Here We Go

Hope you all found your way here okay.

If I didn’t leave enough bread crumbs, that’s my fault.  The pesky birds that were shooed away from Citi Field ate them all.

So are you diggin’ the new digs?  I’m diggin’ them almost as much as I’m diggin’ the fact that the Mets have won 9 out of 10 games after the first doubleheader sweep of the L.A. Dodgers since 1971, and the subsequent afternoon game (garbage day at Citi, if you look at the picture). Sure it’s better to click in September than April, but it’s also better to click in April than “not at all”, which I believe was the Mets 2009 slogan (that, or “Surgery’s on Thursday”.  I’m not sure.)

With Jason Bay breaking out of his slump, hitting home runs and making diving catches, David Wright finally getting a big hit (his 1,000th career) along with a three run triple to put game 2 away, Johan Santana throwing gritty, gutty, shutout ball, and Ike Davis being: “The Stimulus” in helping this team to the position of (gasp) first place in the N.L. East, I ask you, what’s not to like about the New York Mets?

Oh, I forgot.  We still have Oliver Perez.

“Here we go” isn’t just the title to my first blog post here on the Bloguin Network (who not only set up this whole site, but actually got the folks at Carvel to paint a likeness of Doug Sisk on my “Welcome to the Network” ice cream cake … you really shouldn’t have, guys), but it’s the three words I think every time that It’s good, in a way, that Oliver went three and two-thirds on Tuesday night and left the game to a chorus of boos.  Mainly because I was scared that Mets fans forgot how to boo during this recent hot streak.  Well that, and Hisanori Takahashi (save for a bases loaded walk) came in and saved the day for Ollie again, and was a conduit in driving James Loney completely crazy by striking him out on a pitch that was ball four.  The only reserevation I have about saying that Takahashi should replace Perez in the rotation is that the Mets might need him to replace John Maine in the rotation.

The good part for Maine on Wednesday is that with the Dodgers not only playing sloppy baseball, but having to fly back to the west coast after the afternoon game, he faced a team that seemed more interested in their plane ride home than they were in turning Maine into the pumpkin that he’s been so far this season.  It’s the kind of break that has been an undercurrent in this recent hot streak.  The Cubs played sloppy baseball.  The Braves played the kind of ball that I haven’t seen them play since Bob Horner was wearing the baby blue style uniform and celebrating each home run with a hot dog or five.  And the Dodgers seem to have their own problems.  But even with the Dodgers mailing it in, this could be the kind of outing that could give Maine some confidence, and something that he could like about himself going forward.

Make no mistake, the Mets had to have done just enough to put them in a position to take advantage of the National League’s follies, and they did that.  They’re getting pitching, the bats have finally been unpacked from Port St. Lucie, and what better time to have rudders on the ship than now, where the first true litmus test of the season arrives courtesy of the Philadelphia Phillies.  For those who are familiar with my rants, I’m gonna go all broken record on you.  But with Kyle Kendrick struggling, and Jamie Moyer turning 83 this weekend, this seems to be an opportunity for the Mets to take advantage of a couple of struggling pitchers and win a series against the Phillies.  But every time I say that, the Mets stop hitting, Johan Santana gets beat in a 2-1 game, and the Mets get swept.  So maybe I should keep my big mouth shut.  But to me, the key will be the first game where Jon Niese faces Kendrick.  If the Mets can beat Kendrick, then they would have a strong chance to split the next two and win the series with Santana facing Moyer in the third game.  Winning the Mike Pelfrey/Roy Halladay Saturday extravaganza would be mere icing on the cake.  But this is a chance for the Mets to … and I hope that the supernatural powers that exist will forgive me for using a hackneyed cliche, but … make a statement.  It’s the kind of statement that wouldn’t have an exclamation point near the end.  I’d settle for a period.

Here we go, in more ways than one.