Now we're talkin...

Maybe Omar is reading.

Whatever it is, the Mets have won seven in a row and are within 1.5 games of first place in the NL East. And what's more, the Phillies aren't playing half bad. I just picked up this week's edition of ESPN the magazine and found a quip in there from Buster Olney that said that the Mets won't make the playoffs and he suggested that Manaya would be fired. I knew there was something I didn't like about that guy. First, I thought it was just because he's a Peter Gammons wannabe. But that's hardly it. Gammons would never stoop to a satirical gig with the mag. My Daily Tar Heel brethren is better than that.

Olney, meanwhile, is the same guy with such outlandish projections as the Mariners winning the West, the Indians winning the World Series ... and something else that was equally stupid, but I can't recall exactly what it was, so just take my word for it.

But with patron saint Pedro due up tomorrow and born-again Mike Pelfrey to follow, the Amazin's might just close out the first half atop the division despite such a rough start. And while the "experts" say that the Mets don't have what it takes to land Rockies OF Matt Holliday (Tim Kurkjian says that they don't have enough in the farm system and they'll have to deal either Jose Reyes or David Wright?!?!), I think otherwise. They've got Ryan Church, Mike Pelfrey, Fernando Martinez and Jonathan Niese, all of whom I could see being expendable. And the Mets have an absolute stockpile of young, explosive arms in the system. That's how it has always been. What used to be Isringhausen, Pulsipher, Wilson, Kazmir, Pelfrey, Maine, etc. are now names like Rustich, 22, Kunz, 21, Moviel and Vineyard, both 19.

So in short, this is where things get interesting.

Maybe it was a blessing...

that there wasn't any baseball on. Or at least the Mets. I'm starting to seriously wonder why God didn't make me a Rays fan. I mean, I've been rooting for a losing team most of my life, so that couldn't have been what stopped me when the Devil Rays joined the MLB. I chastise the bandwagon fan as much as anyone I know, though, so there's no way I can justify jumping on. But I REALLY want to. And it's even somewhat justified, if not inevitable, that I do. Take Rays ace Scott Kazmir, for instance. Guess where he came from? Yep. The good ol' Mets.

But hey, at least we got Zambrano in return. No, not Carlos, Victor. Don't even know who that is? Exactly. Thanks Steve Phillips - for being the biggest moron since Bud Selig.

Then there's B.J. Upton. I grew up near Norfolk, Va. home to the Mets' AAA team, the Tides, for 38 years. Norfolk is also home to Upton, who was Tampa's No. 1 pick in 2002, as well as the second baseman for both of my fantasy teams.

And of course Chapel Hill, where I go to school, is Durham's neighbor. Durham being the Rays AAA affiliate. I actually just took in my first Bulls game on Tuesday. The experience was awesome, and another outside influence on my sudden desire to hope on board. That, and Evan Longoria played there, but left in a flash ... before I got to go see him.

So basically what I'm trying to say is that if the Mets send Santana to the hill and he allows two earned in eight innings, and the guy he's pitching against (some stiff named J.A. Happ) is making the second start of his CAREER, and tosses 96 pitches in 4.2 innings, THEN let Chad freakin' Durbin fan six of the seven batters he faces ...

Nevermind. Sorry for the run-on. I know it makes you cringe, as it does me. But it's for the effect.

Back to what I'm trying to say: the Mets suck. If I were Johan, I'd asking for a trade to anywhere from Pittsburgh to Paris to Palestine. But I know one thing: if he goes to Tampa, I'm going too.

Fourth of July ... or December?

I was just wondering. Because the Weather Channel says it's 90 degrees outside. The History Channel has the entire history of the United States marathon. HBO On Demand? Born on the Fourth of July. The Patriot is on Cinemax On Demand. But while every baseball fan worth his salt knows that the first pitch at Yankee Stadium was just tossed, beginning a series with the Red Sox, ESPN is treating us to the 2008 Nathan's National Hot Dog Eating Contest. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't need to dip and devour 59 beef franks to feel the nausea. In fact, according to MLB.com, there isn't a single baseball game on cable television today. Cubs vs. Cardinals? Nope. Mets vs. Phillies? Un uh. Hell, I'd go for the Blue Jays vs. Angels ... no chance. Baseball, like the country that fathered it, is supposed to be a game of the people, by the people and for the people. The latter, like just about everything else in this country unfortunately, must be well-funded. So put a $4.10 gallon of gas in your tank, ride to the store and get yourself a six dollar pack of hot dogs and emulate the new binge eating heroes of the nation. I'm gonna stick to the History Channel. At least there I get the privilege of a come-from-behind win.

God bless America.

Let's go Mets!

Quietly they're starting to settle in. Carlos Delgado has been hitting again and Carlos Beltran hasn't gotten hurt yet. I've only felt good about the Mets for about a week now, but hey, a week is better than nothin'. Since the NL East sucks, the Amazin's are hardly out of the picture and who knows, maybe we'll get C.C. Sabathia too! All jokes aside, at least the Mets are setting the stage for a run after the Break. I just wish they'd stuck it out with Willie a little longer...

Feels good to be wrong

I don't know how it happened. I have no idea why Ty Lawson is still a Tar Heel, but hey, I'll take it. There is no argument on the face of the earth that would justify any team other that North Carolina as the preseason favorite to win it all. Honestly, there's really no valid argument that they should lose a single game. We all know that that's a lofty expectation, but on paper the Tar Heels have the deepest, most talented team in the history of college basketball, period.

I'm gonna shut up about hoops for a while, now that my school's future is set and talk about baseball.