Mets 6 Pirates 2

Tonight's game was really depressing for me for some reason. Maybe it was the aforementioned failings of Ward and Redman, or maybe just the absence of Doumit and Eldred. Maybe it was Kris Benson baffling us for 7 innings. It probably had a lot to do with the awful taste left in my mouth from watching Jose Castillo slide headfirst into first base in the 9th inning on what should've been and infield hit. I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir right now, but I can't think of a stupider play in baseball. There's absolutely no reward to it, as it slows you down, and there's a high risk factor of jamming or breaking a finger on the base. Shame on Castillo for trying it, and shame on the coaching staff for having a player that thinks sliding into first base is OK (over two years I'm sure he's tried it before in a game, spring training, practice, etc., and if he has, there's no way it should ever happen again). That play actually brought the first John Wehner quote that will ever grace the space of this blog:

Do they slide across the finish line in the 100 meter dash in the Olympics? If sliding like that made you faster, every race would end with people diving across the line to get an advantage.

I have to say, Wehner is actually growing on me a little bit. He's usually got decent insight (espeically involving hitting and our young players) and he's slowly becoming less and less boring. I think he may have moved ahead of Steve Blass (simply because if Blass is in the booth you're never sure if you're listening to/watching a baseball game or listening to two guys chat about life on the front porch).

Anyways, getting back on point, if a serious commitment isn't made to Eldred and Doumit and Duffy FAST interest is going to die hard in this team in a way that hasn't been seen in a long time. The Steelers have Hines back in camp and they looked good last night. The Pens have signed Palffy, Gonchar, LeClair, Thibault, and Recchi (before the lockout) as well as Fleury, Malone, that Crosby guy and Mario (though no student tickets for college kids is what I'm hearing, that's not a good thing). Pitt football has Wannastedt and Palko and anything can happen in the weakened Big East this year. Two straight BCS bowls aren't out of the question for the Panthers. If the Pirates don't give Pittsburgh something to be excited about (and Duffy, Duke, Eldred, Doumit, and co. certainly appear to be worthy of our excitement to this point, which is why they need to play everyday) they're going to lose ground fast.