Odds and Ends

I don't really have a theme here but it's been a few days and there are some random things on my mind. Including the fact that the Mets swept the Fish over the weekend! I love beating the Marlins because 9 years out of 10 they are just ankle biters who screw up the standings in the NL East (particularly when it comes to the Mets). And then there's always that one year they randomly win the World Series, immediately followed by a panicked fire sale because they are a small market team with no fans and therefore can not afford to keep their players. But I'm sure a new stadium will fix that problem.

Next up, I owe someone on the Mets an apology.... Angel Pagan, please stand up. As I'm sure most of you remember, I was sippin' a TON of Pagan Hater-ade last year and during spring training. I have to give Angel credit though: his base-running instincts have improved by leaps and bounds, his defense is MUCH better (occasional bad fly ball route aside), and he has been one of the only offensive constants in the everyday line up. And I learned that he takes the young Hispanic guys under his wing and helps them learn English - which has nothing to do with his ability to play baseball, but sways my opinion of him nonetheless.

Also, seemingly overnight, the Mets made some rosters moves that fans have been screaming about for WEEKS. Gary Matthews, Jr. was designated for assignment and Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez were placed on the DL. Of course, since this is the Mets, there is an official inquiry regarding Perez - the timing was just too perfect with Jon Niese eligible to come off the DL, plus it's not exactly a secret that the Mets have been begging Perez to go to the minors. To be honest, I really don't care at this point because, as previously stated here, I'm done with Ollie P. All these roster moves and improvements by certain players add up to the Metsies having a little fight in them this year, which means it's actually fun to watch baseball again!

Finally, I realized that on the heels of Armando Galarraga's not-perfect game, I let something very, very important fall to the back burner: Ken Griffey, Jr. announced his retirement. That announcement hit me hard. Back in the day, I wasn't a huge Junior fan... something about his home run pimping act bothered me. But as I got older, I began to appreciate him more and more. Seeing highlights of his time in Seattle makes me realize now how much I missed out on by being indifferent for all those years. I was happy when Junior went back to Seattle for the 2010 season because I like to see things go full circle. I'm sad and disappointed that retirement was the right choice for him, in the midst of a bad season on an even worse team. Ken Griffey, Jr. was an icon, and this is truly the end of a baseball era.

The Mets host the Padres tonight at Citi Field - let's keep up the home hot streak and pay back the Pads for taking that series last week!