Kuzul

There’s a famous proverb that goes a little something like this:

“Every cloud has a silver lining.” 

I argue that the strongest testament to this quote is the New York Mets of the 2012 season. Well, it could just as easily be applied to any Mets team since 2007, but I prefer to not dwell on the dark days of the past of my team and focus more on the dark days of the present!

Nobody in their right mind picked the Metropolitans to have a decent season—even a .500 seemed like an impossibility. This was a team full of no-names, save the guy at third base and the pitcher by the name of Johan. The stars of yesteryear, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, skipped town. The rotation and bullpen were in shambles. Only the bats of David Wright and Ike Davis seemed to be legitimate threats. Jason Bay is…Jason Bay. It was a team that seemed to be ripped straight out of the screenplay of Hollywood’s newest sports comedy. 

But of course the Mets wouldn’t leave well enough alone. They did the impeccable. They were winning. The Amazins from Queens were playing great ball. They enjoyed a stay in first. They picked up the first no-hitter in franchise history. It was too good to be true. There had to be a catch. 

And a catch there was. The Mets fell, or more accurately, crashed back to Earth. The losses began piling up once the All-Star break was over. Before the break, New York was 46-40. Now they sit at 68-83. 

So, about that silver line I alluded to a while back. Yes, believe it or not, Mets fans can take solace in one player’s performance this season: the knuckleball specialist R.A. Dickey.

Dickey picked up the W on Saturday, working eight innings plus and holding the Miami Marlins to two runs, striking out four. The Marlins mustered six hits off the right-hander, while the Mets offense and bullpen did an effective enough job to lock up the win—a rare sight in the second half of the season.

It wasn’t just an ordinary win on Saturday, though. Dickey’s record improved to 19-6, putting him in position to become the club’s first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990. 

The 2012 campaign has been Dickey’s best of his career, and it couldn’t have come at a better time in the 37-year-old’s life. The knuckler’s autobiography, “Wherever I Wind Up,” was released earlier this year, detailing the struggles he faced in his childhood, including being a victim of sexual assault at a young age. 

Yet the public knowledge of his dark past seemed to drive Dickey rather than distract him. He leads the National League with a 2.66 ERA and is one win behind the NL leader in Ws, Gio Gonzalez. He’s having the season of a lifetime, one that has even thrown him into the Cy Young discussion. Whether or not the league would be willing to give the award highlighting the best pitchers in the league to a knuckleballer is a question still up in the air, but a 20-win season would certainly strengthen the argument.

But can he do it? Dickey has two starts left slated on the schedule, against Pittsburgh on Thursday and a start in the final series of the year at Miami. Dickey’s only faced the Pirates once this year, picking up a victory in seven innings of work with 11 strikeouts. The sample size is small, and the Mets have been playing atrociously at home as of late, but Dickey has a good chance of treating the home crowd to win number 20, at least giving them something to smile about at the end of the year. Should Dickey lose or get a no-decision Thursday, his odds are favorable on his final start of the year. R.A. has dominated the Fish this season, improving to 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA in five starts. At the very least, Dickey should finish the year with 20 wins, possibly even 21.

The fate of his season doesn’t rely on his hand but on the rest of the Mets. Whether or not their offense can muster enough power to support Dickey is a huge question mark—they’ve only scored more than three runs eight times this month. The other question mark is if the bullpen can protect a lead given to them. Frankly, I’m sure all Mets fans would like to see Dickey work a solid nine innings for victory number 20. He was on the verge of doing so today until he gave up two runs in the ninth, prompting Jon Rauch to come in to shut the door, which he did successfully, after giving up a run of his own. If Dickey is robbed of his 20th win because of inept offense or terrible relief pitching, Mets fans will be even more miserable.

I don’t know if it’s possible for us Metsies to feel even worse about our team this season, but I’m sure we could find a way. Here’s hoping we won’t need to find out.

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Just when we thought there’d be no more questionable quotes to come out of Miami Marlins, president David Samson came up to bat.

General Manager Ozzie Guillen is making his return from suspension after making pro-Castro comments, infuriating the strong Cuban-American fanbase located in Miami.

Guillen apologized for his comments, served his time and is back in the dugout for Tuesday’s contest versus the Cubs.

But off the field, another member of Marlins management had an interesting choice of words for the media.

Monday night featured many pitches getting whacked, only for them to die in the outfield.

“We’re not worried about the dimensions,” Samson said, according to CBSSports.com’s Danny Knobler. “We’re still learning this ballpark, and so are our fans and players.”

And there’s nothing wrong with that. A new stadium takes a while to get used to, even for its own tenants. Besides, if the walls are in fact too far back, it isn’t out of the question for them to be moved up a few years down the road, a la Citi Field.

But then Samson decided to continue talking for God knows what reason:

“I want home runs hitting people in bikinis. That’s my No. 1 marketing plan. You know how they have people in San Francisco chasing home runs in kayaks? We’ll have people snorkel to the ball surrounded by bikini-clad women. If that’s not Miami…”

Really? Really?

Look, I love girls in bathing suits as much as the next guy, and yeah, sex sells. But the comments come off more sexist than they do…whatever Samson’s intended goal was.

If this was some zany scheme to promote the fact that there’s a pool in the stadium, there’s a better way to do that. Like saying you have a pool in the stadium.

Maybe I’m looking too much into this, but I would figure a team that was just in hot water over comments a staff member made would be more careful in watching what they say.

Of course, Samson’s comments aren’t on the same level as Guillen’s were, but the point still stands.

I fail to see what this accomplishes. Maybe you’ve convinced, at most, four people to buy a ticket hoping to swim with beautiful women and grab a home run.

Meanwhile, I’m left scratching my head. I’m sure a bunch of guys fighting over a ball in a swimming pool isn’t the most appealing thing to “bikini-clad women.” 

I’m also sure being called “bikini-clad” isn’t too high up on the list either.

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The Boston Red Sox have called Fenway Park home for 100 years now but, apparently, their abode is not so humble to some.

Boston hosted the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday for the first baseball action Fenway has seen this year, with the BoSox dominating the Rays, 12-2. The game featured Sox catcher Kelly Shoppach with a bizarre slide to get his first stolen base of his career. But even more bizarre was what was said off the field by Rays DH Luke Scott about the stadium. Via Evan Drellich of MLB.com:

As a baseball player, going there to work, it’s a dump. I mean, it’s old. It does have a great feel and nostalgia, but at the end of the day, I’d rather be at a good facility where I can get my work in. A place where I can go hit in the cage, where I have space and it’s a little more comfortable to come to work.

This wouldn’t be the first time Scott has done something to irritate the Boston faithful. As an Oriole last season, Scott was at Fenway when Baltimore defeated Boston on the last day of the season to prevent the Red Sox from making the postseason. He made comments to MLB.com during spring training about how sweet it was to eliminate Boston because of his disdain for their fans. From Bill Chastain of MLB.com:

Just their arrogance. The fans come in and they take over the city. They’re ruthless, they’re vulgar, they cause trouble, they talk about your family, swear at you. Who likes that? When people do that, it just gives you more incentive to beat them. Then when things like [the last game of last season, a 4-3 walk-off Orioles victory] happen, you celebrate even more. You go to St. Louis—classiest fans in the game. You do well, there’s no vulgarity. You know what? You don’t wish them bad.

It’s pretty clear Mr. Scott isn’t making any fans in Beantown, but his comments about the stadium make absolutely no sense to me—mainly for the fact that the Rays play in what might be the worst stadium in the majors.

Scott can take his shots at the ballpark and call it a “dump,” but Tropicana Field is, no offense Rays fans, the dump. It’s an eyesore, has a terrible atmosphere and I don’t like it. 

And I’m far from alone in this mindset. Every single “Worst Stadiums in Baseball/Sports” has the Trop right in the top five, more often at No. 1 than not. I think The Dugout Doctors summed it up best: “No wonder the Rays haven’t won a World Series, who can win when the best thing about your stadium is the cat walk because you can jump from it. There is nothing more depressing than this field. If they ever blow it up I’ll be happen to push the button.”

So Luke Scott, you may be saying things to irk the Boston fans you despise so much, but next time, make sure your comments can’t be applied just as well to yourself.

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