Whose Morning Was Worse? Ivanovich Or The Yankees?

The top ladies' seeds kept falling on Friday at Wimbledon leading possibly to the only match-up that would make me truly not give a damn: Venus vs. Serena. Granted, Jelena Jankovic is the highest remaining seed (2), but with the Williams sisters both playing very, very well, and with one on either side of the draw, things are shaping up to be an all men's Ladies' Final.

On Friday top seed Ana Ivanovich looked just as terrible as Maria Sharapova did when she got destroyed on Thursday. But at least Sharapova lost to someone I had heard of! Considering how badly Ivanovich struggled in her second round match against a relative unknown, and then how terribly she played Friday, she was apparently not too comfortable with the #1 target painted on her back!

The NBA Draft was Thursday night and every single team drafted at least one player with "tremendous upside," which is nice. Actually Atlanta didn't because they had already traded away both of their picks. Some teams, like the Clippers, Celtics, Pistons, were lucky enough to draft three guys with "tremendous upside."

The strangest pick of course was the Lakers at #58 who drafted Joe Crawford. I am not sure about this, but I believe this is the same Joey Crawford who is a long-time NBA referee (and noted technical foul giver and television time hogger). I was not aware that drafting refs was legal, but kudos to Mitch Kupchak for finding this little loophole. Now Crawford will not only clearly be on the Lakers' payroll while at home, but on the road as well!

So Pacman Jones is upset with the world for not allowing him to have a second chance (or seventh, as it well). He wants everyone to call him Adam Jones - his real name. Last I checked, his jersey has always read "P. Jones" and the dude has been arrested six times since joining the NFL. I think I speak for everyone when I say, show me you've changed before getting pissed at me for not noticing you've changed, Pacman. Pacman, Pacman, Pacman.

Floyd Landis' arbitration ruling is set to be released on Monday. This will be his last chance to officially clear his name and claim his 2006 Tour de France win. I am a big fan of cycling, and I watched every second of that Tour, and I have read every word of the case against him and the case for him (yes, even the famed slide show presentation). That guy is innocent. I don't care what the test showed on the day he pulled off the greatest turnaround in sports history. The test the day before showed nothing. The test the day after showed nothing, and what Landis is alleged to have done would still show up long after the initial day he allegedly did it. It also would have had no physiological benefit had he done it the morning of a race (it is a long term technique that had not long term presence in his body according to multiple tests).

And finally, the Mets played at Yankee Stadium today as a makeup for a rain-out in a series last month. That Mets won the other two games of the series and they won today, officially completing the sweep. They also scored 15 runs today, with Carlos Delgado (9), Carlos Beltran (3) and David Wright (3) accounting for all 15 runs batted in. It will be a lot less sweet if the Mets do not win Game 2 of the double-header that is being played across town at Shea this evening, but either way - this is the last time the Mets will ever play at that rathole, Yankee Stadium. Way to send it out in style.

Not Just Like Old Times For Mets (Thank God)

I read an article today about how Hank Steinbrenner wants the Yankees to play harder. Having watched them lose to the Rays in 11 on Tuesday, and then watched the Rays celebrate taking over first place like they'd won the pennant, he was frustrated that his (now sub-.500) team wasn't that emotional. Maybe he should pay them more. Or less, what do the Rays' make? $20 an hour? They were celebrating after the game because it went to extra innings and they got an extra $20!

Another article talked of how the Mets need to be jumping all over crappy teams like the Reds and Nats (3-2 in the last five games against those two) to prove that last year's collapse was an anomaly. While that is true, I think winning 95 games and making the postseason is enough pressure, let alone the fact that they are allegedly the NL favorite. I don't think dumping the added weight of last year's collapse is a good thing. It happened. It doesn't affect tonight's game...go win.

Thankfully, they are doing some things that Mets teams of late have been unable to. For instance, after Roger Clemens earholed Mike Piazza and Jay Payton in 2000, the team did not respond. Later that year in the World Series, Clemens went on a (alleged) steroid induced rage and threw a broken bat at Piazza. The Mets did not respond and Clemens threw an 8-inning gem (though the Mets scored 5 in the ninth to lose 6-5). Two years later, Clemens came to bat for the first time against the Mets. It was all over the news: will the Mets plunk him? Shawn Estes was the starter that day and the bastard missed.

It was one of the more embarrassing moments for me as a fan. All that built up frustration with at (alleged) cheater and Estes (who wasn't on the Mets in 2000) missed. Yesterday, a day after a Mets pitcher felt he was disrespected by the Nationals' bench, John Maine opened the game with a first pitch fastball right and plunked the Nationals' lead-off man. That's how it's done. There were no other distractions for the rest of the game and everyone knew where they stood.

In related news, the day after Nelson Figueroa called out the Nationals, calling them a bunch of cheerleaders, he was let go by the Mets. I think it had to do more with his pitching than his mouth, but you can't help but wonder. Kris Benson's wife was an embarrassment and he got canned. Lastings Milledge's "music" was an embarrassment and he got canned. I don't think what Fig said was all that bad but he was dumped a day later.

Players who try to hit through a defensive shift make me so mad. Carlos Delgado gets the lefty-shift nearly every time at bat and he just swings away. This is a guy who is a 3-time Silver Slugger award winner - he is good with the bat. But he just tries to power through the defense despite that the entire left side of the field is wide open.

Why not bunt to third? Sure, Delgado is paid for power. But he is also paid to get on base, score runs and win ballgames. If he bunts every time they put the shift on, two things will happen: he will have an on-base percentage of 1.000, and they will stop shifting. Which will allow him to swing away and find twice as many holes on the right side of the field.

Yesterday, he had a bunt single in the second inning. The inning resulted in the Mets' first run.

Does John Maine plunking a guy, and Carlos Delgado laying down a bunt mean they're over the funk of the last 10 months? Who knows? If they lose tonight 10-1, yesterday's win is wiped out, but if they are playing smart and with heart, it will be a win in the long-run. Hank Steinbrenner is a jerk, but he is right. The Yankees (like the Mets) are coasting and with what they are being paid and how they are playing, maybe they deserve to be told off by their owners and mocked by opponents.

Interestingly, Shawn Estes pitched yesterday for the first time in two years. And another crappy Mets' pitcher from that era who ruined my life, Armando Benitez, also made his first appearance in some time last night. The years have not made Benitez wiser however, and he gave up a home run to his first batter on a fastball. He should get a movie deal because that dude can act though. Every time his fastball gets turned into a souvenir, he spins around shocked as though he never could have imagined that it could have happened.