It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Happy Jackie Robinson Day everybody!

The headline on mets.com this morning read: "Mets rally, but Rockies get to Mejia in extras." True, the Mets did rally from being down 5-3 immediately after being up 3-1. Yes, the Rockies did technically get to Jenrry Mejia in extras; he came into the 10th and threw four pitches before the only batter he faced - catcher Chris Iannetta - hit a walkoff homer to give the Rockies a 6-5 win. So really, the headline could have just said, "Mets lose in extras."

When something bad happens, it is usually our natural reaction to try and disguise it so that it seems a little better. Silver linings are all the rage, especially if your name is Jerry Manuel, Omar Minaya or whoever is in charge of the Orioles right now. The Mets managed to lose yesterday despite homers from Jeff Francouer and David Wright, and after the game, Wright didn't even try to look for a silver lining. "I don't, and I don't think anybody else in here, takes too much pride in the fact that we fought back," he said according to Anthony DiComo on mets.com. "It is what it is, and that's another loss." They are now off to a 2-6 start, which is their worst since 1992.

Meanwhile, despite having to place Jimmy Rollins on the DL for two to four weeks, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and the Phillies routed the fourth-place Nationals to move to 7-1, which is their best start since 1993, when they made it to Game 6 of the World Series. They are already five games ahead of the New York cellar dwellers, and if yesterday's five RBIs are any indication that Victorino has found his stroke again, not having Jimmy Rollins shouldn't be a big obstacle for the Phils.

The Orioles, similar to the Mets, are off to a historically bad start as well. After getting swept at home by Carlos Pena and the Rays, Baltimore is now on a six-game losing streak and has a record of 1-8. This is their worst start to a season since they started off the 1988 season 0-21. The team that lost to the Mets in the 1969 World Series is only 1-for-29 (.034) this season with RISP and two outs. Orioles manager Dave Trembley's winning percentage has dropped each season since he became the manager in 2007, from .430 to .422 to .395, and given Peter Angelos' short leashes with Sam Perlozzo and Lee Mazzilli, I'd give the Orioles another two to four weeks of playing like this before Trembley gets the can.

Poll: Which will happen first?
A) Jimmy Rollins returns from the DL
B) Dave Trembley gets fired
C) Jerry Manuel gets fired


It's no secret that the Cleveland Indians do not have much in the expectations department. That said, either their broadcasters have the best/worst noise-cancelling microphones in history, or their fans really do not want to be there (what little fans were that there to begin with). When something bad happen to the Indians, the crowd sounded like a cemetery. When something good happened to the Indians, the crowd sounded like a cemetery on a windy day. It's really a shame

Short hops: It was Pun Day on MLB.com, with headlines "Huff puffs way to inside-the-park-homer" and "Penny's stinginess gives Cards win." As a lover of all things wordplay, this greatly appealed to me... Florida's Jorge Cantu set a Major League record yesterday when he hit a home run in the third inning to record a hit and an RBI in his ninth straight game to start the season. Perennial video game announcer and current Reds announcer Thom Brennaman mistakenly said the record was for "a hit or an RBI" in nine straight games, which isn't impressive at all... Joel Pineiro of the Angels showed the Mets why they probably should have tried a little harder to get him this winter by pitching seven dominant innings against the Yankees yesterday. He allowed one run with seven strikeouts and no walks, making Alex Rodriguez look like a fool on more than one occasion.

For a great article on Jackie Robinson, check out Billy-Ball.

As always, if you like what you read, please keep coming back and follow the blog daily (there's a link in the sidebar), and please pass the JOB on to friends to help me get one!