Georgetown vs. St. John's to open Citi Field

A college baseball game between Georgetown and St. John's will be the first game played at Citi Field, on Sunday, March 29th, according to mlb.com. Tickets are just $5 and go on sale Monday, March 2nd. I plan to be in attendance, as it is a cheap way to get an early look at Citi Field, and also because Georgetown is my alma mater. The Hoya basketball team will almost certainly not be alive in the NCAA Tournament (NIT?) that late in March, so I won't be missing any potential games.

Links: Castillo, Valentin, Athletes = Rock Stars, and Ichiro pitching

Some links to check out while wondering why JTIII's Hoyas have gone 3-8 since beating #1 UConn:

1) Rob at Amazin' Avenue wonders if Mets fans should be optimistic about Luis Castillo this season. His conclusion: yes. Castillo stunk in 2008, but he's been a valuable player throughout most of his career. I think it's feasible that he'll hit at a .275/.360/.350 clip. If he does, while playing serviceable defense, I'll be thrilled.

2) The Mets signed Jose Valentin to a minor league deal. Yes, the same Jose Valentin who hit 17 homers and was a nice surprise for the 2006 Mets. I have no problem with this signing, but it would be surprising to see him on the Opening Day roster. If Valentin logs a significant amount of plate appearances this season, the Mets might be in trouble.

3) I'm as sick of discussions about PED's as the next fan, but I really liked this from Tom Tango's blog (see response from Tango in the comments):

"The White American Male Adult (WAMA) thinks nothing of a rock star that is fueled by drugs. Indeed, even if the artist himself says that the drug improves his artistic qualities, this is seen as a good thing. You can take all the vices in the world, pump it into the body of a rock star, and if Sgt Pepper is the result, then the world will be at your feet."

A commenter countered by saying that this was a fallacy, i.e. rock stars are not competing against each other like pro athletes. Tango responded with this:

"The rock star / athlete is not a fallacy. Both are 'competing' against their peers. Rock stars are not subjected to daily competition, but they accumulate wealth in the same way as athletes: by performing better than their peers."

For whatever reason I was fascinated by this point. I've come full circle on this PED stuff. At first, I was like most fans - demonizing the players, hating Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, etc. However, I really don't hate any of the pre-2004 juicers (punishments for failing steroid tests were only instituted in 2004). Anyone who gets caught now, well that's a different story. I have no sympathy. That is why Bonds, Roger Clemens (although Clemens still sucks at life) and Alex Rodriguez are still Hall of Fame worthy in my book, while Rafael Palmeiro is not.

4) Here is video of a 22 year-old Ichiro pitching in the 1996 NPB All-Star Game (via Neyer). He was throwing 90+ mph back then and apparently he's still got it. He may even pitch in the upcoming WBC:

'Til I Collapse: A summary of my last 15 months of fan-dom

I am a fan of the New York Mets, New York Jets and Georgetown Hoyas. The last 15 months or so haven't been very kind to my 3 teams. A quick summary:

1) 2007 Mets: 14-14 Sept. record, epic collapse
2008 Mets: 13-12 Sept. record, semi-epic collapse

2) 2008 Jets: 8-3 record to 9-6 record; playoffs unlikely

3) 2007-2008 Hoyas: #2 seed in NCAA tournament - upset in 2nd round by Stephen Curry's #10 seed Davidson Wildcats

No real point to this post, just a chance to reflect on how disappointing my favorite teams have been of late. I guess it's not too bad, considering the 2006 Mets made the playoffs and 2006-2007 Hoyas made the Final Four. But still, what a brutal 15 month stretch.

Bullpen firing squad continues: Scott Schoeneweis traded

I'm a couple days late to this trade as I spent the weekend in D.C. watching my Hoyas beat Memphis in an overtime thriller. The post-game celebration is still a little hazy...

Anyways, Scott "The Big Show" Schoeneweis has been spared the embarrassment of being booed on opening day during pre-game intros in 2009. He was traded to Arizona for 27-year old RHP Connor Robertson. Whatever. This was the latest in Omar Minaya's bullpen house-cleaning, as Schoeneweis, Aaron Heilman, and Joe Smith have been shipped out in the last week. Schow had a terrible 2007, an OK 2008, and was always useful vs. lefties. Pedro Feliciano is the last lefty in the 'pen, and I think he's safe. Check out Metstradamus for a nice picture of Omar and his bullpen.

Schoeneweis kind of looks like Tony Romo. Robertson has minimal major league experience, but has a 3.33 ERA in 300 minor league innings. His minor league K/9 is 11.31(!!) and K/BB is an excellent 3.12. However, he only throws in the high 80's so who knows if his ridiculous strikeout ability will ever translate to the majors. The Mets cut some salary here so the trade is fine with me. I'd like to see another lefty added to the 'pen (Joe Beimel? Dennys Reyes?).