Slate carries a stinging assessment of the 2003 Mets subtitled “How to survive the summer at Shea Stadium.” I was surprised that the answer didn’t involve adult beverages or controlled substances. Josh Levin starts off with a bang:
This year’s New York Mets were assembled by recently ousted General Manager Steve Phillips, perhaps the only GM so bad that he acquired a stalker. The team Phillips built, 39-50 at this writing, fits snugly into what might be called baseball’s “underachieving overdog” model. Start with a massive payroll: $116.9 million on opening day, second only to the Yankees. Add old players flailing about in an attempt to re-enact their past glories. Finally, subtract all young players with the potential to get any better. If rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for General Motors, then rooting for this year’s Mets is like rooting for a used Oldsmobile with a persistent urine smell. Maybe it used to have flash and run well, but my God, what the hell happened in there?
Read the whole thing. Only when I read this piece did I make a connection: the Mets have given Jeromy Burnitz the same thing they’ve gotten in return — not only did they miss his good years in Milwaukee (although Burnitz has actually played quite well this season), but he missed the days of fun baseball in NY.
Also, I hope you didn’t miss Aaron Gleeman’s ode to Mike Cameron, the most underrated player in baseball. And Art Martone had a rundown (registration required) of the Win Shares All-Stars, through July 3:
| AMERICAN LEAGUE | NATIONAL LEAGUE |
|---|---|
| C Posada, NY, 13 | Lopez, Atl, 14; Rodriguez, Fla, 14 |
| 1B Delgado, Tor, 21 | Helton, Colo, 14; Thome, Phil, 14 |
| 2B Boone, Sea, 16 | Vidro, Mont, 13 |
| SS Garciaparra, Bos, 16 | Furcal, Atl, 12 |
| 3B Koskie, Minn, 14 | Lowell, Fla, 15 |
| OF Cameron, Sea, 15 | Pujols, StL, 19 |
| OF Suzuki, Sea, 14 | Bonds, SF, 18 |
| OF Ramirez, Bos, 14 | Sheffield, Atl, 17 |
| SP Loaiza, Chi, 16 | Brown, LA, 15 |
(SOURCE: www.baseballgraphs.com)