I Hope You're Happy, Joel Sherman

Gee, here I was about to write that Jose Reyes needed to step it up after his vote of confidence from Omar, who refuses to deal him for Johan Santana, when I heard today's big news.

I'm just pleased as punch that the Mets were able to foist the bubonic plague known as Lastings Milledge on the Washington Nationals today for a Right-wing Christian and a .230 hitter. That was, for sure, a move that desperately needed to be made.

It baffles me, quite honestly. I know this all comes back to the Media in New York, which made this poor kid a pariah because he sang a rap song and high-fived some fans because he was excited over hitting a Home Run, and he showboated a little bit, and was a young, exciting ballplayer. God Forbid the Mets should have someone like that on their team. My feelings on the Mets' stance on Milledge have already been well documented, and their stance on other such "boat-rockers" as LoDuca has already reared its head this off-season, and now it's culminated with Lastings finally being driven out of town.

In his stead, the Mets have brought in a catcher, who is good defensively but cannot hit the broad side of a barn, to go along with the other two catchers they already have. I guess this is the opposite of Art Howe's logic, when he claimed that you can't have too much pitching; now you can't have too much catching. So the Mets can now lose games 2-1 instead of 3-1 because Schneider will keep that extra run off the board, but he's still going to go 0 for 4.

Moreover, the Mets have brought in a guy who, despite putting up some decent offensive numbers, really boils down to a younger Shawn Green, except that he hits closer to the 35-year old Green than the 29-year old Green. But then again, Green is a heathen, headed for eternal damnation.

But at least he's not rapping about it.

I sincerely hope that this happened simply because there was no market for Milledge, and that this was Omar's precursor for dealing one or two or some combination of several of these spare parts for something decent. Otherwise, the Mets have just screwed themselves even further by dealing away the guy who was best suited to take over the Right Field job full time in '08. I don't know. Maybe if Milledge's star has fallen that much, this really was the best Omar could get for him. Maybe he's not going to develop and Church's numbers will end up equaling his. But right now, I can't figure this one out. I'm baffled right now.

Lastings Effect

With all the negatives going on with the Mets, many of which I brought up in my post yesterday, I felt it appropriate to offer a solution to some of these problems.

Lastings Milledge needs to play. And Lastings needs to play every day, starting in Right Field instead of Shawn Green.

Milledge isn't going to light the world on fire, and he certainly won't be perfect. We can expect flashes of brilliance and flashes of youth, as we are apt to see from 22-year old Outfielders.

It's a bit shameful that the job isn't Milledge's outright. I know that Green is the established veteran, but right now, Green is hitting .272 with 8 HRs and 32 RBIs, numbers not acceptable from a corner OF position (unless said corner OF is Benny Agbayani). There seems to be this unfounded dislike for Milledge within the Mets system, of course it all goes back to questions of his character when they drafted him, and continued to fester during the "Know your place, Rook!" incident last year, and his Rap record this year, but it's gotten to the point where Willie's criticism of Milledge borders on hypocritical favoritism. It's OK for Delgado and Reyes to do their Home Run dances in front of the dugout. But Milledge? Oh Noooooooo! God forbid we should have a player who reacts with joy and zeal (not Zeile) because he appears to be genuinely excited to simply be in the Major Leagues, let alone providing some sparks to a mostly dead lineup (other than Reyes). Let's use our veteran guys, who either creak around the outfield, or aren't even outfielders to begin with, Willie thinks.

Whether or not it's true, all this negativity focused on Milledge makes me believe that they're more than likely to trade him before long, which it is clear that this would be a) Totally against public opinion, and b) A gigantic Mistake.

Even buried in the 8 hole in the Batting Order, Milledge has been able to affect some change, and his hustling play has led the Mets to victories. Remember that game against Cincinnati, his first game back? How he dashed from first to home on Gotay's bloop hit? You think Green can do that? How about Beltran? Marlon Anderson? Nope, probably not.

Of course, Milledge scored the winning run and got criticized by his Manager for the slide into home plate.

Memo to Willie: It's time to shut up and play this kid. Stop complaining about the "attitude." He's going to be a spark, and what's the point of having him here if you're just going to let him sit on the bench and pinch hit? The fans want him. The fate of the entire season is probably at stake.

Play Lastings Everyday. Starting Now.

Hello Goodbye

The Mets Midseason Makeover continued late Thursday afternoon when, mercifully, Julio Franco was Designated for Assignment and Lastings Milledge was recalled. I'll admit I was a little surprised by the move, but I can't imagine anyone was especially upset by it, especially given that the only true outfielders existing on the Mets roster were Beltran, Green and Ricky Ledee (and I wasn't looking forward to seeing David Newhan in left).

It was a half-Ballclub appearance at Shea last night, for Milledge's return, a taut, albeit rather unexciting, 3-2 win against a miserable Cincinnati Reds team led by wiry righthander Bronson "Don't call me Brandon" Arroyo and a melange of relief pitchers you've never heard of (Marcus McBeth? Jon Coutlangus? Jared Burton? I half expected them to trot Josias Manzanillo in). Yes, we were treated to a bit of history with Reyes and Gotay kicking things off with back-to-back HRs (and the first time in 46 seasons that the Mets have had leadoff Back-to-back HRs), but it was Milledge who provided the thrill of the night. After he was robbed by Encarnacion after scorching a liner to 3rd in his first AB, Milledge led off the 5th with another frozen rope to right for his first hit of the season. He nearly got picked off by Arroyo, but after El Duque tried to throw his bat at the ball on a sacrifice attempt and Reyes flied to left, Milledge was still on first, but running as Gotay hit a sinking liner to center. Ryan Freel (Gin blossom drunk) dove for the ball, but only trapped it, then rolled over it, although to anyone watching, you couldn't tell whether or not he'd caught the ball until he'd fully tumbled. But it didn't matter. Milledge was running full bore, around third, as Freel uncorked a rather wimpy throw home that seemed to arrive just in time, but Milledge just snuck his hand around David Ross (and his .194 BA)'s tag, scoring what would be the winning run of the game.

Instant impact and a spark. Sometimes it's the little changes that make the difference. And a hell of a lot better than showing up for Ricky Ledee in left.

Other notes: Mike Stanton (affectionately referred to as "Dumpty" by a Yankee fan College colleague of El Guapo and myself, a companion to Jeff Nelson's "Humpty," the Yankee bullpen combo of a bygone era) entered into the game in the 8th, and was neither accompanied by his reactionary right-wing country music nor a giant American flag on the scoreboard, nor was he announced into the game by PA man Alex Anthony. Perhaps because of the warm reception he would undoubtedly have received. Most people didn't seem to realize he was in the game, perhaps because outside of him and Weathers, you wouldn't have any idea who any of the Reds relievers were.

Of larger importance, mostly to us Subway riding Mets fans living in Western Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, we all have reason to rejoyce! Finally, FINALLY, the MTA has relented to the complaints of riders and added Express service to Manhattan on the 7 train after the game. This is wonderful, ground-breaking news that deserves special mention and mild celebration. Yes, it is only for one hour after the game, and yes, it will be crowded. But it is a 15 minute ride from Grand Central to Shea, and I am looking forward to my ride home on the Subway of Mirth to be much shorter from here on out.

Now, will this continue once Citi Field opens? This, we shall see...

Word to Daily News: Stop Snitching

If this leads to a knee-jerk trade of Milledge (let's call that move the "Anna Benson") then I'm going to burn down Shea Stadium, or at least take Omar Minaya off my Christmas card list. Do you hear me, Omar? It's an effing rap song. Let it go.

And while we're at this, fuck the Daily News for running with this like it's an actual story. Any other city in the nation and this is nothing. Anyway, I'm too angry to blog coherently and nothing's even happened yet. I hope we won't have to revisit this, but we'll see.

I'm so angry, I'm stealing their bandwith to post this photo. Take that, Daily News:

Lastings's latest bad rap [Daily News]

Let's Hope That "Place" is Right Field

Lastings Milledge reported to Mets camp the other day, an event that's surprisingly significant given that Milledge is considered one of the team's top prospects. Significant because trade talk has swirled around Milledge for months now, spurred on by the perception of Milledge as a potential troublemaker. For all his talent, talk keeps seeping out about his "feel for the game" and whether he knew "his place" as a rookie last year (a teammate slapped a note reading "Know your place, rook" above his locker late last season; I'll bet you a thousand dollars it was Paul LoDuca).


At 21, he might be better served starting the year in Triple-A for purely baseball-related reasons, but I wonder about what effect his problematic rookie campaign will have on that decision, and about what this kind of thing reflects about baseball.

Let's be frank about our favorite sport here. Baseball is not an institution that has ever tolerated flashes of individual style to the extent that, say, the NBA has. There have been plenty of guys with flair to spare, but they always seem to get cast in the bad guy role, a la Rickey Henderson. It's a tricky point I'm trying to make. After all, showboating doesn't really serve any purpose other than to show up opponents, and often gets in the way of making plays. Even in basketball or football, the line sometimes gets blurry between the guys who marshall their style in the service of competitiveness and playmaking and those who seem not to be especially interested in their team or the game they're playing.

Milledge, if he succeeds, has a chance to be something baseball doesn't see much of: a five-tool player with style and attitude who doesn't get tagged with the hot-dog or loafer stigmas. He could be the ultimate Ballclub Player, the embodiment of style, swagger, talent, and on-field intelligence (I'm trying to think of a suitable baseball equivalent to basketball's "court sense"). I'm waiting to see not only if Lastings can pull it off, and you have no idea how much I'm rooting for him, but also how the league reacts. Will it accept a player like that? This is a league of gamers and grinders, where the David Ecksteins are celebrated, along with guys like our own LoDuca. This is a league that's too often threatened by cornrows unless they're being worn by Bronson Arroyo.


According to this Times article, Lastings is impressing the veterans and "saying all the right things." I just wonder about his future in a league so obsessed with appeasing vets and making sure everyone says the right thing.

Milledge Looks to Rein in Free Spirit but Retain Flair [New York Times]