 2009.
Cole Hamels: Drafted in the 1st round 2002 draft.
Roy Oswalt: Traded by Houston to Philadelphia in 2010.
Joe Blanton: Traded by Oakland to Philadelphia in 2008.
Kyle Kendrick: Drafted in the 7th round of the 2003 draft.
Brad Lidge: Traded by Houston to Philadelphia in 2007.

Phillies totals
Amateur Draft: 5
Amateur Free Agents: 1
Rule 5 Draft: 1
Free Agency: 3
Trades: 4

New York Mets
Rod Barajas: Signed as a free agent in 2010.
Ike Davis: Drafted by in the 2008 draft.
Luis Castillo: Signed as a free agent in 2007.
Jose Reyes: Signed as an amateur free agent in 1999.
David Wright: Drafted in the 2001 draft.
Jason Bay: Signed as a free agent in 2009
Angel Pagan: Traded by Chicago Cubs to New York Mets in 2008.
Jeff Francoeur: Traded by Atlanta to New York Mets in 2009.
Carlos Beltran: Signed as a free agent in 2005.
Johan Santana: Traded by Minnesota to New York Mets
Jonathon Niese: Drafted in 7th round of the 2005 draft.
Mike Pelfrey: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2005 draft.
R.A. Dickey: Signed as a free agent in 2010.
Hisanori Takahashi: Signed as a free agent in 2010.
Francisco Rodriguez: Signed as a free agent in 2008.

Mets totals
Amateur Draft: 4
Amateur Free Agents: 1
Rule 5 Draft: 0
Free Agency: 6
Trades: 3

New York Yankees
Francisco Cervelli: Signed as an amateur free agent in 2003.
Mark Teixeira: Signed as a free agent in 2009.
Robinson Cano: Signed as an amateur free agent in 2001.
Derek Jeter: Drafted in the 1st round of the 1992 draft.
Alex Rodriguez: Signed as a free agent in 2007.
Brett Garnder: Drafted by Yankees in 3rd round of 2005 draft.
Curtis Granderson: Traded by Detroit to New York Yankees in 2009.
Nick Swisher: Traded by Chicago White Sox to New York Yankees in 2008.
Jorge Posada: Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 1990 draft.
Andy Pettitte: Signed as a free agent in 2006.
Javier Vazquez: Traded by Atlanta to New York Yankees in 2009.
CC Sabathia: Signed as a free agent in 2008.
A.J. Burnett: Signed as a free agent in 2008.
Phil Hughes: Drafted by the Yankees in the 2004 draft.
Mariano Rivera: Signed as an amateur free agent in 1990.

Yankees totals
Amateur Draft: 4
Amateur Free Agents: 3
Rule 5 Draft: 0
Free Agency: 5
Trades: 3

I wanted to add the Red Sox in here, but frankly, I need to get up at 6 AM, and it is getting late and I am running out of time. Maybe sometime tomorrow after Oswalt's debut I will add them in here.

But as far as the straight up comparisons with the New York teams, I think the numbers speak for themselves. The Phillies main core of players consist of 3 free agents whereas the Mets have 6 and the Yankees have 5. Halladay and Oswalt were both acquired through trade, whereas Burnett and Sabathia were both signed directly through the dollar-dollar bills (though in fairness, the sticking point of the Halladay trade was the immediate contract extension the Phillies were able to offer him). And while it kind of looks like egg on the face of the Phillies that they got Jayson Werth through free agency, it should be known that when they signed him, no one knew he would end up being such a star that he is. Heck, in 2008 he started the season platooning with Geoff Jenkins in right field before winning the job outright towards the end of the season.

It should be noted that in addition to less free agents, the Phillies have more trades than each of the 2 New York teams and more draft picks than each of the 2 New York teams, though credit must be given as the Yankees really know how to score with the undrafted amateur free agents.

Again, hopefully I will be able to do the Red Sox tomorrow, but I am out of gas and in need of sleep before waking up at 6 AM to go to work for the whole day (I can taste the coffee from here). Unrelated to the Phillies and baseball, but the Eagles have signed their 1st round draft pick Brandon Graham late this evening. Just thought I should let you know before I go to bed.

Steve "Bulging Dick" Levy Accurately Describes The Mets' Stadium

For the 80 bajillionth day in a row, ESPN has been switching back and forth from its regular scheduled programming to the Yankees game every time A-Rod has an at-bat to ensure that all of America gets the opportunity to see a cheater set a milestone that will be marked with an asterisk in a few years. Understandably, the constant back and forth can be a little tiresome on the studio guys, especially when the venue you throw it back to changes every night. Thus, it can lead to mistakes. And when you are Steve Levy (most famous for his "bulging dick" blooper) throwing it back to Citi Field, well, this slip-up can happen.



"A double for Alex Rodriguez, now let's get you back to Shitty Field." - Steve Levy

Completely ignoring the fact that that is an accurate description of the Mets new stadium, that is just too funny. And hey, any time someone on ESPN curses, it is a funny blooper worth replaying over and over again, right?

Some Things Never Change

On a day with Cliff Lee to the Mets trade rumors and Chase Utley and Placido Polanco got sent to the DL and Greg Dobbs and Brian Bocock were called up, all is well that ends well.

Brian Schneider and Wilson Valdez each hit a 3 run HR for the Phillies in the early going of tonight's game at Cincinnati only to see that lead slowly chipped away at. By the 9th inning, it was 6-3 Phillies with Brad Lidge on the mound trying to get the save. One 3-run HR later, the game was tied and Brad Lidge had blown yet another save. With a little bit of help on a ground ball the very next pitch, the Phillies got out of the inning tied.

And it is at that point, the magic began happening. Enter Arthur Rhodes, a Cincinnati Reds pitcher who had not allowed a run in over 30 innings. Howard gets on base. Werth gets on base. Ibanez doubles Howard home. Francisco singles home Werth. Valdez squeezes home Ibanez. 9-6 Phillies. J.C. Romero pitched the 10th and got the save that Brad Lidge blew. But the night was not a complete loss for Lidge, he is the winning pitcher in this game! (hey, folks, this is why wins and losses for a pitcher are the single most pointless stat in sports).

Anyway, moving on to the Phillies biggest rival, the New York Mets. The team that started out so happy at the thought they might be trading for Cliff Lee had a valiant comeback to tie the game against the Marlins at 6 in the top of the 9th. Unfortunately for the Mets, the bottom of the 9th happened and Hanley Ramirez hit a walkoff.

The day may have started somber, but when it comes to on the field happenings, some things never change.

Jeff Francoeur Has A Hissy Fit

You will not like Jeff Francoeur when he's angry. And by moving the Phillies-Blue Jays series from Toronto to Philadelphia because of the G20 Summit, MLB has made Jeff Francoeur angry. Former Phillies beat writer and current writer for the New York Daily News, Andy Martino, published the quote that made I am sure he believed his former fans would enjoy quite a bit.

"That's just bull----," Francoeur said. "That's not really fair. That's just not fair. It's ridiculous. Absolutely crazy."

Well, no one really said it was fair. The fact the NL East favorite happened to be scheduled in Toronto at the same time as the G20 Summit right across the way is nothing if not a coincidence. MLB solved it by moving the games to Philadelphia (complete with the Phillies batting first and the DH rule being in place!). It is hardly a fair solution, no doubt about that, but at the same time, as a Phillies fan, you can't help but laugh. I will never say that MLB's solution to this is in any way a fair one, but the direct and indirect hilarity it has brought out is absolutely priceless.

Party Like It's The 2008 NLDS!

At the start of the season, when asked if Roy Halladay was the best pitcher in the NL East, Johan alluded that he was the top dog in said division. Well, one day after Halladay pitched a complete game 3-hit shutout, Johan had his chance to prove his case. Unfortunately for him, the Phillies made sure that tonight would be the worst start in Johan's career.

The climax of Johan's disaster was in the midst of what would be an 8-run 4th inning against the Mets true ace. It started innocently enough with a run and a few men getting on base. But then there were bases loaded on with 2 out. And Jamie Moyer was at the plate. At which point, a sequel of the 2008 NLDS was instantly shot. I give you your cast:

Johan Santana as CC Sabathia
Jamie Moyer as Brett Myers
Shane Victorino as himself

Because MLB is the absolute worst when it comes to pulling videos from YouTube (I get that it's illegal, but really MLB, embrace the free publicity like the NHL does), I am just putting links up to the highlights at MLB.com

Jamie Moyer draws a bases loaded walk

Next at-bat: Shane Victorino launches a grand slam

Utley puts the exclamation point on the worst day in Johan Santana's career with a 2-run bomb that is still flying somewhere

Now if only the Phillies could hit all of the 5th starters and/or other schmucks they face, this team would be unbeatable, in spite of the iffy starting pitching!

130 Pitches, 8 Innings, 1 Unbelieveable Performance

For all the talk and the hoopla over McNabb, the Eagles, Stokley, and football season in general, in the 2nd game of a day-night doubleheader, the Phillies managed to come up with one their season highlights and maybe even one for the all-time reel. Against the team that all but left him for dead, hall of fame pitcher Pedro Martinez threw 8 innings for the 1st time since 2006 and 130 pitches for the first time since he turned 30. And may I remind you that Pedro Martinez is 38-years old. Via MLB.com, here is the link to the video of Pedro's highlights for the day capped off with the unbelieveable pick off play by Ruiz to end the 8th inning with a great call by Jon Miller.

http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=6637183&c_id=phi

And with that loss, the Mets are now officially eliminated from playoff contention. Oh, the joys and ironies and lovelies of that! And aspeaking of the playoffs, thanks to The O Files and Metsmagicnumber.com, I can tell you that the Magic number for the Philadelphia Phillies is currently at 14. Any combination of 14 Phillies wins and losses from any team in 2nd place will equate to the Phillies being National League East champions for the 3rd consecutive year. For your viewing pleasure, I will add a counter to the sidebar so that way, you can always know how close the Fightin Phils are to the playoffs. Go Phillies!!!

Welcome Back To The New York Mets, David Wright!

I think this picture says it all. Via The Fightins.

The epic fail of that helmet is so great, it should be called epic win!

(Hat tip to 49er16's Twitter account)

Poking Fun At The New York Mets Is Fun

I got nothing better to do right now, so why not put up a post where I further mock a team that has somehow, someway jumped ahead of the Nationals in the category of Baseball's Biggest Laughing Stock.

The fact that the Mets are 16.5 games behind the Phillies and only 13 games ahead of the Nationals flat out hysterical.

This was obviously written by a Mets fan before this season started......(via The Fightins
Can't disagree with that definition, now can we? I know I can't disagree with that logic.

But let's turn the tables and find out what the Mets are really like. Here is your definition of the New York Mets from Urban Dictionary

1. A baseball team with annoying hot dogs like Jose Reyes that takes over 1st place late in the season and then gives it up to the Phillies in the last week of the season

2. A team that managed to lose a game it had won when their idiot second baseman Luis Castillo dropped a pop up with two outs against the Yankees.

Not as funny as the Phillies definition. But alas, those statements are quite true. Change that second definition to "A team that is managed to lose games in every way possible" and you've got the New York Mets in a nutshell. No need to get all douchey and homophobic like the Phils definition, just straight facts is all that needed when describing this team. The fact that Manual has been promised to keep his job really should not come as a surprise at all. After all, they are managed to lose.

The Mets went head to head with the Phillies this past weekend, let's take a look at the highlights of that series, which include the new Phillies catchphrase and flat out bearded awesomeness.




If the Mets were any unluckier, they would surpass The Bad News Bears. Oh wait, too late, according to ESPN.com
Okay, so it's just some lame photo shopping job (hell, I just did it using screenshots and the default Microsoft picture editor) by yours truly, but you gotta admit, that's hilarious.

The funniest part about this video is that the maker of it truly believes that these are reasons to like the Mets. Most of America would use this same logic and stats and conclude the opposite....



Oh, about those uniforms and colors, Mets fans.......


I'm now nauseous.

In the end, however, only one word can truly describe the New York Mets....

The rest of America could not agree more.

(big time thanks go out for The Fightins who indirectly and perhaps unknowningly supplied a lot of the photos and videos used in this post)

I Have Now Seen Everything (UPDATED WITH MCCARTHY/WHEELER AND FRANZKE/ANDERSON CALLS)

You probably already know what happened, but if you don't, I won't spoil it for you. All I'll say is this may be one of the most unbelieveable endings to a Phillies game I have ever seen (thanks to 49er16 for the updated video via The Fightins



Seeing as this video will most likely be deleted, I am providing you the MLB.com link to the video. And I have no idea why everyone else is using the footage from the Mets broadcast (thank goodness for The Fightins). Simply a once in a lifetime unbelieveable play and finish to a ball game.

FYI, LLWS live blog below.

Update: I'm sure you have seen the new video by now courtesy of 49er16, but the radio call from Scott Franzke and Larry Anderson of the Phillies radio network may top everything. You will soon find out why I want Franzke on TV so bad. Click on this link, then click "proceed to this site", and download the audio file. Don't worry, all is safe for you (triple play comes in at 55 seconds into the audio).

(Hat tip to Sarge's Twitter account on the Franzke/Anderson audio!)

Fights Between Phillies And Mets Fans Surprise Sarge

I was saying in the LLWS open thread how Sarge was classic after My PHL 17 showed something it really should not have. Well the YouTube gods have obeyed my callings and I've got video. Keep in mind, this is immediately after Tom McCarthy and Gary "Sarge" Matthews, Sr. were touting how nice Citi Field was and such when all of a sudden this came on their screen.



Too funny! Now I'm not condoning the Phillies fan punching out the Mets fan or what not, but Sarge's "Oh my!" was simply priceless. I wonder what the producers were even thinking as that was clearly pre-taped footage. Good times at Citi Field!

Only The New York Mets Could Come Up With Such A Great Giveaway

The only thing worse in life than winning the 1969 World Series is coming up with this giveaway for the 1st 25,000 fans to the game on August 22.

Oy ve. I can't......I can't even.....oy ve. All I have to say is that this is the most exciting thing the Mets have done all season...

Why the Mets are still the laughingstock of all baseball (The O Files)

Good News Mets Fans: Luis Castillo's Injury Is Only Mild, Bad News Mets Fans: Niese Has Strained His Hamstring

Remember back at the start of the summer when I said that there would be some days where I won't be around that much if at all, and other days where blogging here is pretty much the only thing that I would be doing, yeah, this day is definitley the latter of those days. And that's not even taking into consideration the fact that I will be at The O Files this evening live blogging the 2-hour finale of I Survived A Japanese Game Show

If there has been one bit of consistency in baseball that fact is this: The New York Mets keep getting injured. And injured. And injured. And injured. 49er16 likes to call them the Triple-A Mets, well, pretty soon, they may be the Doulbe-A Mets. Last night, was the hilarious story of Luis Castillo (who made quite a few headlines for himself with his blunder against the Yankees) falling down the steps to the dugout and having to be helped to the back. Good news Mets fans, it's only a mild sprain! Via The New York Mets website (if you click on the link, you can see the hilarious video of Castillo falling)

After grounding out to second base leading off the inning, Luis Castillo slipped walking down the dugout steps and suffered a mild sprain of his left ankle.

As a result, Castillo was not in the lineup on Wednesday afternoon. Angel Berroa got the start at shortstop with Alex Cora moving over to Castillo's customary spots at second in the lineup and the field.

Castillo was in the ballpark receiving treatment before the game.

"We knew from last night that he'd be really sore today," manager Jerry Manuel said. "I kind of anticipate that it will be a day-to-day thing."

Manuel has used those words countless times in a season gone awry with injuries. The Mets' lineup has been without Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran for much of the year. But Castillo's injury topped them all in terms of absurdity, serving as a microcosm for the entire season.

And to think that that is the good news for the Mets fans in terms of the injury front! Now the bad news, yet another Mets starting pitcher is down with an injury. That pitcher, Jonathon Niese, strained his hamstring by inadvertantly doing the splits (I wish I was making this stuff up) and not only that, but Gary Sheffield may have re-aggrevated an injury. Once again, via the New York Mets website (click on the link to see video of Niese's splits gone awry)

The Mets' injury woes continued on Wednesday, as starting pitcher Jonathon Niese left the game in the top of the second inning with a strained right hamstring. The team sent Niese to the Hospital for Special Surgery for an MRI on his right leg.

Gary Sheffield also left in the sixth inning after appearing to aggravate his right hamstring issues following a single to left-center, but he walked off under his own power.

Niese had to stretch to receive a throw while covering first base on a potential 3-6-1 double play. He went into a split, however, missing the bag in the process. With manager Jerry Manuel and the training staff on the mound, Niese then collapsed in pain as he tried to throw a practice pitch. The young left-hander was helped off the field and into the clubhouse, declining to put any weight on that right leg.

Wow, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I almost feel sorry for the Mets. Do take note of the keyword in that sentence: almost. Ah, who am I kidding? This is hilarious! Trust me, if your team's bitter rival had so much hype around them coming into the year and this is the kind of season that they had with all of the failures and injuries and what not, you would be laughing just as hard as I am right now.

FYI, I'd embed the videos, but MLB and the team websites do not have an embed option with their videos for some reason.

New York Baseball Announcers Gone Wild

Not like that......sick freaks. The hilarious ending last night provided MLB Network and subsequently AA with quite the mash up video of the Yankees TV announcers, Mets TV announcers, Yankees radio announcers, and Mets radio announcers calling the last play.



That's just too funny. Not the announcers, I'm talking about Castillo dropping a fly ball that would have ended the game. Actually, that fly up did end the game, just not the way the Mets wanted to. And if listening to 4 different calls is the way to see the hilarity 4 times without interruption, then I'll take it!

Luis Castillo's drop gives us a great NY Announcer Mashup (Awful Announcing)

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

The Penguins won the Stanley Cup, the Phillies lost in 13 to the Sawx, yet this video below makes everything all right in the world. Watch as Castillo drops a fly ball and turns a Mets win into a Yankees win just like that. Seriously. I'm not kidding.



Classic!!!!! I've never laughed so hard at the thought of a Yankees win, but that is just absolutely priceless. Castillo dropped a fly ball and allowed the game-tying and game-winning run in the bottom of the 9th. A walk-off fly ball! I love it!