Do the Right Thing

The 2011 New York Mets are a fun bunch. They have shown a lot of spunk, heart and fight in maintaining an above-.500 record through two-thrids of the season despite the injuries which have sidelined Johan Santana, David Wright, Ike Davis and even Jason Bay.
But it's time to face reality: they are not making the playoffs. Baseball Prospectus gives them just a 3.6% chance. They are 6 1/2 games behind the Braves in the wild card race. And if you consider their chances against the Giants in the first round, I'd give the Mets a less than 2% chance of making the NLCS.
Under those circumstances I agree with the decision to trade Carlos Beltran to San Francisco for Zack Wheeler. So far this year Wheeler is 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA in Class A. He's hardly setting the world on fire, but he is considered a good prospect.
Being realistic about the organization, it is definitely the right move to trade a 2% chance of making the NLCS (assuming that gets wiped down to zero without Beltran, which isn't necessarily the case) for a good pitching prospect.
The 2012 Mets don't need an aging overpaid outfielder so even without the trade there was almost no chacne Beltran was going to be resigned for next season.



What to do about Jose Reyes is a much more difficult question. At this point I am convinced the Mets should keep him for the rest of the season. They obviously are playing above expectations, they haven't gotten a knock-your-socks-off offer and unlike Beltran, they can get two draft picks for letting Jose walk as a free agent.
And that's what I think the Mets should do.
I love Jose Reyes as much as the next guy but we have to face facts. He is having an unbelievable season, and is unlikely to duplicate it, especially as he gets older. Reyes is only 28, which is still young but a player of his style is likely to decline at an earlier age than a home run hitter. That is why I am wary of giving him a deal of 6 or 7 years.



If I were the Mets I would offer 5-years, $100 million (I think they can swing this despite the Madoff problems) and if he wants longer or more I would say "vaya con dios."

Even with Reyes, I don't think the 2012 Mets would be a World Series threat. The outfield is still very weak, unless Bay has an amazing rebirth. The starters are still questionable. We have no idea what Santana is going to be and we can't expect ERAs of lower than 3.50 for Pelfrey, Niese and Gee so I still don't feel confident about the starting rotation. And the bullpen will be a major weak spot, though under no circumstances should the Mets sign a big money closer, that's almost always a losing proposition. I also don't think Bobby Parnell has the temperament to close games.

In short, I'm saying what I have been saying for years. The Mets need to stop worrying about today, stop worrying about getting fans into CitiField this season, stop worrying about the New York Post, stop worrying about WFAN and start worrying about building a farm system that will create a World Series contender 3, 4 or 5 years down the line.

What Do You Give Me For? Cassi Colvin from Big Brother and Olivia Wilde

What do you give me for Cassi Colvin from Big Brother and Olivia Wilde?

I've Always Wondered About This

Even if you are not gay you might often wonder how male/male relationships work, sexually. How do they decide who gets to put it in whose ass and when? Do they each get a turn? Or does one guy get one night, and the other gets the next?

Thanks to your tax dollars we now have the answers. The National Institutes of Health subsidized a study on gay mens' penis size.

Here's what they found out:

Gay men who felt they had small or inadequate penis sizes were more likely to become “bottoms,” or anal receptive, while gay men with larger penises were more likely to identify themselves as “tops,” or anal insertive.

That seems a little counterintuitive to me. But what do I know about gay sex?

Song of the Week

"None of Your Friends Business" - Ginuwine
"mmmm mmmm damn mmmm"
Definitely one of my favorite songs from the late-90s/early aughts era in R&B.

What Do You Give Me For? Kim Kardashian and Old Navy Model

What do you give me for Kim Kardashian and the chick in the Old Navy ad?
Kardashian is suing Old Navy's parent company, Gap, over the Super C-U-T-E ad featuring Melissa Molinaro. Kardashian says the company purposely used a lookalike and people are mistakenly thinking that she is the one endorsing Old Navy clothes.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Pastor Joe Nelms delivering the prayer before the NASCAR Nationwide race this weekend:



Here's a picture of Pastor Nelms and his smoking hot wife Lisa:

Funny or Douchey?

At the World Series of Poker each year there is a Ladies Event and a Seniors Event. Both are $1,000 buy-ins and attract huge fields. It's either unlawful or against some rule for the casino to strictly prohibit people from entering a tournament solely based on their gender or age. But most people respect the intentions and don't enter unless they fit the qualifications.
But not Jonathan Epstein. He entered the Ladies Event, without even having the decency to dress in drag.
Before the knee-jerk reaction consider this: there's a lot of dead money in this tournament, a lot of dumb, hot chicks whose boyfriends staked them. Maybe Epstein is just trying to make some money. Or maybe he's protesting the inherent unfairness of exclusionary tournaments.
Consider that before you vote on whether a guy playing in the Ladies Tournament is Funny or Douchey? You may also need to view this one as more of a "Douchey/Not Douchey" since it's not inherently funny because as I mentioned earlier, he didn't dress in drag.