NY POST Article on NY Baseball

[GimmeShelter]

April 15, 2005 -- YANKEE FANS won't want to hear this, but right now, the Mets are the most interesting show in New York.

For a lot of reasons.

Yes, there is Yankees-Red Sox, but that is a one-act, uncivilized drama. The new, athletic Mets are making every game exciting, even when Victor Zambrano pitches.

Waiting for Zambrano sounds like one of those bad movies on the IFC channel, and last night he was dreadful again, leaving after six innings with the Mets down, 3-1. He surrendered nine hits and four walks.

But the Astros had their own pitching issues with ex-Met John Franco coming on in relief and not being able to get out of a jam. The Mets came from behind again, scoring three times in the seventh to sneak away with a 4-3 victory to the delight of 17,214 frostbit fans.

Once again it was athleticism that made the difference with Jose Reyes beating out a nubber up the third-base line that Franco could not make a play on, allowing Victor Diaz to score to tie the game. With another ex-Met, Dan Wheeler, pitching, Reyes stole second and came around to score on an error by third baseman Mike Lamb on Miguel Cairo's grounder.

Speed never slumps.

"Minus myself," Piazza said of the new Mets, "it's an athletic team. This has been fun."

As you can tell, Piazza is a realist.

The Mets have added speed, Pedro Martinez, defense, athleticism and personality. They are a blend of youth and veterans with youngsters Reyes, 21; David Wright, 22; and Carlos Beltran, a young superstar at 27. With this win, combined with the Yankees' 8-5 loss to the Red Sox, the Mets have the same record as the aging, corporate Bombers: 4-5. Not bad, considering Willie Randolph's club started the season with five straight losses.

The Mets are in the middle of a roll that featured matchups against some of the game's best pitchers: Atlanta's John Smoltz; Houston's Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens; and the upcoming series with the Marlins, Josh Beckett and old friend Al Leiter.

The Mets don't have the Red Sox rivalry like the Yankees, but they have a number of teams that can be considered rivals. Of course, they always have the Yanks and the Subway Series.

Beckett vs. Aaron Heilman tonight looks like one of the greatest mismatches in the game, but so did Clemens vs. Kaz Ishii on Wednesday night, and when Randolph had the chance to exhale and take a good look at the Mets' 1-0, 11-inning victory, he said yesterday, "Ishii was unbelievable. That was a great game to watch."

"I think it's great to have these early challenges," Randolph said of facing some Hall of Fame pitchers. "And when you win it builds confidence, and if you don't, you see where you measure up. The Marlins have a nice staff and it's going to be good to keep the intensity up."

The intensity is up because of the addition of Martinez, who matches up against Leiter tomorrow in a game that's going to be a sellout. When Martinez pitches, it has become an event, as we knew it would.

This ET (excitement transformation) is not about one or two players. Randolph has been using his bench, keeping everyone in the game, and has been getting terrific defense from the infield, especially Doug Mientkiewicz at first, who was a marvel again last night, digging throws out of the dirt.

Cliff Floyd missed his second straight game with a pulled ribcage muscle, and Kaz Matsui was out because of a scratched cornea as a result of a contact-lens problem. Evidently, he suffered the injury while sleeping.

Even the Mets' injuries are more interesting.

"We still have a long way to go," Randolph said.

They do. There are problems. But they are off to a fascinating start. At this moment, they are the most interesting show in New York.

[faba]

The media especially in New York dramatizes everything - you are the greatest team when you are winning and the worst team when you are losing.

The Mets should be better this year- I like the team concept Randolph is using -the sum is better than its parts approach. We have a decent bench for the first time in a couple of years and use it to our advantage.

[CarlSpackler]

The media especially in New York dramatizes everything - you are the greatest team when you are winning and the worst team when you are losing.

The Mets should be better this year- I like the team concept Randolph is using -the sum is better than its parts approach. We have a decent bench for the first time in a couple of years and use it to our advantage.

They definately are a bunch of drama queens but they need to be in NY. New Yorkers live for this stuff. Fans here are fanatics while Atlanta fans can barely show up to a team that has won the penant for a decade straight.

As for the Mets/Yankees this year, I sincerely think a lot of New Yorkers who are in-betweener fans are leaning towards the Mets this year. People are sick of hearing how A-Rod isn't adjusting, how good Torre is with players and how 200 million dollars buys a lot of wins.

While the Yankees are clearly a better team, the Mets are just fun to watch. They've played exciting games and have a very athletic team. Whether it be stealing bases, making great defensive plays or howabout Pedro already throwing a complete game. And Beltran, well, I haven't seen this good a player in a NY met uniform since Darryl Strawberry. He is probably the best baseball player in NY right now. Jeter just doesn't have his power and A-Rod just doesn't have anything as a Yankee.

A lot has to do with expectations too. Yankee fans expect a championship and excellence where Met fans expect trash. So right now, when both teams are 4-5, Met fans are happy considering the circumstances. They've won 4 in a row against some of the best pitching in the majors. The Yankees have basically split the series against their most hated rivals and gotten beat by the Orioles! HA!

The Yankees are better, but the Mets are more fun to watch.