It's Official

It's official. We have seen way too much Obama-mania in this country over the past 20 months or so.

How so? I was watching Mike Piazza's dramatic home run in the bottom of the eighth inning on September 21, 2001. That was the first (professional) baseball game played in New York City after the 9/11 attacks. With the Mets down by a run with one out and Desi Relaford* on first base, Piazza cranked a home run over the center field fence. This was a huge moment for New York. The TV cameras showed the ebullient fans jumping up and down and cheering like crazy. Then it showed the auxiliary scoreboard down the left-field line which flashed "Home Run!"

*Remember him? Desi Relaford was the backup infielder for the Mets for that lone 2001 season. I was probably his biggest fan. In what was one of the best years of his career, he put up a .302/.364/.472 line. Not bad for a backup infielder. He'd be batting second on the 2009 Mets. He also pitched a perfect inning for the Mets (to give some relief to the relief pitchers) when they were getting shelled by the Padres.

As you may recall, (okay, probably not) Desi was included in the deal with the Giants that netted the Mets Shawn Estes. Though, you probably have not heard much (if anything) about him of late (since the end of the 2005 season, he's started 9 Major League games), Shawn was in the major leagues with the Padres last year, and pitched, quite frankly, a lot better than Livan Hernandez did. Maybe the Mets should have gotten him instead.

He began this year with the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate and pitched quite well, posting 3-4 record, but an ERA of 3.07. He is no longer playing, but is officially "not retired."

The TV flashed to a fan jumping up and down with a sign that read "WE BELIEVE." Then it showed Piazza getting greeted by his teammated near the dugout steps. It flashes to the auxiliary scoreboard down the right-field line, which scrolls "YES." And my mind immediately expects to see "WE CAN."

Weekend Notes

After a really tough loss to the Yankees at their new "wiffle ball stadium" on Friday night (capped by a Luis Castillo error), the Mets rebounded last night by beating the Yankees 6-2. Gary Sheffield likes going back to being a designated hitter - he's 4 for 10 with two home runs and a double in the last two games.

David Wright, if you didn't know, is leading the major leagues in batting average.
Carlos Beltran is not far behind.
Fernando Nieve pitched solidly in place of the injured John Maine.
The Mets had 17 hits today.
They are not dead.
Trust me.

Interesting Note: It might just be me, but it seems as though there is an inordinate number of former Mets second basemen floating around the Major Leagues.

1. Melvin Mora, BAL - played 8 games at second base with the Mets in 1999-2000 before being traded (with others) to the Orioles for Mike Bordick.
2. Ty Wigginton, BAL - played 37 games at second base with the Mets in 2002 and 2004 before being traded to the Pirates in 2004 in the Kris Benson deal.
3. Marco Scutaro, TOR - played in 51 games at second base for the Mets in 2002-2003 before being waived in 2003.
4. Anderson Hernandez, WAS - played in 18 games at second base for the Mets in 2005-2006 before being sent to the Nationals in 2008 to complete the Luis Ayala deal.
5. Kazuo Matsui, HOU - played in 105 games at second base with the Mets in 2004-2006 before being traded in 2006 for Eli Marrero.
6. Jeff Keppinger, HOU - played in 32 games with the Mets at second base in 2004 before being traded in 2006 to the Royals for Ruben Gotay.
   

Ruben Gotay (who played 37 games at second in 2007) does not make the list. He might soon, considering he is a AAA infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks and his on-base percentage is currently more than 50 points higher than what the Diamondbacks are getting from their second basemen.