THE CHOSEN ONE? REALLY?

LeBron is no longer the centerpiece, the king, or even the chosen one. As Skip Bayless states, "He is Robin and Dwayne Wade is Batman." Not only did he make a poor decision with the all about me "Decision," he also hurt his image by no longer being the leader of the team. Everyone that supports his decisions claims he did the right thing because he just wants to win championships. Well, can we ever consider him as one of the all time greats because of championships, if that's the case Robert Horry is an all time great with 7 rings. It's not just about the rings and there's where LeBron's inner circle influenced him to make a poor decision. It's all about the competition, the drive, the ability to lift your teammates expectations and talents. There is no way that you can even put LeBron James in the same sentence as Kobe Bryant and even Dwayne Wade (who performed with the will to win during the 2006 playoffs). His performance in this year's recent loss to the Celtics proves that he doesn't have that drive. Bill Simmons hits it right on the money when he states, "If he owned that cutthroat Jordan chromosome, or Magic's leadership chromosome, it would have surfaced by now." He continues, "I mentioned how there comes a point in every great player's career when you have to pour the cement, let it harden and see what you have. We poured the cement for LeBron in this series. It hardened last night. We know what we have."

A statement by Bryant Gumble of Real Sports:

“Finally tonight, a few words about championship rings. Just when did they become the all-important barometer of who does or doesn’t count in sports? When did they supersede personal excellence or exemplary character as a standard of greatness?

“I got to thinking about that the other night after the self-anointed chosen one, LeBron James, embarrassed himself as he tried to make his decision to seek rings in Miami sound like a search for the Holy Grail. It’s when he essentially admitted to placing a higher priority on winning than anything else.

“LeBron’s decision is typical of our immediate gratification era, but it flies in the face of history. Even though he never won a title, Dan Marino is still the biggest hero in Florida. And in Boston, all those Celtics championships are dimmed by the unforgettable brilliance of Ted Williams, who never won anything. In Chicago, Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus have legendary status despite playing on losing teams. And even in the NBA, where guys seem obsessed with being viewed as ‘the man’, real men like Barkley, Ewing and Baylor are ringless, but revered.

“Despite such evidence to the contrary, LeBron James seems to think he needs a ring to change his life and secure his legacy. Maybe he’ll get one, maybe he won’t, but it’s probable that no amount of rings will ever remove the stench he wallowed in last week. LeBron may yet find that in the court of public opinion, just as putting on a tux can’t make a guy a gentleman, winning a ring can’t make one truly a champion.”

Well LeBron, let us know how it feels to be in the back for once and not the center of attention. The picture states it all, you will forever be in Dwayne Wade's shadow!

MEET THE METS!

After an up and down first half of the season, can the NY Mets pull it together in the second half to make the playoffs this year? The NY Mets did not come into the season with high expectations from fans. Fans did not know how long it would take Reyes to get into game shape, whether Wright will be more productive than last year's 10 HR's and 72 RBI's, can Jason Bay meet expectations, how will pitching hold up this year, and lastly when will they see Beltran back in the line up? The answers to those questions have been answered, however can they shake off old habits and get into the playoff (maybe even win a series)?

The first half assessment:

Pitching: Although it was up and down, some performances were clearly not expected. R.A. Dickey, the knuckleballer, for one had no expectations coming into the season. Oliver Perez disappeared into oblivion so they needed a fifth starter. There was definitely doubts as to how can he be successful with only a 82-85 mph fastball. Well, he's 6-2 and batters still can't figure him out. As far as the closer, well K-Rod is no longer K-Rod! He has four blown saves and clearly does not have the "stuff" he was once known for. He needs to locate his pitches better and not be afraid of getting hit! Takahashi was a great surprise for the bullpen. Although the plan to give him some starts are not reaping it's rewards as of late, the move back to the bullpen further solidifies their innings eater in case someone blows up early. Neise had a productive first half going 6-3 another 5 to 6 wins in the second half will be a fair assessment since he's still young. The biggest surprise has been Pelfrey starting off on fire and as of late starting to cool off. If Pelfrey can find himself once again and give you another 6-8 wins that will be more than acceptable. Santana has had a tumultuous first half and unlike Pelfrey, has significantly picked it up winning his last three games. Santana has always been known as a second half pitcher and will clearly be needed in the end as he tries to erase the earlier notions that he is no longer the number one pitcher on the NY Mets!

Infield:

The infield started started shaky but the move to bring up Ike Davis gave them a boost and provided a long ball hitter to the line up. Although Davis has been just average, that is more than enough from a young batter playing in the majors for the first time. The catchers have all been clutch especially Barajas, started off hot but since cooled down. Blanco and Thole's situational hitting have helped keep the line up strong when sometimes the bottom of the order is snoozing away. Castillo is well Castillo, let's hope that Ruben Tejada and Alex Cora can continue to help in that position. Tejada is young and they are just working him into the line up to get some at bats. Jose Reyes started off slowly but only because he was adjusting to the game speed after coming back from an injury. Reyes is not producing numbers as he was two seasons ago but fans should be happy that he is actually playing (although this oblique injury can phantomly get worse, NY Mets medical staff is known for botching injuries). As for David Wright, what more can you say other than he has taken leadership of this team and the numbers are clearly where they should be. He's leading the NL in RBI's and has been boosting his average as of late.

Outfield:

Two word "Polar Opposites!" Coming into the season everyone was expecting Jason Bay to produce the same numbers that he usually puts up. Of course, Citi Field is not batter friendly but no one expected such a slump from him. On the other hand, Angel Pagan, who was suppose to be a temporary fill in until Beltran returned has provided the Mets with clutch hitting and an overall great peformance. His performance has clearly made an impression with the manager because he is sticking with him when Beltran gets back and benching Francoeur. After getting Francoeur in a trade last year, his role was merely a role player that brings a toughness and attitude to the team. As much as they would like to keep his toughness in the line up, he still needs to produce numbers which for the first half have been absent. The decision to keep Pagan in the line up is a no brainer, let's just hope his replacement in center field, Beltran can produce! Beltran's injury has been keeping him from joining the Mets week after week but today will FINALLY be in the line up!

If the NY Mets can continue to pitch well and if the big three (Wright, Reyes and Beltran) all start to hit and perform as they are capable of, there's no way this team can miss the playoffs. The injury bug devastated this team last year and the two years prior to that, they blew division leads. Well this year they are in the mix for the division lead and also for wild card and none of this was expected of them this year. Maybe they perform better as UNDERDOGS!