Willie Jumps the Shark

Looks like the New York media is getting to Willie Randolph. He's had to backtrack on some comments he made insinuating a racial bias on the part of SNY, the Mets' network.

The fact that he made those comments in the first place is disconcerting. I think a sizable number of non-Mets fans would agree that Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling might be the best TV announcers in baseball right now. I can't imagine those guys displaying any racism, especially Cohen.

Worst of all, the progress the Mets had made towards quieting the criticism with the 2-game sweep of the Yankees has been undone by this, plus the double-header losses yesterday to the Braves.

Piazza Retires

As a Mets fan, I thought I'd weight in on Mike Piazza's retirement. Here's how I'll remember him:

• As the best player during the brief, early '00s Mets run. His face defines those few playoff runs more than any other.
• As a guy who hit the ball as hard as anyone I've seen. I'm convinced his .300+ lifetime average is due to his strength, more than anything else. His ground balls bounced quicker, and his line drives moved faster. Thus, more of them made it to the outfield grass. At his peak, that quiet, compact swing, capped off by his trademark gritting of teeth on impact, was awesome to watch.
• As a guy who had to hold a press conference to declare himself, "Not gay." Hilarious!
• As catcher with a terrible arm. But also as an underrated game-manager, and a solid fielder of pop-ups.
• As a Hall of Fame Met. Check out his sweet "I loved the Mets best" retirement statement.
  

The Great Josh Pace

Just saw this little knuggaht on Syracuse.com. Josh Pace is getting a handful of invites to some NBA workouts. Sweet! I guess the Glue Guy for the 2003 national champs played in the CBA this year and Australia two years ago, where he is also drawing interest. It's hard to imagine Pace, who complained of home-sickness his freshman year if memory serves me right, being happy in Australia.

This news also begs the question of whether Pace fixed his jump shot. He MUST have, right?