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05 April, 2011

So far...good?

By Tom McConville


What I liked about the Mets this weekend.

Robert Allen Dickey – Maybe it’s my age and the fact that I like grit over flash, but this guy has been a terrific Met ever since he came up early last year. He plays hard and seems like a real calming influence on the team. Pelphrey might – might – have the stuff to be a No. 1, but Dickey’s demeanor and attitude make his far more ace-like in my mind.

Willie Harris – I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Mets fortunes went from a slow decline to a dramatic freefall when they traded away Endy Chavez. Different players altogether, but Harris reminds me of Chavez. He looks – and plays – like a gamer. Even if he is marginal at best, I think he’s the kind of player the Mets need to play competitive games.

D.J. Carrasco – big, big, big strikeout against John Buck. What was even more impressive was how he recovered after the home plate ump squeezed the zone on him during that at bat. That showed a lot of guts. A lesson big Pelph could take with him when he heads to the hill every 5th day.

1st out of the inning at 3rd base – Gary, Ron and Keith up in the booth all gave it their blessing when Wright was tagged out trying to go from first to third with no one out in the first inning. Since Vasquez was getting roughed up, it was nice to see the aggressiveness they displayed early on.

Stewie Griffin – if you haven’t heard, after the Mets lost on Friday, some (soon to be if not already fired) SNY employee played this clip from Family Guy. 


Now here’s what the Mets should do: EMBRACE THIS. Play it at Citi field, have Stewie shirts made up, have Seth McFarlane throw out the first pitch. I think it would endear the Mets to their fans and might serve as one of those “kind of stupid in every way unless you are a professional team” motivating tools they could feed off of.

Jon Neise – nice guts after a rough start – and an even nicer combination of deceptive fastball and sharp curves that kept the Marlins out of sync for 7 innings.

Logan Morrison – yeah, he’s a Marlin, but I thought the salute he gave at home plate after hitting a homer on Friday to honor his father that passed away in December was really cool.

Brian Cashman’s whining – so the Yankees GM came out and said the overuse of Pedro Feliciano, who’s now on the disabled list with the Yankees, was abusive. The Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen admitted as such, and cited overuse as the reason the Mets didn’t pursue Feliciano more in the offseason. The reason I like this has nothing to do with Feliciano being on the DL. I thought he did a great job with the Mets. I like it because it’s one of the first times I can recall in recent history that the Mets irked someone other than their fan base. And Cashman’s whining comes across as pretty damn petty coming from the Greatest Sports Team in the History of Ever.

Stuff that drove me crazy this weekend.

David Wright butt pats –  Hey #5 – here’s a daily affirmation you could try:“I won’t be buddy-buddy when someone’s on 3rd, I won’t be buddy-buddy when someone’s on 3rd”. Hey Dave – you don’t have to be mean, just stop being nice. Please?

Mike Pelfrey’s hand licks – I think that when Big Pelf pitches, they need Norman Chad and Vince Van Patten to call the game. That way, they could get all excited when Pelfrey reveals the biggest tell in baseball today. The hand lick. As soon as he starts doing that, the other team knows he’s cooked. It like a nervous tic. One that often preceeds a rather ugly inning of pitching.

K-Rod – boy, did he look like K-Rap on Saturday. 

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