No Hamstring Left Behind

Hey, they played a game while you were asleep.

You would have enjoyed it. After a three hour rain delay (yes, the game started at 10:15 PM, officially making it a west coast game) Jorge Sosa continued being phenomenal, giving up one hit in seven innings. Damion Easley hit yet another home run (six home runs in sixty at bats puts him on pace to catch Barry Bonds by the time he's 49 years old), and the Mets won 8-1. (Time of game: 2:36. Time of Rain Delay: 3:07).

All is well? Not quite.

There is the business of Jose Reyes leaving the game in the eighth inning with a "tight hamstring". If you recall, Reyes had hamstring issues in 2004 that were so scary, some thought he would never be a completely healthy player (but really, who is?) So to a Mets fan, "tight hamstring" is to "Jose Reyes" as "jump" is to "off a building".

Hopefully, by the time you read this, Reyes' left hamstring will be as loose as (this joke has been edited by Paris Hilton's lawyers), and he'll be in the lineup for the matinee against Chicago. Keep your fingers, your hamstrings, your rap songs, and your performance enhancing drugs crossed.

Beware: Falling Rocks

Hey? What's that dropping like a stone? Is it:

David Wright's batting average?

Lino Urdaneta's ERA?

Is it Carlos Beltran's leg strength?

Or is it the streak?

Of course, the answer is a resounding "all of the above", as the Mets dropped their first game in Arizona since it was sponsored by Bank One instead of Chase (lousy bank mergers). Livan Hernandez, who the Mets have hit well in his career, shut the Mets down over seven innings.

To be fair, the Mets had a "B" lineup out there, with Carlos Beltran's "tired legs" giving him a day off, David Newhan starting in left for Endy Chavez, who was in center for Beltran, and Ruben Gotay at second base, this wasn't the Mets best lineup. But David Wright's struggles continued as he took another collar and is now hitting a worrisome .239.

But the good news is that Lino Urdaneta pitched 2/3's of a scoreless inning, giving him an ERA of...well, it just gave him an ERA. Urdaneta had never gotten an out in the major leagues but gave up six runs. So his ERA was quantified with a symbol that I think Prince went by for a few years. But now, he has a career ERA that can be quantified with real numbers. Hooray for Lino. The best part is that his ERA for this season...is zero. The other side of the coin.

The Mets now head to San Francisco for a three game set, and Monday night's pitching matchup is interesting: Ollie Perez vs. none other than Barry Zito, who spurned the Mets to sign with San Francisco, as per his greedy agent's instructions. It will be interesting to see what the wealthy lefty will do against the Mets.

And hey, speaking of greedy Mets enemies, looks like another one makes his return to the evil empire. Let's welcome him back the only way we know how, shall we?

Our signing was a lot cheaper...and Brian Lawrence didn't have to make a huge production out of it.