Vaporize the Scum

Maybe from my title, you can glean that I don't much care for the Braves, and their manager, who looks lovely in this picture. I am quite pleased with the Mets, however, who rode Ramon Castro's giant head and Carlos Beltran's even bigger mole to victory last night in Miami, while receiving in that series two outstanding starting pitching performances from the U.S.S. Maine and Hell Duckie, both of whom were building on their incredibly strong last appearances (Maine in the home opener against the Phillies; Duque against the Nats.)

Take note: the Braves and Mets are jostling for position atop the NL East, as both squads are unquestionably among the top five in baseball. This is all occurring despite Andruw Jones' .170 average and Carlos Delgado's whopping total of three extra base hits. One might say that those superstars are bigger busts than A-Rod has been this year. Erm, wait... he's on pace for, what, 115 HR and 300 RBI. Well, he's still not clutch.

This series is actually pretty pivotal: it can determine who's in first place at the crucial April 22nd benchmark, and if your team's down by April 22nd, forget it. Tank so you can snag Oden or Durant in the first round.

Color me still totally unimpressed by this Braves team. Sure, their pitching is better than last year, but I'm just not accustomed to the Mets losing to the Braves from my years of Mets fandom. Their offense hasn't really clicked yet, either: maybe the Mets have Ramon Castro outhomering Delgado and Wright combined, but Ryan Langerhans is hiting .074 in 27 AB, and Scott Thorman isn't much better, at a .207 clip.

Let's get Atlanta: the Rangers vaporized the Thrashers' scum (see Holik, Bobby) and now the Mets have a chance to keep Larry and Andruw Jones in check, all the while enjoying the beautiful weather and admiring Rick Peterson's jacket. I'm ready: hopefully Aaron Sele (right; facial hair added for dramatic effect) is too.

Why Sele? Well, I will point you to the below probables, featuring certainly unsure things in Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey. I'd be shocked if they went a combined 5 innings. I'll be watching the TBS feed just so I can see the Braves announcers mangle the name Ambiorix, and then do a commercial for something involving logs or pesticides. I think that might be the primary focus in Atlanta, or maybe that and Lil' Jon.

The Games

Game 1: Tim Hudson, RHP (2-0, 0.86 ERA) at Mike Pelfrey, RHP (0-0, 3.18 ERA)
7:10 p.m., National TV: TBS

• Even ignoring the fact that Pelf-master looked shaky (BUT RESILIENT) against the Nationals, this game is still ridiculous. That is a 0.86 ERA. I would call this the must-miss game of the series, though don't fret. Given all the TV news coverage of this terrible national story, you might be able to get quality analysis of major news in there: the elimination of Sanjaya from American Idol. I'll take Hudson and the over.

Game 2: Chuck James, LHP (2-1, 2.25 ERA) at Oliver Perez, LHP (1-1, 3.72 ERA)
1:10 p.m.

• Despite my best instincts, I'm not going to enitrely doubt Perez here: it's certainly been a while since we've seen him, and one would hope he found the strike zone in that period. Chuck James is always going to be tough, but I see D-Wright's first homer in this game and Moises Alou getting like 8 singles into centerfield: you know how he does. Mets win in a nailbiter.

Game 3: John Smoltz, RHP (2-1, 3.12 ERA) at Tom Glavine, LHP (3-1, 2.70 ERA)
1:10 p.m., National TV: TBS

• Maybe a rematch I wasn't totally intent on seeing, given the outcome of the first clash of the titans. Larry and Andruw will always have Glavine's number, and I don't like him against Francoeur or Matt Dye-Az. But you know what? John Smoltz sucks it. Hard. I'll take Glavine, with foolhardiness as my justification.

Players to Watch
NYM: Carlos Beltran. He's hitting .500 with a pair of jacks in his last 20 AB, and take a look at his .349/.429/.581 career line against Hudson (in over 40 AB). Don't forget that grand slam he hit off Chuck James when the Mets laid the Braves to rest in the Ted last July.

ATL: Matt Diaz. Call me crazy, and I don't have much justification for this either, but I just have a feeling he'll go off against this Mets troika. If he doesn't do anything, the Braves still have Brian McCann to kick some ass. I'm generally frightened.

Series prediction: Mets 2, Braves 1.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

How Sweep It Is!

Quite frankly, that's all you need.
And Avery and Nylander weren't half-bad, either.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Apologies

I would apologize profusely for my week of absence, but perhaps you noticed that the Mets played only four games during this span, including one which was an embarrassing showing by Oliver Perez and another, which I attended, where El Duque was smacked around by the Nationals before the floods came.

The weather in Philadelphia tonight (for what appears to be the ubiquitous one-game series) is overcast and in the mid-forties, with a chance of rain. Don't fault me for likely watching hockey. The beautiful conditions on Monday in the City of Brotherly Love are on your left.

While other bloggers have complained about their inability to follow the rhythm of this baseball season, I might follow suit. Where is the intensity? More importantly, where is the power? Alex Rodriguez has outhomered the Mets, and Ian Kinsler and Jimmy Rollins (the definition of irony, on the 3-8 Phillies) have tied the team's mark.

Then Jose Reyes goes 0-for-5 against Nationals aces like Shawn Hill and Micah Bowie, and you know. This must be spring (training). Pinch me when JoVal crosses the Mendoza Line.

-----------

Let's go Rangers: the chance is there for a 3-0 series lead against the Thrashers, while Sean Avery, averse to the Lady Byng Trophy is working on his Conn Smythe candidacy.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Open for Business

The familiarity level decreased a little with the Mets. I saw the new SNY graphic for the first time, and what shocked me most was all that construction equipment behind the outfield. I just might be getting excited for CitiField.

But something about these Mets was entirely the same. Like last year, they are the Cardiac Kids, resilient and relentless. While Ambiorix Burgos got a little breaking-ball happy against Ryan Howard (yet another chubby Dominican flamethrower a little too in love with his splitter, in the Mets tradition of Armando Benitez and Jorge Julio), the Mets knew what to do.

John Maine was hardly stellar, being outpitched by his counterpart Cole Hamels, and the Mets didn't have a day off in between the loss at Atlanta and the home opener. Scratch Heilman from the pen. But what we all saw against the Phillies was a sign of both Mets strengths and Phillies weaknesses.

The Phillies 'pen is oft a point of contention among their most ardent supporters. But non-diehards know that Geoff Geary is an inexcusable attempt at a setup man, and Jon Lieber has not had much success in short relief for a reason. Without reason, Jimmy Rollins too choked, failing to make an easy play at short, which prolonged the inning.

That's it. It's the Mets' Magic 8th. While I would hope our squad could break through against the Phillies' starting staff, it might not be necessary when facing a patchwork bullpen and a team that brings little to the table when Howard and Utley are cold.

The Mets are now on pace to go 81-0 at Shea, a feat that has never been performed by any Metropolitan club. Tell me about small sample sizes if you will, but the energy at Shea, despite the frigid weather, seemed to be far more palpable, even on TV, than it was in Atlanta or St. Louis, two venues where fans deserted their clubs when the score became a little unpalatable.

Here, the Mets were trailing, with seemingly very little momentum after Shane Victorino's nice catch. But they came around. Alou, Green, Reyes, Wright, Lo Duca, they all did it.

Shea is open for Mets victory in 2007. I'm ready. Aren't you?

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

The Team to Beat

Here at Crosstown Rivals, the virtue we value most is that of foresight. Accordingly, put your hands together in welcoming the second season of Crosstown Rivals' Series Previews. Enjoy.

So, we're 0-for-1 on the series predictions. Oops. Can't really say that the Mets did awfully well against Atlanta, leaving oodles of runners on the bases, while Carlos Delgado (my pick to get hot) left me longing for Doug Mientkiewicz on the field and at the plate.

Stinky Heilman stunk it up on Sunday, and Larry, McCann, and Francoeur provide quite enough trouble against relievers who aren't so hot. Oliver Perez was stellar in his start, and the Mets' offense was in sync that game, but they certainly will need more production from Matty Moises Alou, Stachemaster Valentin, and Bald Lefty Delgado.

I hope they need motivation, as the 1-5 Phillies are entering town on the heels of their shortstop and leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins' prediction of a division title. Brett Myers, who mind you beats his wife, followed in suit with similar words.

Home openers have gone rather well of late for the Mets, as they have captured every contest since 2000 with the exception of Tom Glavine's disastrous effort in 2003. Glavine is not our man today, as John Maine takes the hill after his strong effort on Wednesday night.

He will face the Phillies' Cole Hamels, who, aside from being voted "Most likely to have his left arm fall off" in his senior year, pitched very well in his first start against Atlanta, only to see the Phillies pen blow another one.

I hate the Phillies. I'm not terribly sure why, but it has something to do with Pat Burrell and Geoff Geary. Maybe it's that when I look at their roster, regardless of the talented but tremendously overhyped (and excessively compared to the much younger and more athletic David Wright and Jose Reyes) Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, I find myself totally unimpressed.

Wes Helms (batting .222/.318/.333 on the year)? Aaron Rowand (only six singles on the year)? Shane Victorino? Rod Barajas (oh-fer-8)? All everyday players. The Mets' lineup, bullpen, and rotation are superior to those of the Phillies. Their bullpen is a mess, despite Pat Gillick's attempts to fix it, as Flash Gordon's out of gas for his career, and the rest of the crew is even weaker.

Raise your hand if you thought Antonio Alfonseca had died from the condition that gave him six fingers. Or if you thought he was serving 14 years in a Venezuelan jail cell. He's actually one of the primary setup men in Philly.

Factor in that there are three pretty average rookies/sophomores (Francisco Rosario, Matt Smith, and Clay Condrey) back in the pen, and you can start realizing why the Phillies are panicking. Call me stupid, but I don't see much in this squad to instill fear in the hearts of Mets and Braves fans everywhere.

Take a peek at Ryan Howard's start to the season: .217/.400/.261 with one XBH and 2 RBI in 23 at-bats. He's clearly on his way to another undeserved MVP trophy. Chase Utley's not quite en fuego with his .259/.333/.407 line. Let's not forget that their pitching staff was supposed to be the real concern.

The Games

Game 1: Cole Hamels, LHP (0-0, 0.00) at John Maine, RHP (1-0, 0.00)
Mon 4/9, 1:10 PM

• I'm liking Maine at present. I know Hamels can get nasty, but how can you pick against the farm boy with an ERA of 0?

Game 2: Adam Eaton, RHP (0-1, 13.50) at Oliver Perez, LHP (1-0, 1.29)
Wed 4/11, 7:10 PM

• There is an inherent ideological struggle in trying to pick Oliver Perez's starts. He can be so awful at times, but yet I want him to win and I am aware of what he can do. And while I have thought of Adam Eaton as totally overhyped throughout his career, his lifetime 3-0 record (in three starts) and 1.33 ERA against the Mets make me worry. Perez is 0-1, 9.35 ERA against the Phils in two starts for his career. PUSH.

Game 3: Jamie Moyer, LHP (1-0, 2.70) at Tom Glavine, LHP (1-1, 2.38)
Thurs 4/12, 7:10 PM

• Wow, the infusion of youth into both of these pitching staffs is awfully impressive. I jest, as Moyer is one of the few pitchers around with more birthday candles than Glavine. Their combined age is 85. That said, I like Glavine to get 292 in another grind-it-out start.

Players to Watch
NYM: David Wright. The admitted lefty-masher gets a shot against two of 'em, and his .574 career average against Moyer makes me smile. Maybe we can see some power, for once. He has a hitting streak, too.

PHI: Pat Burrell. Ugh. It's the Mets. He has a .566 career slugging percentage against us. Compare that to his .480 number against everyone, and you too can understand why I worry. Two lefties and a fastballer righty. Oh, no.

Series prediction: Mets 3, Phillies 0. Get those brooms out.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Back at the Ted

Here at Crosstown Rivals, the virtue we value most is that of foresight. Accordingly, put your hands together in welcoming the second season of Crosstown Rivals' Series Previews Enjoy.

Well, the Mets are a pretty good club. That suspect starting pitching did a pretty good job against the defending World Series Champions, tossing twenty innings of two-run ball while the Mets' bats did the rest. Pardon the gloating, given that the bat of Game 2 was being swung by Orlando Hernandez.

Nevertheless, the Mets are hardly fortunate enough to play all their games against St. Louis. Enter the 3-0 Atlanta Braves, who no longer have a streak of division titles on the line. However, the CrosstownOracle has the Braves finishing second to the Mets in the NL East, given that scary bullpen of theirs.

No longer is tubby Bob Wickman left to fend for himself in the pen, as Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano have joined him back there. And they still have Chad Paronto. CHAD friggin' PARONTO. Shield your children.

Still, the Braves had one hell of a lineup last year, wiith Andruw Jones and Adam LaRoche (now in Pittsburgh) bashing homers and John Smoltz bashing heretics who didn't listen to his post-game speech on "Faith Day" about how Jesus saved his life.

Don't forget about Brian McCann and Edgar Renteria, who are hitting .500 and .467 respectively this year, small sample sizes be damned. Moreover, they have Chris Woodward, whose inspiring heroics last year on the Mets made him a surefire candidate for a new contract. Ugh. Tim Hudson is ripe for a comeback this year, and if he can rebound a little bit, he'll be ten times the player Tyler Hansbrough was against Georgetown.

Maybe some of their moves haven't been such successes. Kelly Johnson, their new second baseman, is setting the world on fire with his .081/.188/.286 line to this point in the season. Andruw Jones didn't hit much in the opening series, and questions abound about their Canuck lefty, Scott Thorman, at first base.

The Games

Game 1: Oliver Perez, LHP (0-0, NO ERA) at Mark Redman, LHP (0-0, NO ERA)
7:35 p.m., National TV: TBS

You have to give the edge here to Ollie. I like what he did during the spring and Mark Redman is, uh, I don't know, Mark Redman.

Game 2: Tom Glavine, LHP (1-0, 1.50) at John Smoltz, RHP (0-0, 4.50)
3:55 p.m., National TV: FOX

This'll be a good one, but I have to say that Smoltz usually has the Mets' number. The Braves win and New York's bid for 162-0 stops here.

Game 3: Orlando Hernandez, RHP (1-0, 1.29) at Kyle Davies, RHP (0-0, NO ERA)
1:05 p.m., National TV: TBS

I like Duque against a young team like Atlanta. His funky curveballs and zany sliders will guide the Mets to a series victory against the iffy Davies.

Players to Watch
NYM: Carlos Delgado. He hasn't done much to date, so I'm waiting for a breakout. He'll have a monster series, despite the lefty starter on Friday night. Mind you, he's a .375/.583/.625 hitter against Redman in an admittedly small sample size. He's also got a .346/.414/.808 line against Smoltz.

ATL: Andruw Jones. He has a monster .371/.476/.771 line against Glavine in his career and is primed to start mashing. Remember, he has always hit better in the first half of the season than in the second, and it's his free agent year. So be afraid.

Series prediction: Mets 2, Braves 1.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

THE GREAT LIVEBLOG

LIVEBLOG:

Top 9th:
That's it for my blog, guys. I hope you enjoyed it, and we'll be looking forward to a great season for the Mets and a great season here at Crosstown Rivals.
Let's Go Mets!

Bottom 8th:
VALENTIN. TO REYES. TO DELGADO. boom. double play.
Uh-oh. Joe Smith just walked Pujols... was this the right time for Willie to give him his MLB debut?
Here comes AARON HEILMAN and his GAME FACE. Let's pray.

Bottom 7th:
Glavine's out, Feliciano's in. Let's see if the Mets bullpen can hold the lead.

Top 6th:
-Reyes looks like he's really hustling. NOT.

Bottom 5th:
-Glavine's looking great... so are 'Tin and Reyes in the field. Only four more innings.

Top 5th:
Hmm... I'm hoping for a more exciting inning than that. Moises looked pretty bad on that curve.

End Bottom 4th:
-Glavine just dropped that filthy change on Preston Wilson. Am I allowed to love a ton of things about this game? I do.
-Our ace looks better than Chris Carpenter... I'm tired of hearing about how great Dave Duncan is. Talk about the Jacket.
-Odds on whether or not they will ask La Russa about his DWI rap? What about no chance in hell?

End Top 4th:
-More love for the team. They're getting the pen cranking. On an aside, wouldn't you love to go up to Josh Hancock and ask him for his John Hancock? I think that would bother him.
-Carlos Delgado looked like vintage rookie Jose Reyes on that curve in the dirt. Ooph.

Middle Top 4th:
-Good job by Green and 'Tin there. Maybe they'll become a rhyming one-two punch.
-It's funny to listen to these guys speculate about Willie calling a squeeze; any Mets fan/broadcaster would know that Willie never calls squeeze plays. He will, however, bring Shingo Takatsu in during a tie game.
-Boy, it sure didn't look like Chris Carpenter was pitching around Reyes there. At all.
-Hmm... watching this Lo Duca at-bat, maybe CC is losing it. I have faith in the Duck. You must, as well. BOOM. DUCK.
-And here comes Beltran.

End Bottom 3rd:
-So-Tag didn't look so hot.
-I thought Kennedy had some Jack there, but uh, thankfully that wall's pretty close.
-That was an embarrassing squeeze play. I hate Tony La Russa and his squeeze plays, and I hate that horrible bunt. Duck and D-Wright handled it well.
-Glavine showed a lot of resilience in getting out of that jam there. 1/3 of the way there, he's at a very managable 38 pitches.

End Top 3rd:
-Wow... did anyone think that Tom Glavine would outhit Jose Reyes on the season? I just adore small sample sizes.
-Hmm, Reyes didn't look so good there. One could even say he was punk('d).
-I hate Scott Rolen and the defensive acclaim that invariably follows him around everywhere. It really took a lot of Gold Glove-style brilliance to know that an aged pitcher was running from first base. Oh, Scott Rolen, could you please teach me in your art of judging how slow people are?
-Beltran's blast looked fair, initially. If he can do a little more of that, but keep 'em fair, can we top 41 jacks this year? Probably. Maybe Carpenter got a little angry on that one, with the pitch nowhere near the strike zone.
-Part of me has to feel sorry for So Taguchi on that one, but it was one hell of a shot. I thought it was gone, but a two-run double isn't all that bad.
-Boo, Pujols. Nice hand.

End Bottom 2nd:
-Does Jose Reyes have the year's first Web Gem? I love it.
-Do we still have to face Yadier, after last year? I'm not sure I can get through an at-bat without cursing.
-And Tom Glavine notches a strikeout on the change. I love that, too. Here's a serious question: Is it possible that Edmonds has been rushed back from a severe injury a little too soon? He didn't play much at all this spring, and he's already got the natural fade of age on him.

End Top 2nd:
-Already my beloved Metsies are tearing at my heartstrings... here's a question. Who put the money on Moises Alou and Shawn Green having the Mets' first two hits (and Moises being the first to take an extra base)?
-Also... this is two straight regular season at-bats for Valentin without being clutch. Is it too late to bring Kaz Matsui back?

End Bottom 1st:
-Look at David Eckstein grit out that hit. All grit, hustle, etc.
-I thought Wright wouldn't have that ball on the short hop, but... whew.
-Okay, well, at least Pujols has been kept in check. I would say that's the key to winning, but that's obvious.

End Top 1st:
-Tragic. Reyes' batting average has now dropped 300 points from last year.
-Duck's has fallen 318. Two weak groundouts on the game.
-I thought Beltran was safe...

*Only 24 more outs for Carpenter to get the Opening Day perfect game!

-------------------

It's 4:33 P.M. on the East Coast.

I'm liveblogging the game tonight. I hope you will join me.

See you at 8.

Happy Opening Day!

EDIT: I'll be returning with series previews throughout the season, but it's too late to cover this one. Oops.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Sounding the Alarm

Maybe it's a little late. Maybe it's a little early. I'm not quite sure about anything, except the fact that the Mets haven't been very good at all in Spring Training.

The team, as evidenced in Marty Noble's article on MLB.com, where he indicated the veteran Mets just aren't feeli"ng the magic of last year returning to the team this year.

As a fan, I tend to agree. The cautious optimism I had last year, forecasting the Mets to win it all, is lost. I struggle to make preseason predictions, for the most part because I fear the effect of a Mets bias.

What is this team capable of. On some level, we really won't be able to know until they play some games. In fact, they have to play a lot of games. However, there are immediate problems.

Last year, it was okay to worry about Darren Oliver going into the season. He happened to be arguably the Mets' best pitcher the first half of the season, and Duaner Sanchez had a great first half setting up closer Billy Wagner, and the Mets vaulted out to an early lead.

Wright and Delgado were on 50-homer clips, and everything seemed so perfect, despite the borderline horrendous starting pitching. The issue surrounding this Mets team is high expectations coupled with abysmal spring results. 10-20-1 is a sorry excuse for a record, even when the guys blowing the games are Hall of Fame caliber pitchers like Jon Adkins and Clint Nageotte.

Adkins blew another game yesterday, further cementing his status as very undesirable trade bait. Unfortunately, the relief pitching has been bad and the offense from our aging corner outfielders, catcher, and backup first baseman has been considerably worse.

The popular refrain is to hit David Wright second now, based at least in part on Paul lo Duca's likely regression and his spring struggles. Maybe Wright will be a good second hitter, even if it does sap his power.

But then take a look at the bottom of the order. Jose Valentin and his .184/.238/.395 line of September is likely to return to the field. Shawn Green and Moises Alou have looked totally slow and unready this spring. Can we worry?

The Mets' lineup of yesteryear thrived as a murderer's row. They would come back against weak bullpens in tight games, while their own strong relief corps held down the fort.

This year, the Braves' bullpen will clearly challenge the Mets' for supremacy in the NL East. Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez are strong additions, and the Braves also have Blaine Boyer coming back from surgery. Factor in that this might be the year that Joey Devine puts it alltogether, and that Lance Cormier has a 3-0 record and a 1.15 ERA this spring and even former Met farmhand Steve Colyer is doing well, we should worry about our ability to come back in games.

There's no more Chris Reitsma in ATL. I'm not quite as scared of the Phillies, to be honest, because their bullpen is awful and their starting rotation only marginally better. Ryan Howard is likely to regress, and as I have pointed out before, they will have Rod Barajas, Wes Helms, and Shane Victorino in their everyday lineup.

Opening Day will come soon, and with it will come a clean slate. The Mets will take to the new-ish Busch stadium, toasting near-felon Tony La Russa while the Cardinals fans take home obnoxious relics of a World Series due only to Yadier Molina's lucky homer.

Tom Glavine will start for the Mets on that night, as per usual during his tenure here, save for 2005. Then we can see what this team is truly capable of.

For now, wake me up when March ends.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Thomas Pock's Great Revenge

I doubt Thomas Pöck is really the vengeful sort. But maybe he remembers those years he logged at UMass, posting impressive numbers while being for the most part ignored by the hometown Bruins.

The Rangers signed Pöck as an undrafted free agent in 2004, and he skated with the big club rather quickly due to the fire sale of defensemen Greg de Vries, Vladimir Malakhov, and Brian Leetch. The past couple years the offensively gifted defenseman has been the odd man out, shuttling along that lonely stretch of highway from Hartford to Manhattan.

On some level, his failure to succeed in the NHL is due to his crippling inability to realize that he is, in fact, a defenseman, not a winger, and that he needs to hit more people and get caught up ice less. He's a bit like current Ranger D Paul Mara, who has a propensity to jump into every play, even plays where he's not at all wanted.

Speaking of Mara, did any of you notice that the player he was traded for, Aaron Ward, skating for the Bruins today, had three hits today, all of which were against Jaromir Jagr? I'm surprised that #68 denies that he had anything to do with the disappointing Ward being run out of town at the deadline. The two quarreled, I would imagine, because Jaromir Jagr is going to the Hall of Fame and Aaron Ward sucks. Just a thought.

Today, he showed the Bruins what they missed right under their noses. The Rangers seemed throughout the game to lack the offensive cohesiveness that has been omnipotent during their recent hot streak. Henrik Lundqvist, consistently under heavy fire in net, made the mistake of allowing a long rebound to reach the stick of Marc Savard in the second period, good for the Bruins' only goal.

I was scared, maybe unjustifiably so, that the Rangers wouldn't score again. Ryan Hollweg had taken a rather stupid five-minute major penalty for boarding, which prompted the Boston Bruin announcers to defend Chris Simon's vicious hit. I knew the announcer, Dale Arnold, was going to take a cheap shot at Hollweg when he began a sentence with "Not to defend Chris Simon's actions, but. . . ." I hope you won't blame me for ceasing to pay attention there.

Maybe in all of the commotion and the Rangers' failure to score it was easy to forget that we were playing the Bruins. With a minute and change remaining in the third period, Pock roofed one over the enemy's backup goalie, Joey MacIntyre MacDonald and the Rangers were more or less home free. MacDonald actually played a very good game, surprising considering his Mike DeJean-esque relief effort during the 7-0 St. Patrick's Day Massacre last week.

Okay, they took a penalty in overtime, which usually spells impending doom for the Rangers (I would implore you to recall the most recent game in Atlanta), but when it got to the shootout, the Rangers did win, thanks to usual heroes Michael Nylander and Henrik Lundqvist, and the reluctant shootouter Jagr, who scored the deciding goal.

The Rangers go into tomorrow's clash against the rival Islanders poised to seize the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. This is fortunate, as a seventh seed would require the Rangers to play the second-seeded New Jersey Satanists (read: Martin Brodeur and 19 guys who should be pumping gas in Ontario), whereas the sixth seed allows the Rangers to play the very beatable Atlanta Thrashers in the first round.

Expect the normal team to be in uniform tomorrow (thankfully Chris Simon won't be for the Islanders), and perhaps the tensions will boil over. Get 'em, Colton Orr.

--------------
Not a good day for the Mets. Either squad. Thankfully, Major League Baseball doesn't believe in the wisdom of playing regular season split-squad games.

Not a good day for Chan Ho Pork (not a typo; it's an incredibly clever play on words), as he pitched three shutout innings only to find that the fifth starter job was no longer open to him.

Not a good day for John Maine, who has locked up the third starter spot, but apparently feels guilty enough about doing so that he gave up 12 hits and four runs in five and two-thirds against most of the actual Marlins. Aaron Boone, going into today's game hitting an epic .138, mashed Maine for three hits.

Not a good day for Jose Reyes, who fouled a ball hard off his foot (left) en route to a hitless game.

Not a good day for the projected starting outfield of Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran, and Shawn Green, who went 0-for-6 with a walk.

Call me a pessimist, but there's a week to make this team look good. It's uglier than Steve Buscemi right now.

I'll be back tomorrow with my projected roster for this season. And you can trust me as a prognosticator. I have online proof that I picked Duke and Notre Dame to be upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Sandis La Russa

Most people with a reasonable knowledge would find very little in common between St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa and former Rangers bum/wino Sandis Ozolinsh. Or Rams DE Leonard Little.

But Little's tale of DWI, where he killed a woman, repented, and then was arrested again on similar charges seems to be appropriate here for a fellow St. Louis sportsman.

Maybe Tony La Russa didn't kill anyone. But he could have. If his foot was heavy against the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal as the veteran manager passed out, the carnage would have been greater.

I can understand that people make mistakes, and that La Russa's BAC level was barely over the legal limit, but part of me feels a little schadenfreude in this. La Russa is revered within the game of baseball, despite having a somewhat creepy demeanor, and he has received great acclaim for his work with animal rights groups.

I'm just not sure I see it. Tony, you have one of the largest contracts for a manager in all of baseball. You've won four Manager of the Year awards. You also just won the World Series for the second time in your career. You can't afford a driver?

Your team drove away 2B Ronnie Belliard for suspected legal troubles. The Cardinals are supposed to be a family organization, dating back to before 1983, when Keith Hernandez was unceremoniously dealt to Flushing in part because of an ongoing drug problem.

Maybe La Russa isn't a drug addict, and maybe he isn't expected to be a role model for millions of kids. However, I tire of the sanctimonious praise that follows him from city to city during the season. Tony does everything right. He's a great manager. He's great within the community. He's an outstanding influence on the community. Doesn't that all look like bullshit now?

Remember in 2004, when the Diamondbacks axed their manager, Wally Backman, after four days on the job in part because of a DUI collar? Imagine if this was Willie Randolph, or Joe Torre. These men are professed as well to be some of the good influences within pro baseball, as well. Wouldn't we, with good reason, be up in arms about the disgraceful conduct of our team's leaders?

What's worse, baseball pundits opine about the extent to which steroids have permeated the game when drunken driving is far more detrimental to society. Steroid use is at least a victimless crime with consequences that solely affect the drug user. La Russa, terribly irresponsible in his conduct, could have killed anyone on the road.

Pardon me if I hope there was animal blood in that wine. Let's debunk this hero. Erase him from the ledger. No more puffball interviews between innings, where Jon Miller and Joe Morgan say nice things. Ask him if he's sorry. Ask him why he did it.

He won't say much. I don't care. Baseball will be one giant ego lighter.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.