Game 44 - Mets 6, Nationals 1

Of course, since I thought we would lose with Livan on the mound, he goes out and throws a complete game...

Picture that.

So the walking wounded that is the Mets has forced the hand of Omar to add Fernando Martinez to the roster. It's funny, they talked about it on Baseball Tonight. They sub-slugged the segment "The ReplaceMets" and were talking about Martinez while they showed Ramon Martinez and Angel Pagan. Ha!

It's like Nike and Vitamin Water placing all their money on a Kobe vs. LeBron Final, not hedging their bet with something for Dwight Howard or Carmelo.

You would think after Reebok's Dan vs. Dave diaster in 1992, advertisers would think twice before doing something like that again. How funny are those puppet commercials gonna be if the Pepsi Center is rocking after Rashard Lewis misses another three?

I was gonna talk about the death of hip hop, how it's a musical genre that actually alienates its listener as they get older. I've spoke with two of my friends in the past 48 hours. Both got on the bus early, listening to classics like Illmatic, Reasonable Doubt, Ice Cube pre-Hollywood and A Tribe Called Quest. Yes, the golden era of the late 1980s/early 1990s.

Like the nation, they stayed with it through the 1990s but have faded and there's no one to bring them back. Each have basically stated that they see no need to search out/listen to or look for new hip hop.

Example - LX called and said "Did you know there's a new Method Man/Redman - Blackout 2 album out." My answer - "Yeah and even if it came out a year after the first one, it would have sounded tired. There's no need to listen to it."

Example 2 - Sini called and said "Have you heard the new Eminem?" My answer - "Yeah and even if you enjoy his lyrical skill, its not enough. He's talking about the same things and still has jokes on Christopher Reeve."

I'm in Atlanta, so I don't know what it's like nationwide but was I the only one celebrating the fact that T.I. went to jail today? I mean, the guy threw a concert on Friday as "His Last Show".

Maybe if he didn't feel the need to live the same "money, guns and drugs" life that raps about and acted like any "boss", meaning he let his underlings handle his light work and keep his name out of the feds mouth, he wouldn't have to worry about spending a year and a day in the pen.

I feel no sympathy for him at all and yet, this is the top voice in the game right now. If not him, think about the fact that Jay-Z (who left Def Jam for whatever reason), Nas and Busta Rhymes are still considered the best in the game, (along with Little Wayne). That's a similar list from a decade ago (except for Little Wayne). There's no new blood, no new sound worth listening to and it's the same crap you heard before.

Rock doesn't do that to its faithful, does it? If you liked Aerosmith in the 70s with Dream On and Walk This Way, Janie's Got A Gun wasn't that far of a reach. Early Metallica fans still listen to and like their new stuff. Same can't be said for Dave Matthews Band, but all my examples can't be perfect.

Well, that's my musical rant for the day. Santana goes tomorrow for the series sweep against the gNats and then the Fish come to town. That's the big series to really worry about with all these injuries.