Just what we needed.

The Mets won today against the Orioles 11-4. Here is what you missed had you been watching... soccer.

Mike Pelfrey won his ninth game this season which is good for second in the majors. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings on 9 hits. The reason this is so amazing is because Pelfrey was far from having his best stuff. He couldn't hit spots, his curveball didn't break, and his fastball was below his top speed. In the past, that combination would have led to an early exit and far more runs. At points it looked as though the day was turning to that. However, Pelf limited the damage and didn't relinquish the large lead he was given (5 runs in the first).

That was pitching. Hitting wise, well that's a different story. Chris Carter hit his first homerun of his career two nights ago, and hit his second three run homerun today in the first. Looks like DH is his spot. Bay finally broke out of an 0-17 slump, and had four hits, including his first road homer since September. David Wright hit two homeruns for his 12th career multi dinger game. Alex Cora added to the fun with 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Every single Met in the starting lineup had a hit.

So in recap, the Mets did to the O's exactly what everyone should have expected. However, this is bigger than it seems. Part of what plagued the Mets last year and the year before was them playing down to opponents. They wouldn't beat the teams they should, and would only play hard when the team they played was better. The Mets came in and handled the O's for their first road sweep since '08. THis is what they need to do against the Indians this week. The Mets moved to 11-18 on the road, and with a sweep could move to 14-18 on the road, which is a respectable road record. The Mets could then go into Yankee Stadium on a roll, and hope win the subway series for the year.

It'll be fun to watch as the Mets go to another hitter's park in Cleveland. Maybe they can get Johan some run support Tuesday.

Random Thoughts 2

- The Mets have pulled within a game and a half of the Braves and have overtaken the Phillies in the stands. Here's to pushing the Phallin Phils moniker.

- I was looking at something that in a way saddens me. Back when the A's had the big three of Mulder, Hudson, and Zito, it seemed that those three would be the best trio in recent years. They were a lights out group that made the A's a contender. Then they started parting ways in a reminiscence of Billy Beane's Money Ball days, and each of them, while showing signs of possible success, still haven't matched their careers there. Here's to hoping that the era of home grown players is back, and here to stay.

- The Mets were looking at Millwood as a possible replacement. In his last three starts, including today's game against the Mets which he went 5.1 innings while giving up 8 earned runs, is 0-3 and has an ERA of 10.80. Some can be contributed for pitching for a non contender, but Millwood is 35, and is far removed from his great years of pitching. The Mets have 2 front line starters, a young hot hand (Niese), and two serviceable back of the rotation starters. I say keep it as is, and see if you can add some relievers and another bat, most likely at second base. If you can get a top tier starter like a Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt, then thye should make a play, but adding another second tier starter is just keeping the same problems.

-Is there any better feeling then baseball season. As it starts getting closer to the all-star break when playoff races start mattering, it only gets better.

-Speaking of all stars, I am pleased to tell you that Jimmy Rollins is no longer the leading vote getter in the all star game (despite Phillies fan's best efforts). However, Polanco is still the leading vote getter at third even though he is not close to leading third basemen in any category.

A brewskie for your thoughts

So as I stood in a sports bar last night, mulling over which beer I would like, I glanced over at the TV. The Mets post game was on so I figured I'd leave the conversation I was in, and take some time to see how the game turned out. The bar was far too loud to hear anything, and there was no captions, but I decided to try to pick apart the broadcast by myself, and this is what I came up with:

First, the Mets handed the O's a 5-1 loss, as Dickey pitched his way to seven innings of one run ball and cruised through the O's lineup as many have before him. Chris Carter hit his first career home run, and cashed in three runs, I couldn't help but wipe a tear from my eye. Of course, that might have been because my Corona came and I squeezed the lime in my eye.

The next thing I noticed was something that I could hardly say was unexpected. The two soccer scores from the day went by on the screen. 0-0 was the first one, and coming in with an extremely exciting game (sarcasm), South Africa tied Mexico with a whopping score of 1-1 ... Two ties, on the world's biggest stage. In 160 some odd minutes combined, the teams managed to score 2 goals. Let me tell you why I hate soccer. First off.... wait wait, I already did this post.

Anyways, this is all I got to notice before I got distracted from the TV because one of my favorite songs was on.

What to watch on TV:

Mets plays the second game of the series vs. the Orioles.

There's some soccer stuff on TV, America's playing, but really who cares?

But if you want an alternative to soccer, you could always bang your head on a table for 80 minutes. I'd imagine it's the same thing.

Soccer?

So every four years the World Cup strikes the world with excitement, and I'm force fed reasons why soccer is going to be interesting this time of year. I'm told that the competition is fierce, that the US team finally has a chance to win this year, that kicking a ball is a lot more efficient than picking it up, throwing it, and catching it. I try to give it a shot, but with every time I watch, the old cliches about why I despise it so come about.

First, is the low scoring. It has been every Americans complaint for as long as this great country existed. That's right, the Revolutionary War was fought not only for independence, but to make sure soccer never ever crossed the pond. How can I enjoy a sport when I read the "box score," and every single player has a zero in the goal column next to their name. What do they keep track of? Passes, how many times they run from one line to another (you know Ronaldinho is an all-star line runner)? I'm not arguing that all sports are about statistics. Well actually, they are about statistics. Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, Peyton Manning, David Beckham. One of these things is not like the others. From what I'm told, there is a sort of elegance in the skill it takes to put one in the net in soccer. Since I've been watching sports, elegance has never once been a word I've used to describe it. I'll solve soccer's problems in a few easy steps. Step one: pick up ball. Step two: that's it. This way, then you can throw it into the monstrosity they call a net.

My least favorite part about the sport. Injuries and injury time. It seems every single minute of the excruciating time some guy is falling down because the wind accidentally brushed "elegantly" by him. I swear, these guys fake more injuries, than David Hasselhoff fakes sanity. In America, when a player is even thought of faking an injury, they are not only looked down upon, but their career is tainted to the point where his toughness is constantly brought into question. In the rest of the world, it is not only tolerated, but expected. How can I like a sport that I can't even respect the players in. Which brings me to injury time. From what I've gathered, this is time added to the game at the end, because it was stopped due to injury. That's right, this clock doesn't stop, ever. Yet, when Johnny falls over because he hurt his little toe, we have to add 12.3 more seconds to what is already an eternity. So to soccer fans, injuries are strategic. Ha, what a joke.

These are two reasons of what could be a list of annoyances about this sport, and yet for the next few weeks, my head will be bashed and beaten by analysts explaining why I should watch this dreadful sport. Give it time before I find a way to make my television lose the ability to go to ESPN for the next few weeks. Just the thought gives me a headache. I now understand why Houligans are the way they are. To watch this sport day in and day out, I'd have to get liquored up just to make it past pregame (do they have pregame?). Then I'd have to punch the guy in the head next to me just to see any semblance of action. So soccer, no thank you, and stay out of my country. It's what my fore fathers would have wanted.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo.com

Almost Perfect

Youth is sometimes looked down upon in sports. Many times a young player's rawness and sometimes carelessness is attributed to their young age, and nothing more. Sometimes youth however, is your closest friend. Jon Niese, a 23 year old pitcher for the Mets, pitched one hell of a complete game, and won the night cap by a score of 3-0. This, however, was no normal shutout. Aside from a double leading off the third by Adrian Brody, um, I mean Chris Denorfia, Neise saw 27 batters, and sat down 27 batters. This after the Mets last 22 batters were retired in the first game.

It was hardly an offensive day in the ball park, but Niese gave a performance to remember. The kid pitched his heart out. Jon struck out 6, but even his pitching line doesn't do his performance justice. He baffled the Padres, and made it look easy for nine innings. You can't help but feel good for the kid, and you can't help but be optimistic for the future performance of the team this year and beyond. The Mets have been around since 1962, and since then, have pitched 23 one hitters, however, have zero no hitters, let alone perfect games. The Mets have gone the longest drought without pitching a no-no in the history of the sport. To put it into perspective, the Marlins have been around only since 1993, and already have four no hitters.

That all being said, Niese pitched his heart out, and left this team feeling good as they pack their bags and head to Baltimore and then Cleveland, but let me tell you one thing. After pieing Niese with whipped cream today, and getting Ike a few nights ago, the Mets are running out of dairy products. Maybe they should stock up for the weekend.

Coming within the next day or two, I will be writing an article about the "new look" Mets, which will touch on the new feel of the Mets, along with touching on the youth movement again.

Photo Courtesy of newyork.mets.mlb.com