At least we have the bean bag game...

First, the positives of the weekend....

1) A BIG thank you to Danny Cohen for getting us amazing seats for the Giants. Going from the corner of the end zone down stairs to the 35 yard line, in the sun, upstairs is just a HUGE upgrade.

2) Great to be back with my second family as close as we possibly could get to parking lot 6F. Great tailgate, great food, great friends...and well...

3) GREAT GAME! (no, not the actual game) A huge "GREAT JOB" to my partner in crime Larry Goldberg for introducing the great Giants bean bag toss game to the tailgate. In the early morning hours at TPLFKA6F there were 20 or so happy tailgaters in teams of 3 competing in this new tailgating staple. The early season MVP Brett Yarkon looked good early but the team of Bubba-DC and yours truly are the current champs. (Special Coop-a-Fink blog shout out to Harris)

4) Some solid new additions to the tailgate...starting with my new "camp burner" breakfast specials and my new table. AMAZING ribs from Danny's smoker that may have been the best ribs any tailgater has yet to bring. No offense to Mama Venokur's ribs at all (they are still very good) but you simply can't make ribs in a pot like you can in a smoker. Note on this...get it together men, we don't need 2 people bringing ribs, especially when V brings like 15 lbs.

A few things that didn't work...the boneless buffalo wings, the huge pile of bean dip, the "You know how I know you are gay" spinach dip in a bread bowl, any other dips, the danny pigs in a blanket (bubba's rule!)

5) Actual IM from Larry earlier:

lawrenceG22: I have a confession
coops7: OK
lawrenceG22: I don't remember a lot of the game

There you have it kids...Sunday's are back

OK...now onto the recaps...

Let's start if off with the Mets....

How in the FREAKIN WORLD does Willie still bring in Guillermo Mota??!!??!! What is his thought process?

This bullpen is just sickening. From Heilman on Friday to Feliciano & Sosa on Saturday to the debacle of 8 pitchers yesterday, it just seems to get worse and worse against the Phillies. The Mets' relievers allowed 10 runs, seven earned, in 9 2/3 innings in the series. In contrast, the Phillies' relievers allowed one run in 11 1/3 innings in the sweep. This has been going on all year...only against the Phils. It's strange, it's annoying and it's sickening.

This all said, we are up 3.5 games, 4 in the loss column and the division is still ours for the taking. Seeing Brian Lawrence take the hill tonight is far from encouraging but we must take solace in the fact we are playing the Nats and Marlins for the remainder of the year.

Now to the Giants...

Ugh. Where to start?

Lets start with #10 playing the game...tht was a nice way to begin. And then it's basically all down hill from there. The penalties by Shockey and Toomer were awful, the injuries keep mounting and the defense is embarrassing. I can honestly say that I felt as helpless watching the Giants D as I do when Mota comes into a game. Just a sad display of football. When Bradshaw fumbled the kickoff, I really had just had it with the weekend overall.

We will have more Giants coverage from LG later this week.

Happy New Year to all