Happy 2nd anniversary/birthday...to me!

Well not me, exactly. The 'Ropolitans turns exactly two years old today!

Happy birthday to youuuuu!

Happy birthday to youuuuuuuu!

Happy birthday to The 'Ropolitanssss!

Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuu!

I've had tons of fun doing this so far and have made many great friends and have had tons of good experiences. I expected this to just be a place to vent and rant about the team. I never realized how much I would love writing and how this blog would shape my future.

Wherever I land in life, I'll always be a Mets fan. As long as I can type and see, I have every intention of keeping this site going, along with my other venture, Mets Lounge.

A huge thanks to everyone who has helped me, looked out for me and taken a chance on me along the way.

Thanks and here's to many more years of blogging and writing about the New York Mets.

Citi Field construction halted again

Earlier this year, a water main break delayed a Mets game due to the construction on Citi Field. This time around, a cement-truck drivers strike has stopped construction on the new stadium.

From the AP:

The strike began on Tuesday, when more than 400 cement-truck drivers joined the labor action by Teamsters Local 282.

The walkout affected projects including the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site, where rebuilding has already been delayed and is over budget, and new baseball stadiums under construction for the Yankees and the Mets.

Unions! Hopefully it will pick up soon so the Mets (and the Yankees, I guess) have a home next year.

Is it just me or every time I see construction photos of Citi Field and the new Yankees Stadium, it always seems like Citi is much further along in the process? Who knows.

Last night's highlights

New poll: Will the Mets make the playoffs?

It's as simple as that.

Just answer yes or no to the question "Will the Mets make the playoffs?"

Voting ends July 11 at 12 p.m.

Early Morning Madness: Yadier Molina is a bum edition

Yadier Molina is on a mission to destroy the New York Mets.

First, it was 2006. Now, he's hitting line drives off of the players. As reported last night, Duaner Sanchez took a screamer off the back of his leg, and went to the ground immediately. He should be all right, but it will probably be swollen, black and blue, and causing him a lot of pain for the next few days.

Molina doesn't just want to beat the Mets...he wants to beat them up.

** * **

Carlos Delgado is playing like an engine starts.

When you put the key in the ignition and turn it to get your car started, it starts to turn over. It sputters and churns, heaving itself to get over that hump and kick into motion.

Delgado is showing spurts of power and ability. The 9 RBI game, couple with last nights 3-3 performance, picking up two doubles and scoring once. Unfortunately, these games were the only bright spots in the last few weeks, if not the last few months.

I don't think Delgado is going to have a come back year, as I predicted way back before the start of the season, but he still seems to have something left in the tank.

** * **

Obligitory Early Morning Madness Ryan Church Comment: 2-5, RBI, run scored. The Mets would be in a much different place right now if Church had been able to stay healthy for the whole season up until now.

His bat is powerful, clutch, and it protects the other guys in the lineup. Carlos Beltran doesn't seem to be reaping the benefits just yet, as he's seeing a lot more strikes with Church behind him instead of Delgado. Beltran went 0-5, driving in one run on a ground ball in the fifth inning.

Stay healthy, Ryan Church.

Duaner Sanchez takes a liner off his leg

Duaner Sanchez took a bullet off his knee in the 8th inning and went down in a heap.

He hit the ground and rolled around for a while, but was able to joke about it with the reporters after the game.

Snarky reporter: Why didn't you catch it?
Sanchez: You trying to be funny? What do you mean? I caught it!

Sanchez will have a nice black and blue on the back of his leg tomorrow morning, and I wouldn't expect him to pitch in the next few games. I don't see him going to the DL, but you never know.

TSTDIA: Mets 7 -- Cardinals 4

Tony Armas Jr. pitched pretty well and the Mets offense came alive to come back from a deficit for a very solid game all around the diamond.

Giving up on the Mets?? Not me, not yet

Last night's 7-1 drubbing by the Cardinals could be explained by any one of: terrible, awful, disaster, gross, boring, ugly...so on and so forth.

I've heard many claims for trades to go down, to start selling the farm and some major leaguers in return for prospects with talent and futures.

Not me, not yet. And here's why:

It's the first of July. The Mets are 3.5 games back, and only three in the loss column. The Mets have the talent, but most of them are under-performing.

Here are some reasons the Mets won't make the playoffs:

• Pedro Martinez might be done. He just doesn't seem to have it, tipping pitches or not. His power is gone and he seems to be throwing batting practice on the mound.
• Moises Alou is old and injured. 15 games is all Alou has been able to play this season. He's on his way to returning to the Mets, possibly by next weekend, but how long will it last?
• The bench has been awful. Just...awful.
• Another concussion for Ryan Church and he's really in serious trouble. He has to protect that noggin.

Reasons the Mets will make the playoffs:

• Johan Santana is a second-half pitcher.
• Aaron Heilman is a second-half pitcher.
• David Wright is a second-half player.
• Carlos Delgado's days are numbered. He may not be cut, but his playing time will diminish.
• Omar Minaya will pull off another spectacular trade. I'm just waiting for it. I don't know who it will be for, but it will work in the Mets favor.
• Fernando Martinez will be called up in late August and have a Jacoby Ellsbury type of season.

I still think the Mets will make the playoffs. I know my father wanted me to rip into them, but I'm still confident in this baseball team, and probably will be until they're mathematically eliminated from contention.

Buy Dykstra's House

Do you have $25 million laying around? Want a new house...er..."compound"?

Well, you can buy Lenny Dykstra's house, now discounted from $27.5 million!

"It's a compound; it's not a house," said Dykstra, the former All-Star outfielder. "I can go for a couple of days and not see any other family members. I found out I had a tennis court I didn't know I had. And I had to buy it completely furnished. I couldn't afford to buy furniture to fill this place. Are you kidding me?"

Here's the link for the house. Happy bidding.

Oh, and if you do have $25 mil on hand, if you could shoot some my way, that would be awesome.

Early Morning Madness: Fatigued arm edition

Each morning, I wake up way too early, sit down in front of my computer, and rattle off the top three (or so) Mets related things that are swimming around in my head. All without coffee:

John Maine may have a dead arm.

Well that's just dandy, ain't it? Maine has struggled mightily for most of this year and while a dead arm can't be the cause of it all, it certainly could be a new wrinkle. Maine has only gone past the seventh inning once this season, and that was when he pitched into the ninth against the Dodgers on May 7.

Hopefully everything is all right. Losing him would be rough.

** * **

I wonder if he'll get paid minimum wage? Luis Castillo has apparently been tabbed as Jose Reyes' babysitter.

For a grown man to have someone around to keep his emotions in check is pretty sad. In the case of Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton, it makes sense, because he's struggled with addictions and it almost cost him his career. With Reyes, it's just that he's still very immature.

As I said before, I like the emotion from him, but instead of him using it to move forward and make the next play, he sulks and mopes around the field.

Castillo is expensive for the caliber of player he is now, but if he can keep Reyes in check and get him to perform at the top of his potential, he'll be worth every penny.

** * **

This article is just bad.

It's attempts at humor and wit are poor, to say the least. It doesn't even read like it was written in New York, for New York.

And for the record, I agree with Jerry Manuel that the Mets are the second team. It's common sense people. Not to get down on my knees and bow to the almighty Yankees, but they're a storied franchise. You can't deny what the Yanks have accomplished. Heck, I've watched them since I was a little kid at my grandma's house.

Some of their fans on the other hand...well, that's a completely different story.