Most influential Canadian in baseball is ... | Baseball | Sports | Toronto Sun

I think the most insulting part of this list is Jason Bay is nowhere to be found on it. I guess nice guys don't even finish last anymore!

"Don’t make Reyes pay because of Jason Bay."

A life-long Yankee fan offering great advice on why the Mets should keep Jose Reyes and an honest assessment of Yankee fans:

"Maybe as much as a third of the Yankees’ fan base are front-running, J.Crew, wine-and-cheese chumps who only go to games because it’s trendy and daddy can afford the ticket. None of them can name a game or a player prior to 1996. Ask who Ron Hassey is and they will likely say a senator from Indiana."

This is very true. In fact, I had to remind a Yankee fan friend of mine who Mel Hall was. In his defense though, he was only 13 years old when Hall hit that home run in Minnesota when he took half a minute to round the bases.

"Chavez, great speed; Reyes, great speed; LoDuca, good guy."

Rich Coutinho makes a great case for the Mets batting Josh Thole 2nd in the lineup. Not a bad idea, considering the Jose Reyes/Paul LoDuca duo at the top of the lineup in 2006. The only thing I would disagree with is Coutinho suggests moving Pagan back to the #2 spot when Jason Bay returns. I'm not entirely sure that would be a good idea, especially if Thole is performing in the two-hole.

In other New York Mets news, great column by Steve Popper in The Bergen Record about David Wright taking more of a leadership role on the team. He also mentions the game of catch with the Braves fans before Sunday's game.

By the way, does anyone remember that Howie Rose quote that I used for the title of this post?