I can’t tell if that headline is weird or not, but I’m sticking with it.  Ryan Howard is getting hot and I’m getting excited.  Howard has 4 homers in his last 4 games, including 2 last night supplying all of the runs the Phillies would get and/or need.

The only thing that sucked about Rhyno’s homers last night is that I barely lost what could’ve been a great bet.  I bet my buddy that the Phillies would homer in the bottom of the first and I got 5:1 odds for it.  Sure enough after Chase’s line drive double play, Ryan Howard homers to start the second.  Come on!  It’s not even about the few dollars I would’ve won, it’s about the bragging rights!  Damn.

J.A. Happ is killing it too and he’s got to be the front-runner for the rookie of the year.  Well, after Fernando Martinez that is… HAAH ZIING! Man, I’m sorry about that.  I couldn’t help myself.  Anyway, good win for the Phillies, great job by Howard and Happ.

Sucks.  Just kidding, Citi Field is awesome, just as I expected it would be and it should be for all the money they spent.  My lovely girlfriend (a Mets fan) bought tickets and took me to the game as a birthday gift.  At first you would say, what a low blow since I had to see the Mets play, but I really wanted to see Citi so it was a great gift.

The stadium is beautiful inside and out and is architecturally very cool.  There are lots of different overhangs and little nuances that make it unique and interesting.  The enormous jagged dimensions are in the same design, but you just take the good with the bad.  We sat in the upper deck, third base line and the seats were great.  There were tons of vendors coming up and down and it didn’t feel like I was sitting two miles away.  My girlfriend had a hot dog and sadly, it left a lot to be desired.  The bun was horrendous and ruined the hot dog which was quite good itself.  The fountain gatorade was pretty terrible too, but that’s to be expected.  Grilled Chicken sandwhich was small, but good, I enjoyed that one.

I liked the boldness of the stadium’s look the most.  The black color of the walls looked great with the blue outlines and the ad’s around the stadium were striking, but in a good way.  It seemed like more than just a mess of colors.

Funniest moment of the day: my girlfriend, in a fit of forgetfulness, referred to Mr. Met as the “Mets-ball-head-guy”.  That was pretty funny, I enjoyed that one.  Oh the second funniest moment was when Luis Castillo hit an upper deck bomb.  That one killed me.  Overall I really liked Citi Field it was a great place to watch a game.

David Wright’s concussion that he suffered from a Matt Cain fastball to the helmet the other day may keep him off the field for the remainder of this season, or so ESPN is speculating on their front page.

If DW is out of the lineup, I don’t see any reason to even pretend the Mets are a baseball team.  Cancel the rest of the season, what’s the point?  No Reyes, no Beltran, no Delgado, now no Wright?  Ugh, the Mets are really taking the fun out of beating them this season.

Then again, why take chances?  Let DW sit out, let them all sit out and rest and hope to go that they all come back healthy in 2010 and the Mets can make a run and make up for all the money they’re not making this season with a team that is unwatchable and lacking in any semblance of talent.

Let’s talk Boston first because it was first time in the city and at the ballpark.  I had very high expectations for Boston and it exceeded them all.  The city was clean and cool and had a sweet old school look and feel to it.  Just walking around the city was entertaining enough.  I ate at a Sports Bar named  “The Fours” which was a classic Boston sports bar and the food, atmosphere and decor were all fantastic.  I also enjoyed how there isn’t just a bar on every street, there might be 3 bars on every corner.  How the hell do they all stay in business?

As for Fenway, it totally blew me away.  Recently, I’ve spent the majority of my baseball viewing time in new, modern stadiums.  Citizen’s Bank, Nationals Park, PNC Park, New Yankee Stadium – all stunning and beautiful parks.  However, Fenway topped them all and it’s not close.  The atmosphere around the park was great, it was like a Red Sox oasis packed into the city with people buzzing all day long.  Most importantly, it emphasized the baseball game.  The replay and info screens weren’t obnoxious.  There were no hot dog shooting mascots.  No spinny bat races.  Nothing, but baseball.  And it was refreshing. I’m not saying I hate those things and no stadium should have them, but I sure as hell didn’t miss them.

The stadium itself balances classic baseball with a modern touch in perfect harmony.  There were flat screens and a cushioned seating in some areas that complemented the manual scoreboard and lack of upper deck seamlessly.  The Green Monster is awesome in person and I was lucky enough to see 3 homers sneak out over it.  My seats were dead center, as far as you could go up, under the scoreboard, and pointing directly towards the right field foul poll and they’re were still awesome seats.  The tickets weren’t dirt cheap but it’s a worthwhile price to pay to go to a sold out game and be part of a wildly passionate crowd (yeah I’m talking to you Washington).  Back to the seats, it is so strange that so many of them don’t point towards home plate.  They point all over the field and you have to turn your body to see the action.  Just another thing you take for granted in the new billion dollar stadiums.

I went to Cooperstown last year and as it never does, it didn’t disappoint this time around either.  I could walk the museum every day and still enjoy it every time.  The shops get a little repetitive, but you can always find something unique you didn’t see last time.  This time I found a bin of $5 fitted hats.  Blew my mind.  Also, the local brewers make some great baseball themed beers.  Some tasting better than others.  If you’re in the area, I’d say go for the Cooperstown Brewery Benchwarmer Porter and stay away from the Old Slugger Pale Ale.

It seems like every time that I write about the Phillies in the second half, I talk about Ryan Howard.  And justifiably so.  The past two seasons he’s turned into the Hulk down the stretch and put up absurd statistics.  Thus far into the season he’s got me wonderful when or even if that’s going to happen again.

Ryan hasn’t be setting the league ablaze thus far in the second half and set a career high in consecutive at-bats without a home run.  That all changed two nights ago when he homered and broke the game open against the Cubbies.  Last night he bopped another, this time in the top of the night which ended up being the game winner over the Braves.  In his last three games, including last night, he’s 4-10 with two homers and a triple.  Very, very small sample size, I know, but these are the sort of games that can set a guy’s confidence in the right direction and jump start some strong play.

Maybe this is finally the time for Howard to go Hulk again and carry this team once more?

Looking ahead to 2010, I think the Mets have 3 major areas for concern: Left Field, Starting Pitching, and First Base.  Left field and starting pitching are glaring weaknesses, and will almost certainly have to be bolstered by an offseason acquisition.  But as for first base, I think the Mets have a lot to work with. 

• Bring back Carlos Delgado on a short term, incentive laden contract.
• Let Daniel Murphy keep the job, and see what he can do over 162 games.
• Hand the job to Ike Davis.
• Acquire a power hitting veteran to hold the spot for Davis.

“It’s part of the game. It’s one of those things that happens and I just want to make sure that guy gets what’s due,” Victorino said before the Phillies’ 6-1 win.

“I think he needs to be held accountable. But for the most part, I just see it as the guy thought it was fun. It is what it is. It didn’t cost me in any way and it didn’t hurt me in any way. It’s part of the ballgame,” he said.

“I just think that, not so much that I want to press charges or file anything against him. I just think he’s probably sitting at home thinking he got away with it. I hope that he gets the understanding that you can’t be doing things like that,” Victorino said.

“I don’t think he’d be walking too far if something like that happened in the streets. It’s just not something that you do. For the most part, in the big picture, this guy should be held accountable and something should be done,” he said.

Man I hate this guy,  and what a pussy.  Assault Charges?!  Could he be any more contradictory in his statements?  "It's part of the game",   "It's just not something you do", "I don't want to press charges" and then presses charges.  What an A**HOLE.

For the record, the fan should not have thrown the cup at him.  Had Pricktorino dropped the ball, it would and should have been ruled fan interference. But seriously.  Assault charges for getting hit with a plastic cup?  GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE VICKY YOU POMPOUS CRY BABY!  Jeez.  It's going take a lot to dethrone Vicky as the most hated Phillie.

According to numerous reports, the Mets plan on adding championship banners and historic photographs throughout Citi Field.  The 1969 and 1986 banners will be displayed on the left field wall, and photographs of memorable moments and retired players will be displayed throughout. 

These are the things we must see when they are considering decorating the new Citi Field with more mets-appropriate decorations A memorial to Luis Castillo, which will include life-sized pictures of him falling down the dugout steps and another of him dropping that yankees pop-up An image of Pelfrey falling off the mound. Also, an historic picture-by-picture account of his most famous balks A statue of liberty-sized statue of Angel Berroa which will literally dwarf the stadium and take up most of the entrance to the Robinson Rotunda. His statue's head will be cocked and appear to be looking down on the team at all times A talking exhibit like in a museum where you press a button on a lifesized replica of Omar Manaya and he recites the "investigation" speech over and over again A wax figure of a shirtless Tony Bernazard ripping his tattered shirt apart Hulk Hogan style The actual 3rd base bag that Ryan Church missed, bronzed and encased in bulletproof glass