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Comparing David Wright to Derek Jeter is Just Plain Wrong
On Wednesday Major League Baseball fans worldwide received the news that future Hall of Famer and New York Yankee legend Derek Jeter will hang up his spikes at the end of the 2014 season. As a New York Mets fan I wasn’t very happy when he went yard in 2000 but as a baseball fan I knew that anytime I watched him I was watching greatness.
Last night I was finishing up the show and saw where a Mets fan was forced to defend Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter to other Mets fans. Apparently the fugazi fans were bitching about another public announcement and dreading another season long goodbye and the reason they think it’s wrong is, and get ready for this;
David Wright would never do that.
This honestly was said and I was too damn tired to favorite the freaking thing or I would display the entire squabble for you all. Believe me when I tell you I was astonished.
Look, I’ve said this a million times. David Wright is a nice complimentary piece on a championship ballclub but he’s not a super star. He’s barely an All Star and Mets fans love him so much they needed to be begged and prodded to vote for him otherwise Pablo Sandoval would have been the starting third baseman for the National League in the 2013 All Star Game held at Citi Field.
In case you didn’t know Citi Field is David Wright’s home ball park. I guess they were simply too busy bitching and moaning anonymously on Facebook about the Wilponzi’s to take the time to vote for free.
Now back to Jeter and Rivera.
Baseball fans everywhere respect these two fellas. They were just wide eyed kids playing for the legendary Yankees who became legends doing it the right way during an era when doing it the right way wasn’t the norm. They made big plays and big times and wowed us time and time again
I say they’ve earned one last ride around the park and that will have to tide them over until they get enshrined permanently in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
David Wright? If it’s true what they say about history repeating itself when Wright announces his retirement he probably won’t even do so as a New York Met. No season long farewell. No fanfare. No uniform number retired. No World Series ring. Zip. Zero. Nada.
That’s too bad but that’s the difference between barely All Stars and future Hall of Famers. To ridicule Rivera and Jeter for getting their due is absolutely ridiculous. It’s actually pathetic and just plain stupid and makes me ashamed they call themselves Mets fans.
Today’s show was amazing. Actually the last two days were pretty amazing. On Thursday we talked Mets and A’s baseball and looked at the top ten Major League offenses and today we talked about fake trade rumors, un-vetted media sources and stupid bloggers spreading rumors, Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Mount Rushmore followed by my weekly Kiwi test and a great chat about the Thunder. The shows are below;
Thursday’s baseball show is
Friday’s hoops show is
Congratulations Little Man! Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval is an All Star!
I went through a range of thoughts when it was first announced on Sunday that New York Mets 3B David Wright would not be starting the 2012 All-Star game;
1). My first thought was there must be some mistake because there is NO WAY that Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval would ever be selected over David Wright. Guess I was wrong.
2). My second thought was that Sandoval didn’t deserve to be selected to the All-Star team at all let alone be named a starter. I still maintain that belief.
3). My third thought was that maybe MLB should just do away from the fan voting and allow either current MLB players or even form a committee of ex All-Stars to choose who should represent the National and American Leagues. That’s when I started remembering.
I began remembering all the times I would beg my Dad or Grandpa or whomever to take me to the ballpark so that I could vote for my favorite players, like Tom Seaver, Jerry Grote and Ed Kranepool…..as well as Willie Horton, Jim Northrup, Eddie Brinkman and Mickey Stanley, just to name a few. I didn’t give two hoots about their stats I just wanted to see my heroes play in the All-Star game and to feel like I had a part in it by voting for them!
I still remember people giving me a hard time because I would vote for Mickey Stanley every year he was on the ballot….I didn’t give a rip what people thought I was gonna stuff that ballot box and get him on the team…..and would be sad but more importantly madder than hell when he wasn’t playing in the game.
That’s when my outrage flew out the window……because I’ve been guilty of the very same thing just as probably all two of you who are reading this has; we threw out the stats and chose our favorite player because we wanted to see him play in the All Star game.
That’s the joy of being a fan dear reader.
Somehow I picture some little kid near the Bay doing the very same thing that I did when I was a kid….stuffing that ballot box anyway and anyhow he can….and catching hell in the process…. in the hopes that he will get to see Kung Fu Panda in the All Star Game and grinning from ear to ear because he believed it was his efforts that got him in.
Hey little man! Forget all about Phil Naessens and others who will blast Pablo’s selection/election on every sports radio show and blog from New York to Corfu Greece. Tell the folks who think you must select only the best player on the ballot to take a hike….ask them if Pablo was s0 bad then what was he doing on the ballot in the first place….that ought to shut them up and you know what the best part of all this is?
Pablo Sandoval is an All Star and not just any All Star but the starting Third Sacker for the National League and YOU made it happen! You out-voted a city of 8,000,000 and got your guy in! Had those other folks done what you did than David Wright would be the starting Third Sacker, wouldn’t he?
Guest Co-Hosting The 5 Tool Show! June 6 2012
Last night I had the honor of guest co-hosting The 5 Tool Show with Tanya Mercado. We talked about Johan Santana’s no-hitter and John Franco entering the New York Mets Hall of Fame as well as many other topics. The link to the show is;
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ndbmedia2/2012/06/06/the-5-tool-show#.T88bKjbioc1.facebook
The New York Mets 2012 Game Recap: Mets 6 Braves 14
The Mets got pounded yesterday…I really don’t know what to say so I’ll just say the following;
David Wright added two hits and three RBI’s…this man is hotter than a two dollar pistol.
Ike Davis is back…he went yard again last night. If he continues this pace he’s going to be fun to watch this season!
Kirk Nieuwenhuis batted lead-off and had three hits…I like this kid and I hope he sticks with the club when Torres gets back from the DL.
It was simply one of those games where R. A. Dickey’s knuckle ball got slapped around the yard. If it only happens every 14 games or so he and we should be in good shape!
The Mets return home Friday to begin a four game stint with the San Francisco Giants…and a great opportunity to get back on track!
The Weekly New York Mets Report for April 17, 2012
Tonight Mr. Mark Berman joins me for the weekly Mets report. Topics include;
Johan Santana, R. A. Dickey, Jonathon Niese, Mike Pelfrey, Dillon Gee, The Bullpen, David Wright, Jason Bay, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy and Terry Collins.
To listen to the program from the site please click the link provided below. To save this program to your portable listening device please right click the link below and select “save as”.
phillyflash.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/pns-weekly-new-york-mets-report-april-17-2012_mixdown.mp3
Mark Berman’s blog/website can be found here. Mark’s book Brilliant Disguise can be obtained here.
The Phil Naessens Show is now on Phatz Sports Radio
Music for the Phil Naessens Show by MatzWallez
The Phil Naessens Show is proudly presented by Swagg Screen and Textile
Please visit and “like” us on our Facebook page
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Guest Appearance on The Five Tool Show!
On Tuesday night April 10 at 9pm I’ve been honored to be invited to appear as a guest on the Five Tool Show with their hosts Tanya Mercado and Kerel Cooper. We will be talking Mets baseball. You can get all the details by pressing the following link;
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ndbmedia2/2012/04/11/the-5-tool-show
Johan Santana’s Spring is a Success…..So Far So Good
I’ve been very encouraged with the performance of Johan Santana this spring. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to have watched a couple of his outings and in my opinion he looks pretty darn good.
Check out his stats thus far and see for yourself;
I’ve been particularly encouraged by the fact that he has been able to sustain a normal work program; meaning he hasn’t missed any scheduled bullpen sessions. That is a very good sign.
Should Mets fans be optimistic for the return of the “old” Santana in 2012? If you mean the Cy Young Award winning Santana then I don’t think its fair to expect that sort of performance from him. Even if he had not missed over a year due to injury it’s doubtful that he will ever have those types of seasons again.
So, what can we expect or should we expect from Santana this season? My hope is that first and foremost he remains healthy and if he’s able to do so than we should be happy if he gives the Mets 160-180 innings, wins between 12-15 ballgames and demonstrates by example for an erratic starting five how a big league pitcher takes care of business.
So far so good.
Book Review: The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History by Robert W. Cohen
As much as I hate to admit it, the New York Yankees are the most successful professional sports franchise in history. And as much as I wanted to hate Robert W. Cohen’s new book The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History I found myself enjoying this book and so will you.
The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History is filled with stats and other interesting biographical information that even fan or not will find fascinating and compelling. As a baseball fan this is the type of unbiased information I found appealing and what kept me interested in finishing this book.
Some of the names and rankings weren’t surprising but some names that I thought should be on the list of the 50 greatest weren’t, like for example Lou Pinella. Cohen covers this as well in a section of honorable mentions and that list is also quite extensive.
With so many great Yankees to choose from Cohen had a daunting task placed before him but his careful research and seemingly unbiased approach as well as Cohen’s easy to follow writing style makes The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankee History a keeper and worth every penny. I highly recommend this book.
To listen to an interview I conducted with Mr. Cohen please visit the link below.
To purchase a copy of the book please visit the link below;
http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Players-York-Yankees-History/dp/0810883937
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free of charge from the author for review purposes. I wasn’t expected to give a favorable review nor was that Mr. Cohen’s intention.
Major League Baseball Playoff Preview Special!
On this week’s program I’m joined by Mr. Aaron Garcia of www.allsportstalk.net. Join us as we discuss the following topics;
The respective Game Five Series’ between the Saint Louis Cardinals/ Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers/Arizona Diamonbacks.
We look at the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers.
We discuss who will be the Cy Young and MVP of both leagues.
To listen to the show from the site please click the link provided below. To save this program to your portable listening device please right click the link below and select “save as”.
http://phillyflash.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/mlb-playoff-special.mp3
Texas Rangers Eliminate the Tampa Bay Rays
Last night the Texas Rangers ended the World Series hopes of the Tampa Bay Rays by winning their best of five series 3-1 with a 4-3 win over the Rays. You can read all about it here.
The Rays were phenomenal in September but Texas was just too much for them in this series.
The Rangers now await the winner of tomorrow night’s game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees.
Good Luck to the Texas Rangers!
A NY Mets Fanatic in Europe 