NY Mets on the Road - To Live and Cry in LA

Article first published as NY Mets on the Road - To Live and Cry in LA on Blogcritics.


There is no doubt about it (or as beloved NY Mets announcer Ralph Kiner used to say "No bout a doubt it") the New York Mets are Amazin’s once again - at least on the road.

The Mets look lost at Citi Field, and I can admit I do feel that way myself sometimes. It seemed like I knew every nook and cranny of good old dilapidated Shea Stadium, and I remembered where Cleon squeezed that last ball in 1969 or Rusty hit the outfield wall in 1973 or where Mookie hit the ball between Buckner's legs in 1986. These were great Mets memories, not to mention the Beatles trying to out scream the fans on a stage out near second base. Those were the days.

But Mets fans have tried to warm up to Citi Field, and it is designed way better than Shea right down to more plentiful - and clean - bathrooms. The food courts are wonderful and plentiful space is available to drink, eat, and be merry.

Still the team struggles at Citi as it did in the last home series against the Yankees, although that last game when the Mets beat Mariano Rivera was pure gold. You could bottle that and Mets fans would buy it again and again. The Mets beat Rivera - what a moment!

Now out on the road they are warriors again, taking the first two in LA. Last night Mike Pelfrey seemed like an ace who never lost a case - no, that's Perry Mason, another LA story -  but I digress.
There is a good deal to be happy about right now as manager Terry Collins has his team believing in themselves as much as he does. They have lots of guts and determination as they strike out on this last road trip before the All-Star break without Reyes and Santana and Davis and Wright.

In another universe we would be crying out there on the West Coast, where many Mets teams went 0 for 9 and came home whipped. This team seems different and they keep finding ways to win. That will definitely keep Mets fans watching and wanting to go to the ballpark. Now, if the team could just find a way to win more games at home, but that's another story.

Photo Credit: NY Daily News

Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer: Time Is Not On Their Side

Article first published as Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer: Time Is Not On Their Side on Blogcritics.

In sports, the emphasis is always on youth. Great players are shooting stars  across the sky of their respective sports. Alas, like those shooting stars their path is all too brief, and then they flame out and disappear from view.

Today Roger Federer won the first two sets at Wimbledon in London in the quarterfinals. Anytime he has done this before in his career - 178 times to be exact - Federer has won the match. Today was a different story.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came back and won the next three sets. There is no question that the Federer of the past  is no longer out there on the court. Tsonga (26) simply overcame Federer (29) with power and resilience and broke his serves the way it would not have happened a few years ago. Federer has to face the facts about his game, just as all the tennis greats like Boris Becker, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras have had to do.

Last week Tiger Woods (35) announced that he would not compete in the AT&T National. In golf older men have had much success, but one has to remain healthy and in shape. There is no question that Woods has always been into training, but his body is not "healthy" enough to compete. Again, as with Federer, reality rears its ugly head. Tiger is feeling all too human these days, and even with that sex scandal behind him and a lucrative endorsement for a Japanese company announced, Woods is realizing he is only human.

And then there is Derek Jeter, the perennial All Star shortstop for the New York Yankees. Jeter (37) has struggled this season (as he did last year), and now he is on the disabled list. The Yankee captain has been a great player for many years, but his body is starting to send signals to him that he may not want to receive. His hitting and fielding have been substantially compromised by the calendar, and whether or not the fans want to accept it, Jeter has to know that he better not turn around, because Father Time is gaining on him.

These three great sports figures have given fans many years of excellence, but the truth is that no one can expect to see their stars play forever. In each of these cases, we must appreciate their contributions to their respective sports but also know that attrition hits everyone. Even Jeter's teammate, the great closer Mariano Rivera, will someday see his powers diminish. It is just a fact of life.

The question one can ask is when do these guys throw in the proverbial towel? How long do they continue to push themselves to perform? While we expect that they must obviously see that their production is diminishing, perhaps they overestimate their contribution to the game. Whatever the case, don't expect any of these gentlemen to retire any time soon.

Maybe they should leave when they can still make that decision, or perhaps there will come a time when each one of these guys will face the inevitable after failing. Today Roger Federer had to see the truth in what Tsonga did to him. We television viewers certainly saw it and everyone in that stadium did too. Tiger has put himself on the shelf, and Jeter is on the disabled list. It's obvious that time is not on their side; in fact, it's not on anyone's side whether he or she is a player or a fan in the stands. Perhaps that's the toughest truth of all.

photo credit- BBC sports

Another Subway Series - Mets Verses Yankees Not the Same Anymore

Article first published as Another Subway Series - Mets Verses Yankees Not the Same Anymore on Blogcritics.

Think of this unforgettable memory: Mike Piazza at the plate against Roger Clemens. Piazza's bat shatters, and Clemens throws a fragment of the bat toward Piazza. All hell was ready to break loose. If Bartolo Colon shattered David Wright's bat today, there would probably be no emotion let alone the possibility of a fight, and that's the problem with this whole Subway Series thing: the fire is gone.


Why? Well, the old rivalry is about as dead as Old Marley in A Christmas Carol - dead as a door nail! What has happened to the emotional and confrontational times of old? Why doesn't the Subway Series create the near hysteria it used to here in New York?

For one thing, the old guard is gone at the Mets and is severely depleted on the Yankees. Piazza, Franco, Leiter, and company are happily retired and watching games from home. The Yanks have some of the old guys - Jeter, Posada, and Rivera (with emphasis on old) - still on board, but it's just not the same. No one can compare these players to their former selves; the caliber of their play has greatly diminished.

The second thing is that these games have lost any novelty that they once had. When the Mets and Yankees first met in these interleague games, there was an excitement generated by the prospect of the cross river rivals playing games that mattered (as opposed to the old Mayor's Trophy Game that was merely an exhibition). Now, the fans on both sides of town are a bit removed from the whole thing. To put it in the words of my neighbor's ten-year old son: "It just ain't fun anymore."

Finally, who is excited about a Subway Series these days? Apparently not ESPN. The network has rejected showing the Sunday game this weekend and the one the following month at Citi Field. I think that more than anything shows how far the star of the Subway Series has fallen from the firmament.

Here in New York City, instead of inspiring yelling in the stadium and the streets, the prospect of the games inspires mostly yawning.  It is merely a distraction. The games count in the standings, but they are not as critical as say a game between Boston and the Yanks or Philadelphia and the Mets. These days those are the games that give fans the most bang for their buck.

Years ago, I was as excited as anyone about the Subway Series. I went to a few of the games at old Shea, and the place was packed and the crowd was shaking the rafters. I don't know if that will happen this year. Most of the Mets main guys are on the disabled list: Wright, Santana, Davis, Pagan, and the list goes on and on. The Yankees have stars who have lost their luster. Posada is hitting a buck something, Jeter and A-Rod are struggling, and even the most sacred cow - Mariano Rivera - is starting to look all too human.

I'll probably wear my Mets shirt and watch the games on TV, but I'm not saying I won't be tempted to change the channel a few times. Years ago I would never have done that, but now I can because what used to be at stake - who has bragging rights - doesn't seem to matter much anymore.

It's Over: The Fat Lady Sings for the Yankees in Texas

Article first published as It's Over: The Fat Lady Sings for the Yankees in Texas on Blogcritics.

Okay, I'm not going to lie about it. I took a little pleasure in turning on the TV the other night and seeing that the New York Yankees were down 5-1 to the Texas Rangers in the sixth game of the American League Championship Series. Oh, come on, you could say, you're a New Yorker and you want those Texas boys beating your Yankees? Hey, they aren't "my" Yankees and never will be. When Texas beat them, why wouldn't I be happy about it?

When manager Joe Girardi sent Mariano Rivera out to pitch the bottom of the eighth, you knew he knew it was over. This doesn't mean that the Fat Lady is singing just about this championship series, but the whole Yankee era of Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and the ghosts of Paul O'Neill and Bernie Williams and all those other Yankees who played for Joe Torre along with them. After this year and this loss, things will never be the same.

After the game Girardi said something about it not being easy to see the other team celebrating after a loss in a postseason series. Well, it only reminds me of Jeter and company celebrating at Shea back in 2000 when they beat my Mets. We Met fans all had to suffer through seeing that one, on our sacred ground no less, where Seaver, Agee, Jones, McGraw and all the rest played and won two World Series titles in 1969 and 1986. It was hard to see the Yankees whooping it up back then, so it felt great to see Jeter staring out at the field in something like disbelief. Keep looking Derek, because you're 36 and probably might never see another World Series ring.

One thing this series taught me is that all the king's money and all the king's men couldn't put the Yankees back together again. The highest paid team in baseball couldn't hit Texas pitching. Beside Robinson Cano (who had four homers in this series against the Rangers), the Yankees looked like guys I see up at the park hitting those softballs into the dirt. A-Rod hit a buck ninety and had no dingers. Swisher did a lot of swishing (struck out seven times), and the pitchers might as well have been soft tossing those big softballs the way Texas was whacking the ball (the Yankees staff ended with a 6.58 ERA in the six games).

I'm sorry to have to say it, but the Yankees actually got lucky in this series. They almost got swept. If they hadn't come back and won that first game, it would have been a clean sweep. Yankee announcer - and bloviator par excellence - Michael Kay pronounced the series "over" after the Yankees came back and won the first game. Can you believe that guy? Hey, Michael, what do you have to say about that now? And how about the most annoying announcer in baseball, the Yankees' John Sterling? Could he maybe do a prolonged "The...Yankees...lose; The...Yankees...lose" just to make every Mets fan's day?

So, yes I know we Mets fans have to wait until next year. I know we didn't even make the playoffs and lost 83 games. I know, I know, I know, but guess what? Yankees fans have to wait until next year too, and some of the Yankees players will have to wait forever.

This winter Andy Pettite is probably going to talk about retirement as many times as Brett Favre, and Jeter needs a new contract. A-Rod is starting to act his age without the joy juice flowing through his veins, and Mariano Rivera, now 40 years old, just might be feeling the years as well. Posado will be seeing a lot more DH next year or perhaps not catch at all, and the team has to be thinking free agent outfielder sooner or later. Swisher better take a good look around while cleaning out his locker; the trade winds are in the air.

Will the Yankees make a run for Cliff Lee? Uh, I can hear the Steinbrenner brothers unlocking the family safe as I type this thing. The Yankees need pitching, they need hitting, and they need something that my guys across the river have in abundance: humility; but waiting for the Yankees to lose that inherent arrogance is like waiting for a train in the New York City subway system. You hope it is coming but you have no idea when it will get there or if it will even stop when it does.

I'm betting on Texas over the Giants in six games. Cliff Lee, best pitcher in the universe, will lead the way. Will he be in pinstripes next year? Yankees players and fans will be wondering that as they watch the Series on TV. Keep dreaming, Yankees fans. The Mets fans and players will be watching too, and maybe the Wilpons will finally open their own safe, drag out some of that cash that Bernie Madoff didn't swipe, and give the Yankees a run for their money for Lee.

The way things are it will be a long and cold winter for Mets and Yankees fans, and by Christmas the thought off Cliff Lee in either uniform might be better than sugar plums dancing in their heads, but don't bet on Lee having to get himself a MetroCard. If he goes on to win the whole enchilada with Texas, the Rangers' owner Nolan Ryan could find the money and incentives to keep Lee in the Lone Star State for a long time, and that just might make Texas the new sheriff in the American League. Yippee ki-yay, Yankee fans.