Everything Louder Than Everything Else

I have to admit that Friday night put me in a foul mood, and it carried over to Saturday, lingered on my train ride to Shea, and festered during the short rain delay as everybody in my section found it easier to leave the section through my row, of which I was the only one sitting in.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Sort of like the last week of the season. Down on Monday. Up on Tuesday. Down on Wednesday. Up on Thursday. Down on Friday.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay down on Friday.

The thrill was gone at Shea during that loss, so Snoop Manuel turned to Johan Santana one more time. And Santana knows that if the thrill is gone, then it's time to take it back.

Take it back he did ... by the throat ... on three days rest. And in the process he turned my frown upside down (for now).

Not all 2-0 wins are created equal ... certainly not here. Most 2-0 Met wins feel like you just went through the gauntlet at Oklahoma. Saturday's 2-0 Met win felt like mere confirmation that Johan Santana is worth every player, every penny, and every bit the effort spent to get him to Flushing in '08. But even with a full year of Santana, here we are ... right back in the very same place we were last year following a big win against the Marlins. Tied with a team for the last playoff spot with a lefty on the last year of his contract taking the hill. Last year it was the Phillies for the division, I was all in. We know how that turned out.

This season, now we know that it is the Brewers and the wild card ... and I'm all in yet again. I have no choice.

"I ain't in it for the power
I ain't in it for my health
I ain't in it for the glory of anything at all
And I sure ain't in it for the wealth."

At $8.50 a beer and $26 for a "Final Series at Shea" tee shirt, you know damn well I ain't in this for no wealth.

But as the song goes, I'm in it 'till it's over and I just can't stop ... even if I tried. (It's some sort of birth defect.)

So indeed, sign up all your raw recruits. It's all hands on deck today ... for players and fans. So let's make a deal:

Fans: if you have a ticket, go. I know, the weather report has been awful the last few days. But rain system that's worse than a drizzle gets labeled as "The Storm of the Century" these days. Screw the inaccurate forecast and go. Go! And as loud as it was on Saturday, everything must be louder than everything else today. So scream your head off. Remember, you have all winter to dry off and rest your voice.

Players: In return, promise us you will try your very best not to go to the bullpen in the first inning like a certain game last season that we aren't going to mention again. You may think I'm kidding, but this is Oliver Perez we're talking about.

And may I just say as a personal aside to you, Ollie, that today would be a terrible time for the bad Oliver Perez to show up. To paraphrase Alice Kramden: I like the good Oliver Perez. And after your stumble in your last game, I'm not going to let you give up (runs). And if the bad Oliver Perez ever shows up around here again, I'm going to hit him right on top of the head with this cornet.

Now to you Ollie, to the rest of you players, and everybody in attendance tomorrow ... take that cornet and go hit that high note. Make it louder than everything else you've ever hit.