14's Blog about Sports that don't suck.

As the Braves perpare for the final game vs the Mets, only one thing is on the mind of both teams collective fan base: brooms. I honestly believe that if the Braves can beat Johan tonight, it might finish the Mets in late-May. Course, then the Mets might fire Willie, and that wouldn't be good. The drama surronding the Mets is larger than a soap opera, and that's not good for a ballclub. Is Wagner a racist? Is Willie to eager to accuse announcers of being racist? Is David Wright a team leader? If not, is Beltran that leader? Can Delgado be respected when he is struggling so badly? All of these questions have nothing to do with the on the field product, and that is why the Mets are doing so badly. It's all from the neck up, and if the Braves sweep, it could be a dagger through the heart, or, more accurately, the head.

But that's not the point of this entry: Johan Santana is.

This, right here, is what they traded for. The stopper. This might be the game that determins how valueble Johan is for 2008. Might I be overstating the importantance of this game? Certaintly, but I don't think so. The great thing is, it's not as important to the Braves. A Mets loss may be allimportant, while a Braves loss means what? Oh well, we only took 3/4. And on the other side: can we only win with Johan pitching?

It's not a good spot for the Braves, but right here, Johan Santana can make that trade worth while, in one fell swoop.

Goin' for the sweep

Well the last game has past and as we all know, the Braves really pasted the Mets in a 4 game sweep. You placed a great deal of importance on Santana's start and he actually pitched well but just not well enough. This one game in no way validates or puts down the trade for Santana. The overall success of this trade will take at least a season or two to fully determine.

I took a lot from this series though and I saw how flawed a team the Mets seem to be. I want to just go over this team by position and share some of my thoughts:

First Base: Carlos Delgado - His days of being a pitchers nightmare are over and although he's trying to improve by going to the opposite field, it isn't enough b/c he can't catch up to the inside fastball anymore.

Second Base: Luis Castillo - I've never seen a 32 y/o player look like he's going on 42. His defense is still ok but he's not a GG anymore. Also even though he took Glavine deep, he's got almost no pop in his bat at all. How this guy pulled a 4 year deal from Minaya is a mystery.

Short Stop: Jose Reyes - This guy could start on 25 of BB's 30 teams but still has so much to learn. Ever since Randolf disiplined him last year for lack of hustle, his production has dropped. I don't think it's a coincidence, Reyes must still be upset and he better get over it. He's making millions to play a kid's game, grow up, put it behind you and start getting on base.

Third Base: Can David Wright carry this team alone? Is he also supposed to be the team leader at 25 y/o with a clubhouse full of vets.? He's in a very difficult situation.

Left Field: Alou is a valuable bat in the line-up even though he doesn't have a lot of power anymore but he just cannot stay healthy and it getting ridiculous.

Center Field: My dad said it best, Beltran is a fine player; he hits with some pop, he's fast & has a GG but he is too streaky and is not meant to hit fourth in the lineup.

Right Field: Ryan Church was a great pick up and is the only player exceding expectations. He just needs to stay concussion free.

Catcher: Schneider is a good catcher but I question his pitch selection at times but that may not be his fault.

I'm not going to go into pitching and the bench but when you look at this, you have to ask yourself is this the best that could be done by a organization which the 3rd highest payroll in the game.

14 Straight

Goin' for the sweep

Goin' for the sweep