On August 30th, after the Mets got swept by the Phillies and had their division lead shrink from 6 games to 2, I posted The Mets make me sick. After that post the Mets went 9 and 2 including winning 5 of 6 from the Braves, the Phillies went back to playing at their level, and the Mets division lead went right back up to 6 1/2 games.

With the Phillies coming into Shea for 3 games, the Mets could've easily ended the season by winning two or three games. Not. They got swept AGAIN and have proceeded to lose 2 more games (5 straight) while the Phillies won two more (5 straight) and now their division lead is a paltry 1 1/2 games.

My wife, with more neutral objectivity, suggested that perhaps I need to post again. Given what happened after the Mets first sweep I remained calm after the last sweep but in retrospect, if my first "make me sick" post had some kind of karmic affect I am perhaps a couple days late with this. But here goes.

The Mets make me really sick. How could they not win a game against the fakester Phillies? Worse, to give up 21 runs in two games against the Nationals - the lowest scoring team in the league - is simply pathetic. Blowing  4 run leads two games in a row? I don't know if I can watch another game this year.

(Watching the AL East standings also doesn't help. So, fwiw, the Red Sox are making me sick too. )

The title of the book caught my eye when perusing the Philosophy section at Barnes and Noble one day. Based on the flap I thought it would be a fun light read combining an avid interest of mine (baseball) with a more cursory interest (philosophy). The book was actually a little deeper than expected, although the format of the book - a series of independent essays - made it fairly digestible. The essays, in most cases grouped in pairs with each taking an opposing view of a philosophical argument, were all by different writers, and the 4-star rating is an average. Some of the essays were more though-provoking or interesting than others. Overall, it's a great escape for the serious fan from the idiocy of Baseball Tonight.

I figure the best way to more specifically highlight the subject matter would be to just list the table of contents:

Inning 1 Hometown Heroes

Top of the First
1. "There's No Place Like Home!"

Bottom of the First
2. Minnesota's "Homer Hanky Jurisprudence": Contraction, Ethics, and the Twins

Inning 2 You Gotta Believe!

Top of the Second
3. Should Cubs Fans Be Committed? What Bleacher Bums Have to Teach Us about the Nature of Faith

Bottom of the Second
4. Taking One for the Team: Baseball and Sacrifice

Inning 3 The Umpire's New Clothes

Top of the Third
5. There Are No Ties at First Base

Bottom of the Third
6. Taking Umpiring Seriously: How Philosophy Can Help Umpires Make the Right Calls

Inning 4 Fair or Foul?

Top of the Fourth
7. Baseball, Cheating, and Tradition: Would Kant Cork His Bat?
Bottom of the Fourth
8. There's No Lying in Baseball (Wink, Wink)

Inning 5 Baseball and America

Top of the Fifth
9. Democracy and Dissent: Why America Needs Reggie Jackson

Bottom of the Fifth
10. Baseball and the Search for an American Moral Identity

Inning 6 Where Have You Gone, Jackie Robinson?

Top of the Sixth
11. The Negro Leagues and the Contradictions of Social Darwinism

Bottom of the Sixth
12. We're American Too: The Negro Leagues and the Philosophy of Resistance

Inning 7 The Japanese National Pastime?

Top of the Seventh
13. The Zen of Hitting

Bottom of the Seventh
14. Japanese Baseball and Its Warrior Ways?

Inning 8 Behind in the Count

Top of the Eighth
15. The Numbers Game: What Fans Should Know about the Stats They Love
Bottom of the Eighth
16. Women Playing Hardball

Inning 9 Under Pressure

Top of the Ninth
17. Walking Barry Bonds: The Ethics of the Intentional Walk

Bottom of the Ninth
18. Socrates at the Ballpark

Post-Game Press Conference
19. Baseball and Ethics: Should Pete Rose Be in the Hall of Fame?
Yes
No
20. Baseball and Political Philosophy: Does A-Rod Deserve So Much Money?
Yes
No
21. Baseball and Metaphysics: Does Superstition Help Performance?
Yes
No
22. Baseball and Legal Philosophy: Should Steroids Be Banned?
Yes
No
23. Baseball and Aesthetics: What's the Best Baseball Movie?
The Natural (1984)
It Happens Every Spring (1949)
24. Baseball and Education: Were Baseball Players Better Role Models Then or Now?
Then
Now

Here's a good NY Times article about lawsuit between a fantasy sports company and Major League Baseball. I remember the first time MLB tried (and succeeded) taking money out of my own pocket - literally - when they imposed their licensing fees.

Basically, according to MLB, their players don't make enough money so they want to charge the truest fans - fantasy sports players - to use the statistics of the MLB players in fantasy leagues and games. It's greedy and short-sighted, and I hope MLB loses this.

In the 2004 World Series Doug Mientkiewicz, the then Red Sox first baseman, caught the ball for the final historic out....and then didn't let go. He kept it in his glove during the on-the-field celebration and eventually put it in a safe deposit box and claimed ownership. The Red Sox organization feels they are the rightful owner. 

The latest on this year-long fight is that the Red Sox just filed a lawsuit.  In the suit they claim

"The Red Sox continue to assert that their former employee, Mientkiewicz, obtained the baseball through the course of his employment, that he acquired no ownership interest and that the Red Sox are the rightful owners of the baseball," the lawsuit stated.

This seems very logical and if I was a Red Sox fan I'd certainly be fully supportive of the team and not some insignificant role player. But then I got to thinking...I've probably seen, across all sports, hundreds of players ask for a game ball after some individual milestone.  First base hit for example. The Red Sox logic would dictate that the organization, and not the player, could claim right to baseballs symbolic of personal achievements. That's not fair to the player.

The two scenarios above are at pretty opposite ends of the spectrum. But you can easily envision some grayer scenarios. For example, if a pitcher threw a no-hitter he should get the ball. But who should own the baseball from Don Larsen's perfect game in the World Series? What if this perfect game was the clinching game of a World Series for a team that hadn't won the series in 86 years?

Then there's the "every man for himself" issue. Homerun baseballs hit into the stands become the property of the fan lucky or aggressive enough to catch the ball. Had the Red Sox won via a World Series walk-off home run by Johnny Damon that was caught by a fan, they'd be out of luck. If the home run was hit into the winning team's bullpen and some relief pitcher caught it, would the organization then have the right to the ball because the pitcher caught it through his employment?  What if hit into the losing team's bullpen and a player not employed by the winning team caught it? Would the winning team have any rights then?

Mientkiewicz has said he just wants to ensure the baseball is placed someplace the fans can see it, so it isn't like he's being malicious or greedy. (Why he doesn't trust the Red Sox, I don't know.) Regardless, I believe he should concede ownership of this baseball to the Red Sox because it is the right thing to do....but I'm not sure because it should be the legally required thing to do.

During the off-season when the Mets picked up Pedro Martinez and released Al Leiter I had complained. I felt the Mets were wasting money on another washed up free agent, while Leiter, a long-time Met and known quantity would probably win 15 games. I was very wrong. Pedro's having a great year for the Mets...his 2.95 ERA and 190 Ks have him among the lead leaders and his 13-7 record should probably be 18-3 if weren't for the Mets inconsistent offense and their bullpen blowing a bunch of his starts. Leiter, on the other hand was released mid-season by the Marlins.

It is with desperate hope that the same baseball gods that mocked my Martinez/Leiter prediction are listening now when I proclaim the current season over. I know, I know...ya gotta believe. I did believe. Until last night. After a great 9-2 stretch the Mets were within 1/2 game of taking over the wild-card lead. That now seems like 2 months ago. Since then they've lost 10 of 12, mostly to division rivals and are now 5 1/2 games out of the wildcard running. Making matters more insurmountable is the fact that there are four teams above them, most of which will be playing games against each other for the rest of the season. On any given night the Mets can only gain ground on 1/2 of these teams...if they were to start winning.

So, being at the point of the season where losses will no longer upset me, nor wins please me, I figured I'd reflect a little on the past season before turning my focus over to football.

The pleasant surprises:

Pedro - As a National League fan I never really got the chance to watch Pedro pitch. As I wrote before, I thought he'd be washed up and have a year like the Big Unit has had for the Yankees. But not only has he had a great season, he's extremely exciting to watch and has brought some much needed excitement and attitude to the Mets.

David Wright and Jose Reyes: How awesome are these guys? At 22 and 23 years old, these guys will make the Mets exciting for years to come.  Wright, in his first full year is going to lead the Mets in RBIs and Average (currently 21HR, 87 RBI, .314). Reyes will lead the whole league (or be 2nd to Juan Pierre) in triples and stolen bases. Both do well in the clutch. And both are getting better every day.

Cliff Floyd: In one of his first seasons where he stayed healthy all year Floyd is putting up near-MVP numbers (.273, 29HR, 85RBI). The near-MVP would be MVP if it weren't for Beltran batting in front of him.

Roberrto Hernandez - Who would've thought this 40 year-old would be the only bright spot in the Mets bullpen?

Jae Seo - 5 and 0 with a 1.79 ERA in last 6 starts.

Rookies, Bench, and Role Players - Victor Diaz, Ramon Castro, Chris Woodward, Mike Jacobs, Marlon Anderson...no matter who the Mets plugged in, spot started, pinch hit with, they all did great this year.

The big disappointments::

Carlos Beltran - For $900 million per year, you have to do better than .271, 14HR, 65RBI and 16 SB. And although those numbers may not seem horrible, they are very soft. There were just too many inning-ending double plays or pop-ups in the late innings of close games. If Beltran had the year that was expected, the Mets are in the playoffs. I'm hoping that this was just a first-year-in-the-big-apple slump, similar to that of A-Rod. 

Braden Looper - I really shouldn't classify Looper as a disappointment. Before the season started I knew he didn't have what it took to be a closer. (Not that I'm an expert as per my Pedro prediction). But it wasn't like I had an expectation or hope that he'd be good and he disappointed me. This guy is horrible. During his jog from the bullpen he already has the expression of a pitcher that blew a save. Not since Doug Sisk do I dread the Mets having a close lead in the late innings. Two nights ago was the best...Mets winning in Atlanta 2-1 only 3 1/2 out of wild card. Looper comes in for the save in bottom of the 9th and gives up a couple doubles, blows the save, gets out of the inning. Top of the 10th Mets score to take 3-2 lead. Bottom of the 10th, Looper gives up a single, then plunks the next batter, then gets an 0-2 count on next batter (two fouled off bunts...not good pitching) but winds up walking him to load the bases with no out. (Mets pull Looper and next scrub reliever gives up 2 run single) Looper blew the game not once, but twice. That takes talent. Please release or trade this guy.

Farewells

Mike Piazza - This is likely Piazza's last season with the Mets since he'll likely retire to the league where old players go and DH for a few years. He had some great years for the Mets but I'll probably respect him most for the classy way he handled his moving from the clean-up spot to 5th, then 6th, then 7th in the Mets order this year.

A good year from Beltran and a new closer and 2006 is the Mets!