Dave's Mostly Mets Blog

In my opinion, he is ready for major league action, both offensively and defensively, and would make an impact as soon as he gets an opportunity.

OF Mike Cameron is fighting to keep his batting average over .200. "It's not for lack of work ethic," manager Art Howe said. "I see him watching video and working on his swing all the time. We just have to hope he comes out of it."

In an interview with ESPN to be aired Thursday ahead of the Game Three of the NBA finals, the former Boston Celtic, widely considered one of the greatest players ever to hit the hardwood, was asked if the league lacked white superstars.

"Well, I think so," Bird said. "You know when I played you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league.

"I think it's good for a fan base because, as we all know, the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited.

"But it is a black man's game and it will be forever. I mean the greatest athletes in the world are African-American."

1. If Matsui makes the play then the inning is over and the game continues.


2. If Wigginton holds the ball instead of throwing to first base then he's got a shot at making the out at the plate. (It's not a guarantee. Just a shot.)


3. Phillips had virtually no chance at a play at the home due to how close the runner was to the plate when Phillips got the ball. Even a gold glove first baseman would have had a rough time making that play. (That's not a knock on Phillips who has done a great job learning the position.)


4. Vance Wilson could have made a better play on the throw home but IMHO would not have gotten the runner unless the throw was 100% perfect.

I think interleague play is the biggest waste of time that baseball has ever come up with. It's great for the six days that we see the Mets play the Yankees. But the games against the Twins, Royals, Indians and Tigers are nothing more than annoying intrusions into the rigors into the National League schedule.

They are meaningless. They are dispassionate. They are largely dismissed by fans as exhibitions, and despite what a lot of those people who continue to be intrigued by this generation's three-division, Wild Card-infested interleague era insist, I still think it is a colossal waste of time.

It's beginning to appear that arthroscopic surgery for right fielder Magglio Ordonez (strained knee/calf) is only a matter of time. According to the Chicago Tribune, Ordonez will undergo a second MRI today and will be examined by team surgeon Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph, who would be called upon to perform the procedure. Ordonez, a free-agent at the end of this season, must decide whether to have surgery that will keep him out four to seven weeks or to play through an injury that will not worsen but could prove very painful and limiting. "He's not getting better with rest; he's actually getting worse with rest," team trainer Herm Schneider told the Tribune. "His running is actually regressing versus getting better." After weeks of calling the injury a strained calf, further evaluation has revealed that the injury is closer to the back of his knee, though the team insists it is not an anterior cruciate ligament problem.

"If he keeps going like this, he's going to have a hard time convincing me he's walking into the sunset," Art Howe said after Zeile's incredible night delivered the Mets a dramatic 5-3, 10-inning win over the Phillies. "Because I'm going to be right there at dawn waiting for him."

Don't be surprised if the Mets ask Kaz Matsui to switch places with Jose Reyes next year. But first they think they can address Matsui's vision problems; part of his problem defensively is that he hasn't been able to pick up the catchers' signs and set himself.