The Road Trip Continues . . .

Leg one of the Mets 10 game road trip is over, and they were able to take 3 out of 4 in San Francisco. A 4 game sweep could have been possible, but the Mets could not score in last night's 2-0 loss, even though they had the bases loaded in both the 2nd and 8th innings. A great play by Giants 1B Travis Ishikawa to go home with the throw with no outs and bases loaded in the 2nd, and a GIDP by Angel Pagan in the 8th stifled both chances. But how much can you complain? David Wright going 10 for 15, with 9 RBI and 5 steals? Carlos Beltran extending his hitting streak to 11 games? Not enough to have any complaints here.

They now start a 3 game series against arguably the best team in the NL, the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are, of course, without Manny Ramirez -- if you don't know why, where were you 2 weeks ago?? -- but seem to be surviving without him. I expect to see the Mets taking 2 of 3 from the Dodgers, but if the hitting continues how it's been on this trip so far (excluding Sunday), a sweep might not be out of the question.

I actually have some extra interest in this series. Whenever the Dodgers and the Mets play each other, my cousin out in LA and I offer to buy each other a beer for each win that our team gets from the other. Considering that I haven't seen him in a couple of years, we are at 6 beers a piece. But before I see him again in August, I am planning to add an additional 6-pack (3 games this week, 3 games in July) to what he owes me!

As for injuries, it seems that Reyes will be out of the lineup for the 5th straight game, after missing the entire Giants series with a sore/stiff right calf muscle. Carlos Delgado might be out for a bit longer with his hip injury. The Mets will need to find a replacement for him, whether it's within the organization (Daniel Murphy? Fernando Tatis?) or outside via trade (Nick Johnson?)

Oh, and one final thing . . . i will post my review of the 5th game I attended on May 12th, either later tonight or tomorrow night.

Manny being Manny?

Guess you've heard by now, but Manny Ramirez was suspended 50 games on Thursday by MLB for failing a drug test for performance enhancing drugs (PED's). While this is another big name superstar to have his career tainted with taking PED's (Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, etc.), he is the first big name player suspended under today's policy.

I'm getting tired of hearing about players that are using these substances. I love the game of baseball! It's the first sport I fell in love with. But every time a new name is released, it's like a shot to the gut. And it's a pain that doesn't go away. It just keeps getting worse and worse. I say release the list of 100 or so baseball players who failed the "anonymous" test back in 2003 and get this shit over with!! Not that his name would be on it, but it would show the current major leaguers that this situation is serious and would teach them a lesson.

Manny explained that the failed test came from a prescription that he was taking, but the substance rumored to be in question is a woman's fertility drug (hCG) that's actually used by bodybuilders. I would assume that bodybuilders aren't looking to get pregnant (the male ones, at least), so they gotta be using it for another reason.

This news about Manny is just another footnote in a long line of events in his career. Makes you question what he's thinking. But unlike the past, where the actions of him were perplexing yet funny, this news is no laughing matter. He loses the distinction of being one of the best pure hitters in the game. He'll probably lose the respect of fans across the country (he's lost mine). His once-assured admission into the Baseball Hall of Fame is probably lost as well.

Maybe it's not Manny being Manny. . .