Embarrassment Of Riches

Obviously, the mere thought of Julio Lugo joining the Mets spurred the Mets to play some of their best baseball of the year in their 5-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. I'm sure that Johan Santana, who was legitimately brilliant, did what he could to block out all of the exciting speculation, but who could blame the rest of the team if they let the excitement get to their heads?

Heck, even Snoop Manuel pulled out all the stops in an attempt to convince Lugo that New York is the place to be by pulling off a suicide squeeze in the ninth inning so out of nowhere, that if I ever get seriously famous and they give tours of my apartment, one of the things that the tour guide will point out the spot on the floor where my head hit after I fainted.

But how can you not be excited ... First, Angel Berroa. And now maybe Julio Lugo??? I can hardly contain my excitement. I feel like a dog getting extra table scraps after dinner!!! Maybe Lugo can play left field now that Gary Sheffield's "cramps" have now officially turned into a "tweaked hamstring". (You know what ... if you're going to jerk us around like we're all complete idiots, then here's a plan: just do what the NHL does and call it a "lower body injury", and we'll all go away. It'll be one less thing for me to complain about so I can go have an adult beverage and go about my merry way. Maybe Snoop wasn't far off when he said that surgery was on Thursday.)

One player noticed swelling in the other’s knee and asked why he wasn’t getting it treated. “They don’t want to hear about it,” the injured player replied, according to a source.

What an organization.

Of course there's a flip side to that excitement, and that's the impending release of Tim Redding to make room for Lugo, the newest Mets savior. Redding now gets to skulk around the locker room waiting for the executioner to show up while teammates are apparently going through great lengths to avoid him. Yeah, that's a healthy atmosphere.

But take heart, Tim. Because you could be released a hundred times over, give up 10,000 runs to the Dodgers, and you still will never be mistaken for Mike Hampton after the stunt he pulled on Saturday. Way to go Mike. Next time maybe you shouldn't daydream about demanding a trade and pulling your children out of another excellent school system because you can't pitch.

(Editor's note: You hard core old-timers know that Hampton's goof almost happened to the Mets. Think back to Roger McDowell in 1987 trying to pound the ball into his glove, and coming within inches of putting the ball into left field and letting not only a run score, but if my aging memory serves me correctly, the tying run. I had the pleasure of being present at that game. I remember when that was one of the biggest goofball moments the Mets have ever had. Now? Sigh. You know, come to think of it, I'm surprised that hasn't happened to a Met pitcher this season. I'm sure as hell not going to be the one to say that "even the Mets can't top that one", because there's plenty of time left in the season for the Mets to do it so I'm sure they'll dream something up. But take heart, Tim Redding. Because at the very least, that's a fate that will most assuredly not befall you.)