About Time!

What's up Met fans, Willie here again, after we finally lived up to my constant sweep predictions. (I've had a couple of celebratory shots of 151 so please excuse any typos in this post). After the game, I went to Atlanta manager Booby, oops I mean Bobby, Cox and suggested that he rename the team the Atlanta Bitches, because that's basically we made them. Thanks especially to the leadership and offense of Carlos Cool as Geltran, and the pitching of El Duque "Orlando" Hernandez and Billy "Nickname" Wagner, we swept the Braves for the first time since we've had all 45 states.

I've also realized that with our ridiculous lead, our season until the playoffs is going to be kind of boring. So to keep things fresh, I've decided that we're gonna play a new type of game I invented, called a "drinking game". The rules are simple, whenever a pitch is thrown, everyone on the bench has to take a drink. What's especially fun is that there will be themes. Each pitcher will have his own assigned drink theme. For example, Gin for Glavine, Tequila for Trachsel, Mojitos for Maine, and so on. I anticipate good things.

A lot of people have been following the rumor mill about trades, me especially. The trade of Carlos Lee to the Rangers was huge, because he was on my main rival's fantasy team, and since it's an NL-only league, he's screwed and has to drop Lee!!! The path to victory is clear for the Willie Wonkers, the number 1 fantasy team in the world. Anyway, many of you are probably curious to know what suggestions I've made to Omar regarding trades (I hope you all remember how I suggested we trade for El Duque long before it became a reality, so it's clear Omar listens to me). I told Omar I think we need three things: a starting pitcher, another bullpen arm, and a guy who can tell dirty jokes on the bench. Ideally, we'll be able to find a guy who can be all three for us, but it's tough. A lot of fans have been clamoring for Barry Zito, but I just don't think it's going to happen. Here's a transcript of a recent conversation Omar and I had regarding it:

OMAR: Hey, Willie, I've been talking to Billy Beane about a trade for Barry Zito. As it is right now, we'd have to give up Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman. But I think if I hold out I'll be able to pull it off even up for Milledge. The best thing is that even if Zito leaves, although there's no reason he would, but just in case, we'll get 2 first round draft picks. And besides that, putting him in our rotation pretty much guarantees us a spot in the World Series and a good chance of winning it all.
ME: No way will I allow you to trade Lastings Milledge under any scenario! The only person I would trade Lastings Milledge for is Lastings Milledge, and even then I'd want another player thrown in.
OMAR: What are you talking about? Listen, I really think Zito for Milledge is a great deal.
ME: No, you listen! You have a history of overpaying so listen to me. If you recall, I suggested you trade Wright, Milledge and Pelfrey for El Duque, but instead you overpaid and gave up probably the best pitcher in baseball, Jorge Julio.
OMAR: I don't even know how to respond to that, especially since you just so vehemently refused to trade Milledge.
ME: Whenever I run out of things to say, I just say "Eat Fresh" or "How about them Yankees?".
OMAR: I'm leaving.
ME: Later! Eat Fresh!

As you can see, Omar really is a bit lost out there, but fortunately he has yours truly watching his back. I've been trying to reach Omar recently to give him my trade ideas, but I can't seem to get ahold of him, so what I've done is left him a bunch of voicemails, here's what I've proposed:

1. We trade Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Duaner Sanchez to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez and Carl Pavano. Yeah I know what you're thinking. There's no way the Yankees give us ARod and Pavano for that weak offer. I know, I'm sure we'll have to throw in Heilman and John Maine too, but that's part of the negotiation. Getting ARod and Pavano would give us a dominant ace and a great shortstop; ARod has a mean curveball and I know Pavano's range at short is ridiculous and he also wields a mean bat. The more I think about this deal, the more I like it. But I fear Brian Cashman and George won't be tricked by our lowball offer.

2. We trade Pedro Martinez, Billy Wagner and cash to ESPN for Harold Reynolds. This deal will allow us to spell Jose Valentin at second base with a surefire hall-of-famer, and will also allow me and Harold to go hit on fly honeys at Outback Steakhouse every weeknight. This is what you call a "no-brainer".

3. We trade Jose Valentin to the St. Louis Cardinals for Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter. Yeah I know, we're getting screwed in this deal. There really is no equivalent player for Jose Valentin. Who else do you know who can play all eleven positions on the field simultaneously? To make it fair, we might end up asking for their top prospect, pitcher Anthony Reyes, and maybe even for their stadium too. It'll save us the trouble of building our own.

Okay Met fans, it's off to Florida for some fun in the sun, and maybe even a ballgame or two. Let's go Mets!

I've Seen Better Days

What’s up Mets fans, Willie here live from Dumblanta. I’m not in a great mood right now, despite our walk-off win today. A couple reasons why. First, I’m in Georgia. Some people call this place Hotlanta, but I honestly don’t see why. Accordingly, I’ve renamed the city to reflect the IQ of the average Brave fan (who for some reason thinks they still have a shot at the playoffs). Second, the team didn’t come through for me on my prediction of a sweep. For all of you betting fans out there, I apologize in advance for the broken kneecaps. I promise that will be the last prediction for some time. Finally, there was the game today itself. A whole lot went wrong today, so let me give you a minute by minute analysis of my day.

10:45 Wake up, shower and such

11:15 Get in car to drive to Denny’s

11:16 Realize I’ve backed the wrong way out of my driveway

11:19 Figure out correct direction to Denny’s

11:30 Arrive at Denny’s and order the usual

11:36 Start eating a yummy breakfast

11:40 Pam, my usual waitress, asks who I sold my managing rights to this game since I can’t make it to Shea from Jerz in twenty minutes for the 12 o'clock start

11:44 Realize there’s a 12 o'clock start today

11:45 Leave Denny’s

11:59 Arrive at Shea after my police escort got me there in record time after doing 105 MPH in the left lane all the way on Grand Central (By the way, don’t escorts usually lead, not follow?)

12:07 See John Maine has throw a perfect first

12:10 Instruct Julio Franco to give David Wright the sign to tell Rick Peterson to tell John Maine to throw a no-hitter today, because John had a great start last time and I figured it was about time for a no-no. And I like playing telephone.

1:40 Wake up from short nap.

1:47 Realize John Maine has decided to throw shut out ball, but has also told his teammates to get no-hit in an apparent misunderstanding.

1:53 Discover that David Wright was the broken link in the telephone.

2:17 Come up with a plan of action

2:38 Reveal plan of action to team: start hitting

3:34 We win!

4:05 Usual post-victory in drink in office

7:15 Arrive at LaGuardia

7:44 Figure out way to punish David Wright

7:45 Ask David to hold onto my ax that I was brining to Atlanta in an effort to mock Braves fans

7:46 Tell airport security there is a suspicious character trying to gain entrance to the boarding area with an ax

8:25 Take off for Atlanta, but without David Wright

9:55 Arrive in Hotel room, start writing blog entry shortly thereafter

10:59 Good night Mets fans! Check back soon for my take on the trade deadline and what deals I think Omar needs to make.

No Sweep, I Feel Sleepy, a Sweep of the Cubs Coming

What’s up Mets fans, Willie here again. I was surprised to see nobody has posted any comments pertaining to my dream that may have been the best thing to happen to the Mets since I became manager (if you don't count LimaTime). But then again, maybe you’re mad because none of my batters were switch hitting during at bats this series like I promised. Turns out Rick Down told me this would be bad for them because it would mess up their hand-eye coordination and consequently limit their ability to arm wrestle, play checkers with two hands, and rub their stomach while patting their head at the same time. As a result, I’ve done the wise thing and decided against this idea. I know how it is. Sometimes decisions like this run the risk that you’ll get bad publicity on the back page on the Post, but as manager, I’ve got to suck it up and take the risk. Hopefully none of my loyal readers are too mad and won’t let anybody know about this decision and keep this blog on the down low. By the way, Pedro is apparently too busy “recovering” to continue his David Wright investigation, but he promised something in the coming weeks.

But speaking of sucking it up, today wasn’t much fun. The series started off well, albeit rainy, but we just can’t seem to pull off a sweep. I guess we just have a problem when we have the opponent cornered and ready for the life to be knocked out of them. By the way, this sounds, very strangely, like my time in the Yankees clubhouse when Jason Giambi would have Derek Jeter in a chokehold and demand his lunch money, only to realize they were no longer in 8^th grade and now they only eat Subway for lunch since it’s awesome. (Remember Mets fans, eat fresh.)

Okay, I don’t have much else tonight – this afternoon’s loss took a lot out of me, and my afternoon backyard barbeque didn’t cheer me up because I managed to burn all my vegan veggie burgers, I mean ummm super meat with lots of meat burgers. I will, however, guarantee a sweep of the Cubs (again). I mean it this time. Considered it done.

It's Greek to Me

What’s up Mets fans, Willie here again. I just got back to NYC after finishing up our series with the Reds this afternoon. Luckily there were no major travel problems this time, as our travel secretary has fully recovered and is back on the job. Although, there was a small delay leaving for the airport when Javier Valentin tried to impersonate his brother and board the team bus. Can you blame a guy for wanting to play on my team?

Anyway, let’s talk some baseball. I was pretty pleased with this series, mainly because we started it off with yet another good execution of the grand slam play. I might take it easy with that play for a while and work on some new plays now that I know we’ve got it down. We did a good job getting the W today in extra innings to take the series, which is satisfactory. In case you think I’m coming across as complacent by not expecting the sweep, let me say that there was nothing we could do on Wednesday. The rain messed us up. Not our fault. End of story. Look, when Aphrodite (Greek Goddess of Water) and Ares (Greek God of Momentum) are pissed off and team up against you, there’s absolutely nothing you can do.

There’s one more order of business tonight, Mets fans, and that of course is the dream interpretation I promised you last time. First comes the dream, then the explanation. So I’m at this house party in the Jersey suburbs relaxing in the backyard and I’m wearing an orange polo. Then my crew shows up, all wearing the orange polos, but half us are rocking the popped collar, half aren't. On top of that, they all show up together, but in a sled (kinda like Santa’s, but this one goes by itself and hovers off the ground a little.) Also, the alcohol at this place is served in Arizona Iced Tea cans. So everything is going along when a game of wiffleball breaks out. The only thing that makes this game different is that you have to alternate every pitch which side of the plate you hit from. The last thing is that during this game, there is a 3 piece band that plays music unique to the play that is happening during that play. So for example, as a curveball is being delivered certain music plays, but when a fastball or homerball is thrown, different music plays. But there’s also specific music for, say, a ground out to first, a tailor made double play and so on. I think you get it. This is the point where I wake up to the noise of Endy Chavez tripping and falling while bringing me pancakes and bacon.

Here’s what this means for the rest of the season. First, me and guys should hang out more, since the orange polos were a sign of the team uniform. At the same time, we should make an effort to differentiate ourselves, as the popping of collars suggests. This, obviously, means that on any given game day half the team will now being wearing the blue Mets cap, while the other half will either wear the black or black and blue caps. I see this as critical in accomplishing my goal of maintaining a healthy clubhouse in which everyone feels they are an individual yet part of the team.

So we have to do more stuff together (even though we do already quite often – from all the drinking, to shagging fly balls and giving them away to Mets fans who have come out on the road to show their support for me by drinking when I can’t be). But then there is the magical sled, and the dream indicates we need a new set of wheels. Accordingly, I’ve signed David Wright’s car up for MTV’s Pimp My Ride.

Now to the wiffleball game. Sometime during this series with the Astros, I will instruct all of my hitters, not just the switch hitters, to alternate which side of the plate they are hitting on every TWO pitches. I bet you thought I was going to say every pitch just like in my dream. This is where Willy genius kicks in. Not all things are obvious in this game, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one. Nonetheless, this move will single-handedly undo twenty years of the evolution of the concept some call the bullpen.

Then there’s the music. This part is easy. Either me, Sandy Alomar or Julio Franco will now stand on the top step of the dugout with a Ukulele and play certain tunes for certain pitches or plays. This will allow my players to stop relaying so much on their “instincts” and instead on my ESP.

Finally, if I’ve been right so far, I see Lastings coming back up in late August and helping us tremendously when Endy goes down with a vacuuming, I mean, umm…baseball related injury.

Whew. And that’s everything. If you’ve read it this far, you’re a loyal follower. Good night and go Mets!

Two and a Half Grand Slam Plays

What’s up Met fans, Willie here. I have a lot to talk about today, so let’s get started. First, there’s this little issue about me predicting a sweep with much confidence, only to suffer a bad defeat on Saturday. I have no explanation for this, so I’ll just blame the sun for affecting the ability of my eight ball to make good predictions.

But Sunday night was something else. The disappointment of not going for a sweep was easily forgotten when we accomplished one of my all-star break goals in only the third game back. Of course, I’m talking about the grand slam play. I even managed to successfully put the play on twice! I’m proud of my guys for executing and of myself for my baseball instinct. Quite naturally, everything didn’t go perfectly that inning; I actually didn’t call for the homerun when David Wright was up. But the master of messing up went deep when I had actually told him I wanted half of a grand slam for my sixth inning snack but that he could have the leftover half. I don’t understand why he’s so easily confused.

So needless to say, there was much celebrating Sunday night in Chicago and Monday night in Cleveland. You may be wondering why we were celebrating in Cleveland. Let me explain. So obviously we are playing the Reds later today. And obviously both Cincinnati and Cleveland are both in Ohio. And obviously both cities have baseball teams. Now THIS is why I need a personal assistant. When our travel secretary gets sick and I have to deal with Delta myself to make travel arrangements, mistakes are made and cities that have nothing in common except for the fact that they are in the same state are confused for one another. Also, I want to put something to rest right here and now. Angel Hernandez, who I thought was out of my hair, started a rumor that I purposefully got our team lost because I wanted to pay Latoya Jenkins (the older, ugly and evil stepsister of Lola Jenkins who now resides in Cleveland) a visit. There is absolutely no truth to this whatsoever – Angel is apparently up to his old tricks, trying to dirty my image since he’s now starting to regret his marriage to the Philly Fanatic.

So anyway, after a night out in Cleveland, the team gets on a train to Cincinnati, we start moving, and I black out. Then, something very important happened. I had this long and bizarre dream. While it didn’t explicitly involve the Mets, I’m convinced there were lots signs concerning my team and how I should go about managing the rest of the season. I honestly haven’t figured out what any of these signs are yet, but I plan on unlocking these secrets since I’m convinced they’re the keys for us having a successful season. Check back soon, Mets fans, because I’m sure I’ll be able to share some extremely important and sensitive game strategies with you.

I'm Super Confident

What’s up Mets fans, Willie here again. We started off our second half well today, and I’m glad to see we’ve picked up where we left off. The truth is though, I wasn’t worried at all. I have a good feeling about this series. Let me explain why.

First of all, a new city means new night life, and that always provides us with incentive to find a reason to celebrate. Secondly, it’s the first series we’re playing after I watched the homerun derby. The homerun derby was, of course, when I first discovered that David Wright has power, and because of my superb observations skills that allowed me to pick up on this he’ll now be batting in the middle of the order. This should help us tremendously. Finally, I consulted my magic eight ball, and its response to my question, will we sweep this series, was “without a doubt.” I know I can trust my magic eight ball. It did, after all, answer the questions “can Kaz Matsui make a good cheesesteak,” “am I the handsomest of them all,” and “do you ever lie, magic eight ball” correctly. The answers to these questions, by the way, are, respectively: reply hazy try again, do I look like a mirror to you, and Signs point to yes although you should only trust Signs as much as you do aliens.

There is some bad news, Mets fans. There are a few new health problems in our clubhouse. First, Carlos’ knee is sore. Two, Pedro has a tummy ache. Three, Jose Reyes has a bad sunburn. I told Jose he needs to wear at least SPF 30 when he goes to tropical places like Pittsburgh, but sometimes he thinks he knows it all. As for problems one and two, I don’t really have an explanation yet. I have a hunch the problems arose from something that happened during today’s rain delay. I’ve accordingly sent Endy Chavez on a mission to find out the story. Normally I’d be able to explain what happened, but this time I can’t tell you what was going on during the rain delay because Jerry Manuel told me there were some HUGE puddles in the Wrigley Field parking lot that needed stomping, so that’s where I was as soon as the tarp came out.

Okay Met’s fans, the time zone difference is killing me and I need some rest. The Chicago bars will get their full dose of WillieTime tomorrow night. As the magic eight ball says, the outlook for things is good, so let the good times roll.

Willie Break Update

What’s up Mets fans, Willie here. As you know it’s the Willie break (some people substitute All-Star for Willie, and that's okay since they're synonyms), so I’m taking a little time off here at home in beautiful Bergen County. I haven’t stopped thinking about baseball altogether though. I’ve come up with a list detailing the team’s progress for the first half of the season and improvements to look for in the second half.

Things Not to Change:

1. My mix of playing my bench and all-stars. The amazing production I’ve gotten out of Valentin is something I will not let stop. I’ve done a brilliant job of knowing which players to use so far, and look for my genius to continue to shine through when I fill out the lineup card.

2. My calling of practiced plays. Look for me to keep calling for the have LoDuca spike the ball play, the have Endy double down the left field line past a diving outfielder play, and of course the Grand Slam play (we’re gonna get this one right next time. No more having David bring me Denny’s or accidental calling of it when the opposing pitcher is batting).

3. My fantasy team rocking. I can’t be stopped. Enough said.

4. The use of rock, paper, scissors to settle important disagreements in the clubhouse, in addition to using spin the bottle to pick my starting pitcher.

Bad Things That Need Not Happen Again:

5. First on my list of the season’s low points is of course all the events involving Angel Hernandez. Hopefully with his engagement to the Philly Fanatic he’s become a real man and is ready to put Lola behind us.

6. Tug of War. A once brilliant idea of mine, now the cause of my ace’s injury, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve banned it from the dugout and decided that rock, paper, scissors will be used more often.

7. Bad pitches: The Appendectomy Ball, The Tuna Ball, and The Homerball. Hopefully there won’t be any more filthy balls through at my player’s useless organs, Rick Peterson and Tim Mcclelland won’t have any more run-ins, and nobody infringes on Lima Time patent protection.

Things to Look For:

8. The answer to the burning question of who it was that told the Mets about this blog. While David Wright has long been a suspect, I’m told Pedro has made some progress during his time off but can’t give me an answer just yet.

9. A system to reward my team’s performance. Now that the division race is over, I’ll be rewarding my team in a yet to be disclosed system. I will tell you this though: it involves points, bonus points, cookies, slumber parties and pillow fights for sure.

10. The addition of a personal assistant/protégé for my amusement, I mean, to help me be a better manager. My crew, especially David and Cliffy Baseball, do a tremendous job, but I need somebody in an official position. This way they’re on the Mets payroll, not mine. As a result, I won’t have to sell the managerial rights away, and my crew and I can go on all of our fun adventures.

Okay Mets fans, that’s all for now. Time for some more relaxation before Chicago this Friday. Look for a fresh manager and an improved squad out there. Aside from the changes I’ve mentioned, look for Paul LoDuca to start. After I saw him shut down David Wright last night, there’s no way he can’t pitch. As his performance suggested, he’s a strong early inning guy, but will give up lots of homeruns down the stretch when you’re counting on him…

It's My Birthday!

What’s up Met fans, Willie here. I’m doing extra super today because, well, what the title says. We also won our series with the Pirates after today’s victory. Let’s go through this series quickly before I get to a couple of other issues.

First there was Monday’s game, during which I was both extremely pleased and upset at the same time. I was pleased because this kid Maine made his second start for us. Every time he starts I have this contest with Jerry Manuel and Rick Peterson. First, Rick will say he can name all fifty states, then Jerry will claim to be able to name them in alphabetical order, then I state I can name in them in reverse alphabetical order by name of state capital. I always win; Rick always forgets West Virginia, and Jerry always mixes up m and n. Victories like this are my purpose in life. But anyway, as for the game, that was bad news. I knew right away things would be bad. We get back from being blown out in Boston and then I show up at the ball park only to find out my enemy Angel Hernandez is part of the umpire crew. Accordingly, I told my team not to play hard, and they listened well.

Then there was good old Independence Day, which happened to fall on the fourth this year. There’s no better way to celebrate our freedom from Canada and Mexico than play a game of baseball. In a surprising turn of events, Angel decided not to blow the call at the plate and cost us the game. While I doubt Lola Jenkins has made her way back into his life, rumor has it he and Philly Fanatic are really hitting it off well. But that’s none of my business, as long as he’s not out there sabotaging my team.

Wednesday was a solid victory, thanks mainly to my great coaching insight. As you all know, I spent a couple of years with the Yankees while David Wells was there. So, I gave my team a little talk before the game on how to go about hitting Wells, and as a result they jumped all over him in the first inning. However, I do have to give them a lot of credit – they were able to adapt my coaching on hitting the lefty Wells into useful advice on how to hit the Wells that has recently learned how to throw righty. Boy, I tell you, these pitchers will do anything (including losing 70 pounds) to keep their career going.

Today was a nice victory, but I honestly can’t tell you much about it. I’ve been signing in my head (Go Willie, it’s your birthday…) all day long, something that requires all my attention and energy. I think a few of my batters were hit, but eh, whatever, I’m not the one who has to deal with the pain.

Okay, now for the final but most important point: Pedro is in fact going on the DL and will be out until after the All-Star break. I have, naturally, banned dug of war from the dugout during games. It is still, however, allowed in the dugout before and after the game and in the clubhouse at all times. My team, my rules, and don’t think about questioning me. Also, there are all these roster things happening that I don’t understand. I believe Lima Time is back, which means I should take a look over the signs for the homerball with Paul. I don’t know anything else, except that I do have a full squad of 37 players at my disposal, and that Alay has gone back to Cuba.

Boooo – yeah. Time for some birthday celebration. I may be 52, but feel (and look) 25. (Get it? I reversed the numbers in my age to make myself younger. I know, I’m still sharp.) To continue the numbers theme, I’m calling it now: 25 shots in the next 52 minutes. Got to go, David’s brought the car around. See you tomorrow…get the Advil ready.

Stupid Joe (No, Not Torre)

What's up Met fans, Willie here. As you know, it’s been a rough past couple days. First there was the sweep up in Boston, then there was the poor performance in the Bronx. But there is some good news, the All-star selections are in and my team will be sending quite a few players to this year’s game. I haven’t actually read anything about it, but Jerry Manuel tells me we have six players, four by votes, going. I knew immediately who they were. Lastings Milledge and Endy Chavez were voted to start in the outfield, Julio Franco at first, and Jose Valentin on the left side of the infield (yes, shortstop and third at the same time). That leaves two reserve players: Carlos cool as Geltran and Heath Bell. I’m glad the Mets will be properly represented.

But now to the rant that you all know is coming. This team isn’t playing well right now. I said last time I wasn’t sure why, but now I think I’m on to the cause. Some people say it’s the huge lead we have in the division. To that I say no way, the Marlins are in the rear view mirror and could make up 12 games in a week. I’ve seen it happen before, and all my players know it happens with regular frequency.

This leaves only one thing causing this slump: Lastings Milledge is gone. While we did start this slide before he left, it started because the team found out for sure he would be sent down. I know it seems odd that we need this kid to play well, but the truth is we all need him, especially me. For example, now that’s he’s gone, David Wright has nobody to call and ask for directions when he gets lost driving me places. As a result, I have less time to devote to my managing responsibilities. This is why I haven’t worked out the kinks in the reverse squeeze play I’m having the guys learn. Another example: Lastings would place mints on everybody’s hotel pillows when we’re on the road. Now, no mints, and look at the losses. Finally, one of Lastings’ most important contributions was pitching batting practice. You may be thinking, what’s so special about Lastings’ BP sessions. The answer is that Lastings throws an excellent knuckball as well as an outstanding forkball. These two pitches really help my hitters prepare, even though we never see those pitches in a real game. The bottom line is, Lastings was a pick-me-up, and that’s why we continued to play well once he arrived. I don’t know what we’ll do now, but I’ll figure something out.

Okay, so you’re probably wondering why I chose to leave Alay out there yesterday and give up eight runs. The reason why is very simple, although I’m not particularly proud of it. The truth is that the other day my lawn needed to be mowed, but I didn’t have any cash for Joe, the kid who usually does it. So instead I sold him the managerial rights to one inning of a game. Now I thought I was smart and told him it would be the third inning, because nothing ever happens in the third inning, no double switches need to be made, no calls to the bullpen, or anything like that. Boy was I wrong; turns out the brat was a Yankee fan. So you see, Mets fans, yesterday’s loss wasn’t my fault. I mean, how was I supposed to know selling the managerial rights to one lousy inning for fifteen bucks would be a bad decision? After that the game was over, so I called it a night and start doing a Sudoku.

Alright, the Pirates are in town, and I’m excited to meet these movie stars. I loved the first Pirates of the Caribbean, but the new one should be even better. Finally, for all of you wondering what’s up with Pedro, I have the answer. It is in fact his hip that's bothering him, and as I’ve been saying in the media, he hurt it in Florida when he had to change his shirt. What I haven’t been saying is that he was hurt during the tug of war match I previously wrote about (http://willietime.blogspot.com/2006/05/trouble-in-paradise.html). We all know how tug of wars end, and Pedro was in the wrong place at the wrong time when Jose Reyes let go and sent me flying backward into Pedro, knocking him over and causing him to fall on his hip. But I’m not worried one bit, Mets fans. Things will turn around soon, I think…