Well, one thing Mets fans have wished for is more coverage from the local papers, including some back page shots. Well, we've taken a couple of shots the past two days. Nothing like a little issue to be blown up into a "Major Crisis" (see the Post today for that one).
First, as I noted yesterday, Lastings Milledge puts a rap song up on his record label's web site where he uses a few words that can be heard in raps by pretty much most rappers out there. The Daily News uncovered this "problem" and ran to a NYC councilman for comment. Of course, the councilman was outraged stating that the Mets need to tell Lastings that is not how to act basically. So, a young man makes a (bad) rap song and is pilloried. Of course, the News uses this latest "outrage" to remind everyone that when Milledge was 17, he had sex with a 15 year old. (Now, as the father of two girls, I want to state this very clearly, any boy who tries to have sex with either of them at that age is going to be in deep shit.) But the fact is, this happens all the time, Lastings was little different from most 17 year olds. Kids have sex. That is a fact unfortunately. The News also re-prints unsubstantiated claims that he had sex with girls younger than 15. These claims were investigated and found to be without merit, no criminal charges were filed. But the News seems to have a hard-on for Milledge, and re-prints all this crap in pretty much every story about him. I get the feeling that if he hit a World Series winning home run they would work it into the story.
The fact is this, the words he used are used by plenty of rappers. I'm not saying I agree with it, frankly, I think it is abhorrent, but even I have a few rap songs on my iPod that contain the words. Let's take a look at the New Jersey Nets. Jay-Z has part ownership of the team. This is a guy who is looked up to by plenty of people. Guess what, he uses the same damn words. I do not see the News, Post or Newsday going after the Nets for that. Let's take a listen to the intro songs used by myriad players. Players use rap songs all the time. Guess what, even some rock songs carry bad messages. Yet, there is no outcry about that.
So today, all of the papers have picked up this story. The Mets of course released a statement saying they do not approve of the lyrics. Some use this as a sign that the Mets are going to cut ties with Milledge. I disagree. What else were they going to say? "We like the song, and plan to use it as the theme song at Shea?" No. They had to release that statement. Jay Greenberg called Lastings selfish. Why? Because he made a bad rap song? Give me a fucking break. Plenty of athletes has a side business in music. Some are tame, like Bernie Williams. Others, not so much.
In my opinion, there are two main reasons why this is a big deal. First, some of the local papers flat out do not like Milledge. They wil use their power to sway opinion against him. Am I supposed to believe that the Councilman found that song all on his lonesome, and then called the Daily News? I'm thinking the News found it, and called him, knowing they would get a reaction. Some are calling for Milledge to be traded. That is the height of stupidity. First of all, with all this news, what will they get back? Second, it's a stupid fucking rap song. Trading the guy over this is asinine. We've had a lot worse guys on this team and they have stayed. Ever team has its share of idiots, or guys who made mistakes. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. Sit the guy down, talk to him, and explain this stops. Omar spoke to him already, so I don't think we will see anymore rapping from Lastings.
The second reason is the climate right now, thanks to Imus. Had this song come out a couple of months ago, I firmly believe there would be no issue. But since the media hammered Imus, and took heat for not hammering rappers, this was a prime opportunity to bash a rapper. The icing on the cake was that he was a Met who had some issues in the past, both prior to joining the organization, and after. But Imus changed everything. Now, anyone who says a stupid thing is going to be called out. I personally find the words in question awful, but I'm not going to sit here and kill the guy over it.
It is my feverent hope that this issue goes away soon. Thankfully, we have the Subway Series coming up, so the writers will be distracted by that.
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The other news was Lino Urdaneta being suspended for 50 games for Performance Enhancers. Of course, all the papers are blasting the Mets for this, and are citing the re-signing of Mota as a bad precedent. Look, what Mota did was wrong. I was pretty pissed that he did it, and frankly, wish the Mets had not given him a contract that helps him earn the money he lost through the suspension by back-loading the deal. Yes, this is the 4th player in the organization in the last year or so to be caught. Yes, that is bad. But you know what else is bad? Barry Bonds being treated like a king, when there is a lot of proof that he used PED's. Yet, ESPN is following him all over until he brakes Hank's record. He was re-signed to a deal as well. Now, I know he has never tested positive for anything, but let's be serious here. Take a look at him from his first couple of years, and look at him now. I grant, it is easy to gain weight as you get older (I'm living proof), but to increase your shoe size and head size? My feet stopped growing when I was 17.
The guys that have tested positive, with the exception of Mota, were minor leaguers. Did they do it on purpose? Who knows. Did they buy something that had something that wasn't on the label? Who knows. I'm not going to sit here and say "My team is OK." I am pissed about this. To me, the Mets need to tell every player, from the big league club down to short season, to their Academy in the Dominican, that the use of PED's is not tolerated. Following the suspension, they will be cut. No ifs ands or buts. This shit stops NOW. I don't care who it is, Beltran, Reyes, Wright, Wagner. You fail, you go.
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Overshadowed by all of this shit was another STRONG outing by Jorge Sosa last night. Sosa went 7, allowing 1 run and 1 hit, to move to 3-0. Sosa is looking like another gem that Omar found. Otherwise, Damion Easley hit another home run. David Wright drove in two runs. Carlos Gomez had two hits and his first two ML RBI's. The highlight to me though was the double steal by Beltran and Delgado. I don't know when Delgado last stole a base, but he got a decent jump. Fun stuff. Every starting position player had a hit. The only worry was Jose Reyes leaving the game in the 7th with a tight hamstring. He said after the game that he would play today, but if I'm Willie, I sit him out. We cannot risk him being out for an extended time, and with the quick turnaround and wet field, this is not a good time to risk further injury.
In other news, Moises Alou was put on the DL, and Jason Vargas will take the mound today at 1 PM, facing Angel Guzman.
Tomorrow, the Yankees come to Shea for 3. We'll talk more about it Friday AM.
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