David Wright ties Ed Kranepool

David Wright tied Ed Kranepool for the most hits in Mets history last night against the Pirates. This is a great accomplishment for David. There's no doubt in my mind that David Wright will be a Met for life. There is not a better player the Mets have ever had that is more fit to be a Met forever. He loves it here and the organization loves him. He is a leader, a great player, a great person, and an all-around role model. The Mets know that they can't get rid of him. He is without a doubt a top 3 third basemen in all of baseball. He hits for power, for average, has speed, plays great defense, and can throw. Yes, that makes him a 5-tool player. David Wright will be a Met forever. There's no doubt in my mind.

McKnight Island

The Jets defense could be in big trouble with the loss of the best defensive back in the league. Darelle Revis tore his ACL on Sunday against the Dolphins, sidelining him for the rest of the season. That leaves Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson as the top 2 cornerbacks for the Jets defense. Both of these players have the potential to be great. We've seen it from both Cro and Wilson. They both really need to step up in Revis' absence if the Jets want to play in the playoffs. With Revis going down, the Jets also decided to take an offensive player and make him a cornerback. That player is Joe McKnight. Joe McKnight has great speed and good hands. I don't have a problem with sticking him in a cornerback spot at all. I think he has a good chance to do well as a cornerback actually. With Bilal Powell as the #2 back after Shonn Greene, McKnight has seen his carries diminish. So the Jets, looking to get him more snaps, have decided to give him a shot on defense. He also may see his carries increase. With Shonn Greene's struggles, Rex Ryan said that Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight may get more carries. I personally think Bilal Powell is better than Shonn Greene and should the #1 running back. That's just my opinion though. We'll see how McKnight Island does as a cornerback.

#30 for Ike

Ike Davis reached a milestone no Met has ever done. He hit 30 home runs in a season in which his home games were played at Citi Field. It is an amazing accomplishment for Ike, who started off the season in a miserable slump. On Monday he hit 2 homers and drove in a career high 5 RBI. Back on June 5th Ike was hitting .160 with 5 homers. He now has 30. While his average is still very low, .225, it is definitely not nearly as bad as it looks. Ike didn't play a single game last year after May. It took him a while to get back to where he was, but he definitely got back, and is one of the biggest power threats in the National League. To go along with those 30 bombs, Ike has 88 RBI, another good total, especially considering that he has 21 back on June 5th. All of this trade talk about Ike is silly in my opinion. They can't trade him, and it is very likely that they won't. He is still a very young player and has superstar potential. Ike is a cornerstone player for the Mets, and I think he should be the Mets cleanup hitter for the next 5-10 years. I really hope he is a Met forever.

The Mets can't trade Ike Davis

The Mets cannot trade Ike Davis. He is a star in the making and is a huge part of the Mets future. Trading him would set back the rebuilding process by a lot. He is above average at hitting and fielding. The Mets say they worry about him stayin out too late after games, which isn't even true. Ike said that, since he does not often leave the ballpark until midnight, he is sometimes out a few hours after that -- the norm among many in baseball -- he does not do so in excess. He was surprised and confused when he heard that the Mets were concerned about his nightlife. Ike fired back, saying "I have never missed games or not been ready to work because of anything to do with staying up too late. “I show up every day. I play hard. It is unfair to me, and it doesn’t make sense.” the Mets are trying to decide whether Ike or Lucas duda is the future 1st basement for this franchise. I really don't see how this is even a discussion. Duda is far inferior to Ike in every aspect of the game. Ike is a better hitter and a better fielder. The team won't shop either aggressively this winter, but will be open to the right deal for either. The Mets might worry that Ike costs more money than Duda, and he does, but only because Ike is a much better player and is worth the money. Trading Ike would be a huge mistake for the Mets, and I think they know that. I don't think they will deal Ike. 

8/31/12-9/6/12 Recap

       The Mets started out the week on Friday in Miami with a 3-0 victory on 3 RBI's by Ike Davis, including a 2-run homer while Dickey threw another shutout. On Saturday, they took a 5-3 win, scoring 4 runs in the 9th. They closed it out on Sunday, winning 5-1, bringing out the broom for the first time in team history at Marlins Park. Monday started a tough series for New York. Down 5-4 in the 9th in St. Louis, Andres Torres doubled down the right field line, but the umpires blew a call, calling him out for missing 1st base as the Amazin's lost 5-4. After falling again on Tuesday, Robert Allan Dickey went back out to give the Mets another win, which is exactly what he did throwing 6 1/3 innings as New York finished the week with a win, 6-2 the final.
       The Yankees may be in the middle of the worst current stretch in Baseball, losing some ground in their race with the Orioles and Rays. On Friday, Mark Reynolds homered twice as Baltimore won 6-1. And  after a Saturday victory, Reynolds hit 2 homers again for an 8-3 Orioles win, Then came the third-wheel Tampa Bay Rays as New York headed to Tropicana Field for a 3-game set. After losing the first 2 games 4-3 and 5-2, Baltimore won 2 more, and the division was all tied up. Before the O's dropped one on Wednesday, the Yanks took a victory on a 2-run error on a ball hit by Jeter, and the Yankees remained in control.
       The Giants opened up their regular season with a home game against the Cowboys. Tony Romo played one of the best games of his life, as he had of their full control, leading Dallas and to a score in 4 of their last 5 possessions, including 3 TD's. Cowboys receiver Kevin Ogletree had the night of his life, with 8 receptions, 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ogletree would be the difference between a Cowboys win and loss, as the G-Men fell 24-17 the final.
       Now, the current state of the NHL CBA. As the deadline is only 8 days away, the players and NHL are absolutely nowhere close. So, we all know what this means: lockout time! NHL fans, buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

NYS2D Weekly MVP: R.A. Dickey: 2-0, 15.2 IP, 2 ER, 13 H, 12 K

Terry, That IS an Achievement!!!

       After the Mets 3-2 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday, manager Terry Collins answered a question from a reporter about the rumor that the Mets goal is 3rd place by saying that the goal is to win as much as they can for as long as they can. He went on to say that he "doesn't want his players to come to the ballpark, look at the box score, and see who's in 4th", which got a chuckle from all of the reporters. Honestly, I completely disagree with Collins on this one. A third place finish for this team would be like the Blue Jays winning the AL East! When you look back to the offseason and Spring Training before this year, not one human being that had a job in sports believed in the Amazin's. In fact, when the CBS Sports MLB analysts made their preseason predictions, they all predicted that they would finish dead last in the division, down with the Cubs and Astros. However, they came out of the gate like a Series contender, and for a while they were. The pitching was phenomenal, the youngsters were providing, and David Wright was playing 3rd base like he never has before. Things have changed quite a bit since then as Wright has come back down to his native planet, and the staff has been unreliable and inconsistent. With that said, New York is not playing like the Kansas City Royals or the Colorado Rockies. They are still playing okay baseball. This is a ball club with a bright future and a 3rd-place conclusion would put the Mets in a great spot for the 2013 season!  

Stern Out to Destroy Hockey?!?

       I'm going to come straight out and say this: I am not a fan of the NBA. From guys like Carmelo and Lebron to busy to play any defense to stories like Kris Humphries "making Kardashian miserable" and Bryant saying he can "beat the Dream Team", the players have turned the whole league into a tabloid joke! But it seems like NHL fans like myself have another reason to hate the NBA. Before Gary Bettman was the commissioner of Hockey, he was the senior VP of the NBA, and current commish of the NBA, David Stern, was the one who gave the NHL the recommendation to hire Bettman. Since then, Hockey has had 2 lockouts, one in 1994-95 and one for a whole season in 2004-05. The NHL, of course, is the NBA's only year-round competitor, so one must think that Stern would want Hockey to fail. This may be a little far-fetched, but maybe Stern and Gary Bettman were in on a plan to make Bettman the commissioner so that he could ruin the NHL. I mean, let's look at it: 2 big lockouts and a chance for a 3rd under 1 commish who's only been at his job for 20 years? That just shouldn't happen unless something's up. It may seem maniacal, but maybe David Stern is on an evil mission to destroy his biggest competition!

Irish Cream Navy; 'Bama and Michigan Face Off

       Here's a recap of an exciting Week 1 of the NCAA FBS season:
       Notre Dame came into the 1st week ranked #24 by the Coach's Poll and were in Dublin, Ireland to take on the ironic "home team" in Navy. The Irish got it started on their 1st drive of the season with a TD but missed the extra point, but that wouldn't matter as they would run away with this one. Fill in for suspended Tommy Rees, Everett Golson went 12/18 for 144 yards and a TD. However, the running game carried the Irish, running for 293 yards and 5 TD's. The final score was 50-10 as Notre Dame will probably be ranked higher in the next rankings.
       Bill O' Brian and Penn State were leading going into the 2nd half of their game against Ohio, but were outscored 21-0 in the half.
       BC was ahead 17-14 after the 1st half against Miami, but they fumbled twice in the half as Miami took the victory 41-32.
       In the prime time event on Saturday, Michigan and Alabama had their first ever regular season meeting at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. AJ McCarron completed 11/21 for 129 yards and 2 TD's as Alabama took the victory 41-14.

Giants Final Roster

       Friday evening, the Giants made their final roster cuts to get down to 53 men before their Week 1 game with Dallas. They did lose some veteran experience with guys like D.J. Ware being cut, but overall, the team hasn't changed much since their championship team of last year. David Carr is set to be Manning's backup, God forbid if anything happened to him. With Hakeem Nicks ready to go, the receiving game should be a little more explosive than during the Preseason with one of their most reliable guys who the Giants know will go out there and consistently catch the football. Rookie David Wilson will be the second-team RB to back up Ahmad Bradshaw with the offseason loss of Brandon Jacobs. Wilson will probably help New York's running game, which was the worst in the NFL during the regular season last year.