Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Ill Conceived

I'm a sports junkie.

You coudn't tell, could you?

I'm one of those guys who can be on the computer for hours doing something totally unrelated to sports like paying my bills or allowing myself to be totally engrossed in a game of Bejeweled, but I always need to have the sound up on ESPNEWS, or SportsCenter, or something...anything sports related.

You know what is on my television right at this very moment?

"Eddie And the Cruisers Two...Eddie Lives!"

What would drive me from the comforting hum of Anthony Amey and Cindy Brunson reading me scores to an ill-conceived sequel featuring the catchy tunes of John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band?

Al Leiter.

What Met fans realize is that the glory of Yankee Octobers have featured many of the icons of Mets past, like ghosts.

Dwight Gooden.
Darryl Strawberry.
David Cone.

And now...Al Leiter.

Oh sure, the Yankees of 2001-2004 have been littered with bit players who once donned blue and orange like Alberto Castillo and Bubba Trammell. There were even appearances by Todd Zeile and Tony Clark...and frankly I'm surprised the Yankees didn't win a title last year with John Olerud wearing the battleship gray. But now, game one of the ALCS, and who's on the mound? The same guy on the mound when Luis Sojo hit a 102 hopper up the middle to win the 2000 Subway Series.

So this is how the Yankees are going to rub it in our faces this year. Al Leiter. The ace of the Mets staff reduced to an innings eater for the "greatest franchise in the history of sports", wearing a uniform number in tribute to Dave Righetti.

Whoa, whoa tender years
Won't you wash away my tears
How I wish you were here
Please don't go, tender years
As I sing to lament the past, I dread the future...a future I can't face, as I use Michael Pare to run from reality, and avoid a half-hourly reminder that the Yankees are up 1-0 in the ALDS.

Al Leiter, a Yankee. Another ill conceived sequel.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Re: The Hate List.

Some ESPN person previewing yesterday's batttle of the Soxes asked a hanging question to lead in to commercial or clips: CAN PAUL KONERKO LEAD THESE WHITE SOX TO THE PLAYOFFS? And I remembered how you coveted Konerko and I hoped he wouldn't go Beltran himself in the playoffs...

...Speaking of shining in the playoffs, if Leiter keeps doing this one batter/two batter routine effectively through October, he could attract some interest from another team next year...

...which is fine, so long as that team isn't the Mets (although you're a big part of the reason I Believe, Al)...

...which begs the question: If the Mets were in the playoffs, would Omar find it necessary to showcase Ishii in a Leiter-type role in hopes of increasing his trade value?

michael o. said...

Metstra...I hope you didn't blow your load yesterday!!! You gotta milk that and break it down into parts.

Anonymous said...

One of the ESPNRadio announcers for the Houston-Atlanta game has a thick New York accent and keeps talking about pitching.

Hey, it's John Franco.

Also, for reasons I can't remember, I long ago decided Marcus Giles was Pure Evil. And yet, when he's not playing against the Mets, he's a lot of fun to watch. His wacky run is awfully endearing, and his takeout shoulder blow on a headfirst slide during today's game was something you don't see every day. And if he were Pure Evil, wouldn't he have gone feet first with spikes high?

Well, if the Mets signed Giles to fill the void at second base, I'd never have to watch him play against the Mets again. I would stop harassing him for his eyebrows, which would make me a kinder person. And announcers would have such fun with consonance and alliteration on the 6-4-3 double plays: "Reyes to Giles to Jacobs!"

Uh, I mean, the 6-4-2 double plays, Metstra.

Anonymous said...

that last post was me.

Metstradamus said...

Mr. Met,

I've actually been writing that for about a month, and it just became a monster that grew and grew until I lost all control of it. Now all I'm left with is a broken leash.