On the Mets beat

I know this is a Mets blog, with plenty of Mets fans as readers, so I'm sure this audience must take some guilty pleasure in stories about the demise of Roger Clemens. Well, as a bonus today, you can print out this Newsday back page and tack it on to your dartboard, use it to train a puppy or perhaps line your birdcage.

There's a number of reasons for Mets fans to despise Clemens, leading with the most obvious -- first drilling Mike Piazza in the head with a 95-mph fastball and later, in the World Series, hurling a broken-bat at him. Kind of gets those old emotions flowing just reading that, doesn't it? Well, rest assured that Clemens-haters are getting the last laugh now. Maybe there is something to this karma thing after all.

Plus, a little blind rage can provide some escapism from the Ollie Perez follies, which continued in last night's 5-1 loss to the Dodgers. OK, so Perez had better control, but his home runs (3) still outnumbered his walks (2). That's not a great stat.

If you're looking for a silver lining in the surprising number of clouds here in SoCal -- have I stopped complaining about the weather yet? -- Carlos Delgado is now batting .216 (and climbing!) after his rocket double down the rightfield line last night. He also grounded into the overshift for a double play, but it's better than 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Delgado, who just became the home-run king of Puerto Rico, does seem to be on the upswing, however, and maybe his quest for 500 homers will fuel this resurgence.Also from last night, manager Willie Randolph denied being away from negative Shea was a boost for his team, and insisted that these Mets will make their fans "proud" before this season is over.