The Daily Grind

Sorry for the lack of posts last week. I was extremely busy with work/personal issues. Hopefully I've got a full week of updates this week for my loyal readership. All two of them.

-The Mets won their last nine games going into the All-Star break. And it really looks like they have finally put it together. With the Braves maybe looking past this season, and the Phillies licking their starting pitching wounds, the Mets could really capitalize and win the NL East. Who saw that coming? I didn't.

The Mets' recent run is due to two factors: The unreasonably strong performances by Fernando Tatis and Damion Easley; and the strong top three in the rotation (Pelfrey, Santana, and Maine, not necessarily in that order). The starting pitching should continue to be a strength of the team. It does seem unlikely, however that Tatis (.262 career avg, .292 this season, .370 this last week) and Easley (.286 this season and in the last week, .253 career) will continue their torrid paces. The losses of Ryan Church and Moises Alou for the season will come back to haunt the Mets.

The Mets' schedule for the rest of the season is pretty favorable. Here are a few of reasons why (Please add to this in the comments section if you have more): No more West Coast Road Trips; nine games against the Washington Nationals; farthest trip? 1600 miles to Houston; 35 home games/32 road games.

-The Red Sox are 36-11 at Fenway, and 21-29 on the road and in a virtual tie for the best record in baseball with the Chicago Cubs. Last season, on this date the Sox were 30-15, but 25-20 on the road. I don't often agree with the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo but he said in his column today that the Sox do not need to be as good as their 2007 counterpart to win the World Series this season. I do agree. But, if the Sox falter, and miss the playoffs, their home/road split could be a glaring statistic to be looked at.

-Brett Favre texted the Packers writing, "Give me my helmet or give me my release." The Packers have rightfully decided to do neither. The Packers do not owe Favre anything. They did their due diligence in courting Favre after the season, making sure he really wanted to retire. The management has made it obvious that Aaron Rodgers is their starter next season, even if Favre gives them the better chance to win next year. The Packers probably don't want to keep him as a backup, because as soon as Rodgers has a bad game, or a bad quarter, the fans will call for Favre.

ESPN must be annoyed that Favre gave his longest interview since retiring to Fox News and Greta Van Sustersten (No, I am not bothering to spell check that... I hate Fox News too much. I'll thank them to misspell my name in the future. It's only fair). Did Favre think ESPN would be too hard on him? Has he been watching Sportscenter, the softballs would be coming heavy and frequent.

-Monday comes to an end with James Posey still available on the free agent market. Posey has it down to a 50-50 proposition between Boston and New Orleans. Assuming the Hornets aren't offering a fourth year. I'd be shocked not to see him back with Boston, if all his offers are 3 years.

Much more to come later this week. A short post, I know. I am prepping a full article tomorrow. My first article. Not just little snippets. Stay tuned. I am going to go enjoy the Derby. I got Berkman in the office pool.

-Ted Nolan was let go today as head coach of the New York Islanders. Nolan wanted to win now, Garth Snow wanted to build with youth. It's a fairly typical reason for coaches to be removed from their post by GMs. I feel badly though, because when GM and coaches are on the same page, special things happen. Even when it is not easy. Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge were always in total agreement about what the Celtics were going to do: Win now or build for the future/future trade. And look how well that worked out.

Miscellaneous Video of the Day:
Jose Canseco Sucks at Boxing

ATLANTIC CITY -- Jose Canseco was knocked out by former Philadelphia Eagles return man Vai Sikahema in their celebrity boxing match Saturday. Canseco's size advantage -- he is 6-foot-4, 245 pounds to Sikahema's 5-9, 205 -- was not a factor in the bout, which was over in the first round. "When you step inside the square circle," Sikahema said, according to the Press of Atlantic City, "don't ever think that your size is going to matter because in Philadelphia, we will chop you down." Sikahema was asked if there were any surprises. "That it didn't finish in the first 30 seconds," he said. Sikahema, who is also a sportscaster, has some experience in the ring. He has had more than 80 fights as an amateur boxer, according to the Press. Canseco said he had a background in martial arts.

Old School Rap Video of the Day:
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony- First of the Month