'Shea Stadium is kind of a dump.'

Says Dan Graziano, and I have to agree.

Don't get me wrong, I love Shea Stadium just as much as the next guy, but we all have to admit that it's an awful looking place. It's filled with memories of baseball, with a little dash of football and a sprinkle of rock and roll music, from the day it was erected, but right now it's a relic. An ugly one, at that.

Today will be special, giving Shea her final opening game sendoff. She's served us very well through the years, but shes old and tired, and it's just about her time to go.

Yes, I will miss Shea, but I'm much more excited to head into Citi Field.

The memories will have a short commute, only having to go a few steps beyond the confines of Shea and will no doubt head over to Citi when the time is right. Even when Shea is picked apart piece by piece and taken to the ground, us fans will all still, and always, have the memories we made at the park.

Mets Man Caves

There's a show called Man Caves on the DIY Network, hosted by Tony Siragusa (ugh) and they recently completed a room that was entirely Mets themed.

Check here for the rest of the photoset.

I guarantee you that's what my basement will look like in 10 years. Without a doubt. I love the home run apple bar, too perfect.

Wise to DL; Muniz coming up

Matt Wise, who is suffering from forearm stiffness, looks like he's heading to the disabled list, according to Adam Rubin. The Mets will call up Carlos Muniz.

From Rubin:

Wise appears headed for a DL trip with right forearm stiffness, which has sidelined the righthander since he surrendered a game-winning homer to Florida's Robert Andino in the 10th inning on Tuesday.

"I've had three elbow surgeries, and this doesn't feel like anything," said Wise, who signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract after spending the past four seasons with Milwaukee.

The Mets intend to call up Carlos Muniz from Triple-A New Orleans.

As long as Wise is just a little sore, with a tweak or something, and can bounce back quickly from this it will be all right.

Muniz has appeared in two games in AAA, pitching 6 2-3 of an inning, allowing six hits and two earned runs. He has walked one and struck out four while on the mound. So Muniz is looking pretty good at AAA, and he'll get his shot very early.

This is exactly why you stockpile arms, no matter what.

Mets are this much closer to getting RickRoll'd all season long

Due to an onslaught of votes for write-in candidate: Never Gonna Give You Up is among the top six songs to be the new eighth inning song for the New York Mets. It actually "won" the vote, but the vote was never going to decide the song, just weed out the bad ones, says the Mets.

From Adam Rubin:

Rather than commit to that as the new eighth-inning tune since it probably doesn’t reflect the fan base’s wishes, the Mets will play the top six selections once apiece during the first six games of their home stand. The one that draws the largest crowd response will stick.

The other songs that made the cut, in descending order: Livin’ on a Prayer, Bon Jovi; I’m a Believer, The Monkees; Movin’ Out, Billy Joel; Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond; and Build Me Up Buttercup, The Foundations.

The Mets suggested the Fark tune winning didn’t necessarily result in the runoff, saying the contest rules stipulated Internet voters would “help decide” the outcome.

I want Astley to win, without a doubt. It's an amazing song and it holds my sentiments about the Mets. Through thick or thin, I'm never going to give them up. (I can't believe I just wrote that.)

Check out the old-school Pop Up Video...

Is Willie already in trouble?

I don't think so, but some people do.

I don't know how going 2-3 in your first five games of the season could possibly put you on the hotseat. Sure, you landed the best pitcher in baseball this offseason, but you have to remember he only pitches every fifth day. When he does pitch, and your offense only manages five hits and one run, that's not a good sign, but it's early.

Eddie D'Anna, over at Ya Gotta Believe, thinks Willie Randolph is already in hot water and "Willie Watch" has begun.

From D'Anna:

After this weeked, the 2008 New York Mets look an awful lot like the 2007 New York Mets.

And that's not a good thing for skipper Willie Randolph, who, after The Collapse, will be on a short leash this time around.

---

But if this weekend's trend continues much longer, there's only one change left to try.

And if that is indeed the case, Randolph will fall on his sword quickly, because Omar's gonna do anything in his power to right a wayward ship he spent 140 million sacagaweas assembling.

Whether the Mets admit it or not, the "Willie Watch" has begun.

Geez. It's been five games. You can count that on one hand. Most players are still getting into the swing of things for the new season. Give the guy a break, for once. There are so many fans and people that get all over Randolph just because. I'm convinced most of these people would hate any manager that comes in to succeed Randolph if he's ever bumped.

Willie has obviously started to learn about his bullpen, as he's working them less and using them in proper situations. He fell back into his old groove when he left Jorge Sosa in the game, and he promptly gave up a grand slam.

I think Randolph has started to learn the ropes a bit, but who knows how long Omar Minaya and the Mets brass will hang on to him if the team continues to "struggle."

Photo of the Day: Anderson

Marlon Anderson slides into second in the eighth inning of the Mets game against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets offense was very quiet, only waking up in the ninth inning, when it was a little too late.
The Mets will come home to open the final season at Shea Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Game Recap: Braves 3 -- Mets 1

Johan Santana pitched about as well as Mets fans could hope, but the offense was nowhere to be found Sunday, as the Mets got swept out of Atlanta in a rain-shortened series, losing 3-1.

Santana pitched seven strong innings, only needing 91 pitches. He allowed one run on seven hits, walking none, while striking out three. Santana benefited from some defensive gems from David Wright at third. The only run came on a double over the head of Angel Pagan in the third inning off the bat of Yunel Escobar, plating Mark Kotsay.

Seven innings, one run? I'll take that every single outing. Stellar stuff from Santana today, just no offense to back him up. Let's hope this isn't a Roger Clemens type season (without the alleged steroids) where he pitches great but never gets run support. I don't think that will happen, it was just unfortunate he had to face John Smoltz, who always shuts down the Mets. Still, gotta love the pitchers duel.

Aaron Heilman pitched the eighth inning, and allowed a two-run home run to Mark Teixeira. These runs were the eventual game winners for the Braves. Heilman walked Chipper Jones on four pitches before Teixeira came to the plate and went deep.

Heilman has been mentioned as a possible closer when Billy Wagner's contact is up, but if he keeps giving up the long ball, I don't know if I would trust him in that role.

The Mets offense only had to deal with Smoltz for five innings, but were unable to capitalize on the Braves bullpen until the top of the ninth inning.

Wright walked to lead off the ninth against Rafael Soriano, moved to second on defensive indifference, and scored on a Ryan Church single down the right field line for the Mets only run of the game. Angel Pagan followed with a walk, but when Brian Schneider came to the plate and ripped one down the first base line, Teixeira flashed some glove and made a terrific diving stab and flipped the ball to first to Soriano who was covering to end the game.

Tough luck here for Schneider and the Mets. Another tale of too little, too late.

The Mets only scrapped together five hits, two of which came off the bat of Carlos Delgado, both singles to the right side of the field. Schneider added a hit in the 8th inning. Santana had the Mets only extra base hit of the day, leading off the third inning with a broken-bat double to center field. He knocked the ball into center field, which Kotsay could not get to and booted it away on his diving attempt, which allowed Santana to move to second.

It's not a good sign for the team when your only double comes from your pitcher. Delgado seems to be finding his groove though.

Game Ball: Santana.

Missing the game

I'm in a bowling league (I know, so cool) and we play every Sunday. That means I have to miss the game.

I've resorted to taping it, so my game recap will be a little laggy today, but gimme a break, I want to see Johan Santana pitch.

Enjoy!

Poll results: Wright a runaway

In the latest poll, I asked readers "Who is the best MVP candidate on the Mets?"
43 votes were cast, and here are the results:

David Wright - 74% (32 votes)
Johan Santana - 11% (5 votes)
Pedro Martinez - 6% (3 votes)
Jose Reyes - 4% (2 votes)
Carlos Beltran - 2% (1 vote)

I'm very surprised Wright was such a far and away winner. I thought Reyes would get a ton more votes. I'm also surprised Martinez received any votes at all.

New poll: Who will start more games for the Mets this year?

Wells is sitting, waiting, wishing

According to the Boston Globe, David Wells wants to pitch very badly, and is hoping the Mets give him a call.

From the Globe:

With the Mets' Pedro Martínez out for six weeks and Arizona lefty Doug Davis scheduled for cancer surgery, there seem to be openings for David Wells with at last those two teams. But so far neither has budged. "David is ready to go and could be ready to pitch in a major league game in two weeks," said Wells's agent, Gregg Clifton. "He's been frustrated because he wants to pitch so badly, but I told him to hang in there for another month."

If the Mets weren't desperate enough to go out and sign Claudio Vargas, I don't think they're going to go out and sign Wells. Sorry old man, the Mets have enough pitchers who almost qualify for social security.

For another pitching possibility, Gary Grund, over at our blogging buddies Hot Foot, is reporting that Ruddy Lugo was stretched out to six scoreless innings last night, striking out nine and only allowing four hits.

Well how about that. Lugo and Nelson Figueroa could easily fill in for a spot, along with Tony Armas Jr. Again, I don't think the Mets are desperate for pitching at all.