Upon the World Cup and Stuff

Amid the rejoicing of the Howard Beach community, Italy has won the 2006 World Cup. A tough crossbar miss in penalty kicks allowed Italy to outlast the French, and erase some of the 1994 heartache. Zidane was sent off after a vicious headbutt to the chest of an opponent, robbing France of their best penalty taker (who had scored the only French goal on such a shot earlier in the game). Zidane was also nearly the hero as his header in extra time was tipped up and over the crossbar by Buffon. Good tournament, but the final was somewhat anti-climatic. The US now has 4 years to find a new coach and some new skills.

Mike Lupica raised the idea that there is a real debate as to whether the Mets or Yankees have the best left side of the infield in New York, and as to who fans would rather have. Now I have lived in and participated in the New York sports culture for as long as I can remember, and I understand that creating and provoking competitive dialogue is part of what our reporters do. However, I am pretty surprised at how much Met bandwagon jumping is going on, and how a half season of strong play from Wright and Reyes are making people rank them equal to or greater than two of the greatest players of this generation. Do past history in combination with current stats no longer carry weight with the baseball minds of this world? So David Wrights last two years are as valuable as almost 500 HR at 30 years old, Gold Gloves and MVPs. And Jose Reyes and his runs scored and steals for half a season are equal to World Series MVPs, being one of only a handful of Yankee captains, and consistently one of the best shortstops in baseball for 10 years.

I will not knock the great performances of the Mets infielders this year. But please, lets show a whole season of excellence and then try to sustain it before we throw them up there with the boys in the Bronx. Jonathan Papelbon is not Trevor Hoffman or Mariano Rivera. Francisco Liriano is not Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens. and Wright and Reyes are not Jeter and Rodriguez. All these players can be great in their own right, but potential does not equal performance.