If We Can Make It There ...

My casual baseball friends (those who jumped on the wagon this month for the first time) don't understand the big deal over this weekend's series with the NY Mets.

As one put it - it's not like we're playing the Yankees ... (too bad, their pitching sucks)

It doesn't matter: New York is the media capitol of the world (with all due respect to Hollywood).

NY has more newspaper reporters than Milwaukee has media. Radio stations, TV stations, newspaper, etc: all competing for the attention of the 10 million potential fans.

NY is reality TV (case in point - that train wreck of a reality show on VH1: I Love NY).

In Milwaukee, when Jenkins' career took a dump last year - the paper reported it, but with the respect and dignity you would respect from a mid-west paper.

Had Geoff been a member of the Mets - he would gave been on the back page of one paper - daily with outrageous headlines and articles calling for his head. When he showed disappointment at being benched last year ... something like "Sit Down, Crybaby!"

People who do well in NY - are ones with an ego so big, they can handle it (Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, Tug McGraw, etc.).

Back to our weekend series: winning 2 of 3 validates us to the media in their own backyard.

If you saw ESPN last night, Jenkins, Cappy and Rickie Weeks were at the ESPN zone yukking it up with teh BBTN crew. They even had a good laugh over the 450 people who had pledged on-line to pee their pants if the Crew makes the post season.

But being invited to the ESPN Zone and on The Young And The Restless is a fine appetizer: showing the NY media we can play baseball is the main course.

GOOD NEWS:

• We have Suppon starting tonight - remember his last start at Shea ... back in October?
• Coco was forced to take a day off and could pitch tonight.
• JJ's streak is over - so he can concentrate on moving along runners.
• Prince Fielder will absorb the spot-light very well.
• The chance of rain has been dropped to 30% in NYC.
• Jorge Sosa (tonight's starter) is tough ... but a righty, so Jenkins and Fielder can do some damage.
• The real pressure is on the Mets. They are tight with the Braves atop the NL east.

THE BAD NEWS

• It's a road game
• It's the NY Mets (my pre-season pick as WS champ)
• Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are in the line-up.
• The game is not in HD.

BTW: I had to make a quick trip to my local Walgreens last night and they had Brewers stuff right there in the front of the store.

First time this decade.