Author: Shannon

>10 – 2 – 4 – 4

That’s a good line for a 2 game series. Toss in 2 homeruns and it’s a great line. Yes, Jose Reyes had a very good weekend as far as his stats go.

But the question is, should Reyes, the Mets leadoff hitter for (presumably) the next several years, be swinging for the fences?

Yes, chicks dig the long ball – we’ve heard that refrain for years. It’s that kind of attitude that brought on the steroid era. But for a SS that you are relying on to get on base, utilize his speed, and start rallies, a good manager would make sure he was swinging down, not up.

Reyes will hit his share of homeruns – however if he gets enamored wth swinging for the fences then he is in trouble. In the top of the 4th inning with 2 out and the bases loaded Reyes came to bat. On the very first pitch Reyes swung up and lifted a shallow fly ball to left to end the inning. All I could think of at that moment was Lou Brown telling Willie Mays Hayes to give him 20 every time he popped out.

Reyes has an amazing amount of talent, but over the last 2 years he has shown evidence that he thinks he is a power hitter. Where’s Lou Brown when we need him?

>Sunday night’s rout of the Yankees had it all – including an obvious blown call by the umpires on Carlos Delgado’s homerun/foul ball.

To me this was a perfect time for a manager to get up and get behind his player – show some fire and passion. Willie did come out, said a few words, and then went back in to the dugout.

That’s it?? You’re struggling former All-Star first-baseman was just ROBBED of a 3-run homerun and you just shake your head?

Meanwhile Jerry Manuel, the Mets bench coach, went ballistic in the dugout, continuing ot yell at the umpires even after Willie had come back to the bench. Jerry was run while Willie continued to shake his head.

I ask you, who would you want backing you up.

>According to Chris Russo on WFAN, players on both the Mets and Yankees were told at 6:15 pm Friday evening that the game was going to be postponed. Russo himself found out and had left at 6:50.

Meanwhile the fans were the last to find out, not being told until after the scheduled 7:05 pm start.

How much money was collected by the Yankees in concessions to fans who braved the elements? How about the money from the limited parking?

And what about all the parents with children that sat in the rain while the players they look up to were already getting dressed and on their way home.

Once again we have another example of how the owners and management really don’t give a damn about the fans.

>I enjoy comedy radio. I also enjoy a good practical joke from time to time. But what Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo did on Saturday morning went beyond what anyone should consider acceptable.

Shortly after 10 am Russo, hosting on WFAN in New York, announced that the Mets-Yankees game scheduled for 1:05 that afternoon was being moved up to 11 am because of a threat of severe thunderstorms moving into the area at 4 pm. Given that they already had a rain-out the previous night that had to be made-up, the teams had to get Saturday’s game in.

Russo continued to assert that the game was going to start early, giving stats and info on the games starters. He wasn’t acting like Mad Dog (yelling, throwing out obviously absurd details, etc.) – he sold it very well.

As 10:30 approached Russo announced that Howie Rose had not arrived yet so he would host the pre-game Mets Extra. At 10:30 he played the intro to Mets Extra and went into a pregame show.

After dragging this on for over a half hour in total Russo finally admitted it was a hoax, but not before ESPN Radio had picked up the story and announced that the game was being moved up.

Now, the initial reaction may be to laugh and say that this was funny – however think about all the people that were going to be going to the game that day. I personally know several people that panicked when they heard the news, realizing they had paid a ridiculous amount of money for tickets to a game that they might not get to see. I received emails and text messages from at least half a dozen others. Who knows how many more ran out of the house in a frenzy trying to get to a game they were told was starting early on the OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP STATION of the Mets.

Seriously, Russo crossed a line on Saturday morning and on Monday he should be called on the carpet for it.