I think we're all a bit underwhelmed by our progress so far this winter in building the squad back into contention. It's nice that we plugged a hole in Left Field, vacant since Moises Alou's departure, but the press all remind us of Bay's lack of defense and questions about whether his power numbers will hold up at Citifield.

Well, with all this focus and angst on the pennant race I must confess that it hasn't really sunk in yet that Shea Stadium will soon be gone. I just saw this clip and I must confess to getting a bit teary-eyed over the realization that this home field of mine, where I have felt so much joy and pain over the years, where I was able to join other sufferers in my common obsession, where I have grown from a kid celebrating his birthday to a teenager playing hooky to a twenty-something wondering who all these bandwagon jumpers are, to a grown-up bringing my kids to experience a piece of the same joy that I felt, well, it's all going away.

Hiho! It is the day we have been awaiting for six months. Clean slate. No more hot stove conjecture, no more dwelling on a historic collapse, no more wondering about what kind of team we are going to field. It's here!

I have been thinking about opening day for a few weeks now. It always makes me feel like a kid again, when this whole drama is about to unfold before you and you just can't wait to be take along for the ride. Take me, Mets. Just make it a fun one, OK?

What's the difference between the Phillies' pitching staff and "Kristen" Ashley Dupree?

(Highlight below for answer)
One gets paid thousands of dollars a night to let men score at will in all kinds of interesting ways. The other is a prostitute.

Well it looks like we swapped catchers and right fielders with the Nationals and I have the sinking feeling that they got the better end of the deal. Too bad it had to be a team that we see so much of during the season, and we will be forced to compare Schneider and Church vs. Lo Duca and Milledge repeatedly. Oh yeah, and Acta vs. Randolph. That team is quickly becoming the ex-Mets club, and will have something to prove every time we see them.

So here we are, almost three months since our Metsies flushed our hopes away in apalling fashion and I'm still speechless about it. Rather than spending the offseason wondering how to shore up the powerhouse grip we have on the division we are forced to expend the energy worrying about how we are going to catch not only the Phils, but the Braves as well. Unbelieveable.

But there you have it. What do we do about a team that we all thought was good enough, that despite its weaknesses should have won the division last year? First, the decisions that have already been made:

It's a four game season and the Mets are staked a one game lead. We are facing two of the worst teams in the league and have Pedro on the mound tonight. We follow him with Glavine, Maine and Perez.

I like our odds.

Let's go Mets!

I remember during the trading deadline last season how much man love I had for Willis and how I suggested dealing a Milledge and a Pelfrey for him. I sought him for my pitiful fantasy team early this season as a potential ace of my staff and was willing to trade Penny (Rob, thanks for rejecting that trade :-)).

Since then he has been steadily descending into a pit of mediocrity.

He is rock bottom in the NL in runs, earned runs, and BAA and bottom 5 in losses, ERA and WHIP. He does have some good fight in him, traditionally pitches well against us (and bats well against us too - do I recall a grand slam last season) and seems to relish the role of the spoiler. The Marlins rearranged their rotation specifically to have D-train face us tonight.

Well, that's more like it. A lot of us had practically left this team for dead four days ago but they are now putting on a display of exceptional baseball. Lets hope it lasts for a few more games - a monster streak to start the month of September would be most welcome.

Let's say you had a veteran on your team who is batting .307 against righties but has been struggling against lefties. Though everyone agrees he is a great clubhouse presence, his power numbers are way down (though he is still a threat to hit a dinger once in awhile). He eats up certain pitchers - pitchers that we happen to face quite a bit this season. He brings speed to the lineup and has stolen a few bases.