Forgive Me, For I've Been Away Too Long

Let me ask you a question:

If I worked at King Kullen during the ages of...say...15 and 25, and years later I went off and sold drugs to minors, or had Anna Nicole Smith's baby, or called my 11 year old daughter and left a message calling her a rude, thoughtless little pig and made headlines around the world, it wouldn't be called a "King Kullen Scandal" now, would it?

So why is it when a kid works as a clubhouse lackey for the Mets between 1985 and 1995, then goes on to distribute steroids to major league baseball players after he leaves the Mets, how did this become a Mets story? Why do I have to watch SportsCenter and see shots of Shea Stadium as they tease the story that this Kirk Radomski character supplied half the league with anabolics and other good stuff?

Look, it's guaranteed...let me say that again, it's guaranteed that when all is said and done with this steroid mess, that there are going to be former Mets involved. Fine. But this Radomski nonsense is a baseball story. The Mets were a damn summer job for this kid. But of course, it's the Mets guy that gives out the steroids if you go by everything you read. "Former Mets employee gives out steroids" you hear, like Shea Stadium was the steroid market of baseball. Give me a damn break.

That was what started my weekend away.

***

When can you be happy with a loss, and pissed off after a win? I'll tell you when...

When Oliver Perez gives up a three spot in the first inning against Washington on Friday, yet still went seven innings, striking out nine without giving up a walk. It shows that Perez, with all his past control problems, isn't scared of going to the strike zone after getting touched for a long home run. Pitchers get hit. It's a fact of life. It's no reason to become scared of the strike zone. Perez trusted his stuff, and came away with a strong outing. And even though the Mets lost the game, yet still came away intact.

Meanwhile, I don't want to be the one to write about how much Aaron Heilman pitches like garbage, and then find out that he's been pitching hurt all season, as has been speculated on. But look, if Aaron Heilman is hurt, he needs to go on the disabled list. If he's on the field (as he was on Saturday night as he gave the Nationals the lead in the eighth inning), then he's healthy, and is open for criticism. If he's trying to pitch through an injury that is seriously hampering him and he's trying to be brave, then I would look pretty dumb if I raked him over the coals for making me sweat every eighth inning he's been in on this season.

But damn, does Aaron Heilman need to give me heart attacks every game? He did it on Saturday in a game the Mets were lucky to win, and gave up two hits on Sunday in a game that he did his best to take away from John Maine but finally pulled through.

Maybe I've been spoiled regarding the stellar pitching of the '06 pen, but I'll reiterate that you never quite know where Aaron Heilman's head and heart at regarding not starting, and who knows just how good is concentration is this season because of his mental/emotional state. I'll admit that I may be totally off base because of the elbow tendinitis, but Heilman now officially scares me.

***

And now, the Mets get hit with the double whammy of losing Orlando Hernandez to shoulder bursitis (we knew that was coming), and Jose Valentin to a partial ACL tear (not to mention Moises Alou's pending MRI on his right shoulder...yikes!) So because of that, we get treated to a heaping spoonful of Marlins bloop hits off of Chan Ho Park in a 9-6 Mets loss. But as far as I'm concerned, if a pitcher gives up a home run to Alfredo Amezaga, who hadn't hit a dinger since last August, that pitcher forfeits all rights to sympathy regarding bloop hits. It's an unwritten rule of baseball.

***

Finally, condolences to the family and friends of Josh Hancock. It's incredible that this franchise has to go through this all over again, five years after Darryl Kile. Hopefully, they can find the strength to get through it again.