According to Glenn Thrush in Newsday, hours after the primary polls closed on Tuesday, a staffer from the Clinton campaign sent along an article written in the New York Times on October 26, 1986 about the Mets incredible comeback to win Game 6 of the World Series. The subject line? “Deja Vu”.

If you happened to turn to page A7 of the Newsday (print edition only, the picture isn’t online), you would see a picture of Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) with her fists pumped in the air…next to a picture of Jesse Orosco doing the same move as a result of the Mets win in Game 6. The caption of the picture read:

The Clinton camp sought to liken her victories over Barack Obama in Ohio and Texas to the Mets’ victory over the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series. Down three games to two, the Mets scored three runs in the 10th inning to pull out a win in Game 6 (thanks to an infamous error by Sox first baseman Bill Buckner). The Mets then won Game 7.

That’s right, baseball fever is EVERYWHERE, folks! It’s even infecting the election. Does anyone else other than me hope Jon Stewart picks this one up? One can only hope.

In memory of Hall of Fame sportswriter Jack Lang, who passed away at the start of the year at the age of 85, the NY Mets have generously designated April 26th as Jack Lang Day at Shea. I was surprised to hear that not many people know who Jack Lang was. With the help of ESPN.com, I would like to share with you some of the highlights of Jack’s life, because it was an incredible one.

Jack Lang began covering the Brooklyn Dodgers for the Long Island Daily Press in 1946, including the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier of Major League Baseball. When the Dodgers left for warmer weather in 1957, Lang covered the Yankees until the Mets began playing in 1962. While Lang was at spring training in 1977, the Press closed. Within 4 hours, he was hired by the News to cover the Mets.

One of the more pleasant parts of his job came later, when he was elected as the secretary/treasurer of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. It became his job to tally the Hall of Fame scores, and call the winners. This earned him his nickname of “the good-news” man. In 1986, Lang was honored by the Hall with the J.G Taylor Spink Award.

Many current and former Mets remember him fondly:

“He’s a man that loved baseball to the core of his soul and he was a good friend and objective, as well” - Tom Seaver

“He’s from the era of 16 teams and traveling on trains with the guys. There was a different relationship with the beat writers and the players at that point. A good guy, a good man” - Fred Wilpon

“He was a true historian of the game. The world of baseball is a lesser place now without him” - Rusty Staub

In honor of Lang, his family has chosen the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island as their charitable partner for this fund raiser to raise awareness of this disorder, which affects Lang’s grandson and over 40 million people world wide.

To support this cause, please consider buying tickets for the April 26th game to see the Mets play the rival Atlanta Braves from the Epilepsy Foundation for the same price as it would cost you to attend the game. Tickets are as follows:

• Picnic Area: $50 (Include Party Tent, BBQ Buffet, and Left Field Bleacher Seating
• Upper Level Box Seat: $27
• Upper Level: $10

To purchase tickets or to make a donation in memory of Jack Lang, contact Pat Maher, Development Dept of the Long Island Epilepsy Foundation at (516) 739-7733 ext 141.

The Mets may be hurting, but not on the scoreboard. Today, the Mets are officially .500 in the Grapefruit League after a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. This was the Mets first extra innings game of the year. The winning pitcher was Ivan Maldando and Carlos Muniz had a blown save. For the complete box score, visit MLB.com.

Here are some notes from today’s game:

• Ramon Castro, today’s DH, drove in the games first run with…yes, you heard me right…a TRIPLE. Go Shrek!
• Jose Reyes followed that up with a RBI single up the middle.
• Billy Wagner allowed one run in one inning of work.
• The Mets won it in the 10th inning when backup infielder Ruben Tejada hit a 2 out RBI to drive in Michel Abreu from 1st base.
• Mike Pelfrey went 3 scoreless innings with just 2 hits.

Major thanks to Rob Harding for giving me the rundown of today’s game.

Today the NY Mets (1-3) will face off again with the LA Dodgers (1-2) at Holman Stadium (Vero Beach), whom they beat in yesterday’s spring training game at Tradition Field. Lineups provided by David Lennon on his blog for Newsday.

Today’s starting lineup:

Mets

• Anderson Hernandez (SS)
• Ruben Gotay (2B)
• Brady Clark (LF)
• Angel Pagan (CF)
• Ramon Castro (C)
• Fernando Martinez (RF)
• Michel Abreu (1B)
• Robinson Cancel (DH)
• Anderson Machado (3B)

Dodgers lineup:

• Juan Pierre
• Rafeal Furcal
• Andruw Jones
• Jeff Kent
• Russ Martin
• Nomaaaaaaah
• James Loney
• Matt Kemp
• Gary Bennet

Today’s Starting Pitchers:

Mets: LHP Oliver Perez was 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA in 29 starts for the Mets in 2007. Perez finished 9th in the NL in ERA, tied for 8th in wins, 3rd in OBA, and 2nd with 8.8 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Dodgers: RHP Derek Lowe finished last season 12-14 with a 3.88 ERA in 199.1 IP.

Injury update:

• Marlon Anderson: Had a CAT scan that came back negative, currently day to day with a bruised sternum.
• Ryan Church: Had a CAT scan yesterday, also negative, diagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion and can return once he is symptom free.
• Carlos Delgado: Results of yesterdays MRI were negative, is expected to miss a few days with an impingement of the right hip.

As always, join us at the Hot Foot Bleachers for an in-game chat!

The staff here at Hot Foot would like wish a happy 31st birthday to catcher Ramon Castro. In honor of his birthday, here are a few fun facts about everyone favorite back-up catcher, courtesy of Mets.com:

• In 1994, Castro became the first Puerto Rican player to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft. He was picked by the Houston Astro’s at the 17th overall selection.
• He was traded to the Marlins and made his major league debut in 1999 against the Astros
• Around the Hot Foot dinner table, Castro is fondly referred to as Shrek.

It looks like Carlos Delgado’s injuries will start early this year. David Lennon writes in his blog for Newsday that the Mets first baseman will be flying back to the colder weather in NY to have an MRI on his right hip. Omar Minaya has confirmed that the pain is in the same location where he strained his right hip flexor on September 4th last year resulting in Delgado missing over 2 weeks.

Update 2:27pm

According to the AP via MetsBlog, the injury is not related to his strained hip flexor from last year. Minaya says that is it just a precaution and they don’t feel the need to find a long term replacement for now.

According to David Lennon at Newsday.com, the Mets have finally had it with Lastings Milledge. As you may remember (especially because he keeps reminding the media) Milledge had a rocky road during his time with the Mets. Milledge felt singled out by the team’s veteran players, but David Wright, who is only 3 years out of his rookie season, disagreed, saying:

“The veterans were never mean to him or singled him out,” Wright said. “They always tried to teach him. Some of that comes through tough love. I went through it, Jose [Reyes] went through it. All the young guys in the game go through that tough-love period. Some handle it better than others.

As usual, Billy Wagner spoke up regarding Milledge yesterday, claiming that “everyone in the organization babied the heck out of him”. Wagner explained that they were told to go easier on him and that the now infamous “Know Your Role, Rook!” sign hung by Wagner in Milledge’s locker was nothing more than typical rookie hazing everyone goes through. However, perhaps the most surprising response came from Wright, stating:

“Personally, I like Lastings. There were times when he messed up and he knew it and he learned from it. I don’t see where this is coming from. I don’t know if it’s just trying to play that ‘bitter traded guy’ role. I don’t know what he’s trying to accomplish by the things that he’s saying.”

Some people were sad to see him go, I wasn’t. Do I think the kid had talent? Of course! But if the Mets didn’t like him and weren’t going to use him, then why bother keeping him around? I think he needs to get over it. For someone who hated being on the team so much, he is still certainly very focused on them. He should be glad to have been traded but instead, as Wright says, he seems like he is trying to play the “bitter traded guy” role. I think it’s time for Millz to put on his big girl panties and deal with it.

In game #4, New York Mets will go up against the LA Dodgers (1-1) at Tradition Field.

Here’s a look at today’s lineup, courtesy of David Lennon’s blog at Newsday.com

Mets:

• Jose Reyes (SS)
• Marlon Anderson (1B)
• David Wright (3B)
• Moises Alou (LF)
• Ryan Church (RF)
• Angel Pagan (CF)
• Ruben Gotay (2B)
• Ramon Castro (DH)
• Saloman Manriquez (C)

Dodgers:

• Juan Pierre (LF)
• Delwyn Young (2B)
• Russell Martin (C)
• Andre Ethier (RF)
• Andruw Jones (CF)
• Nomar Garciaparra (DH)
• Mark Sweeny (1B)
• Andy LaRoche (3B)
• Chin-lung Hu (SS)

Here’s a look at your starting pitchers:

Mets: RHP Jonathan Niese was a 7th round draft pick in the 2005 First Year Player draft. At the time, he was 11-7 with a 4.29 ERA with the St. Lucie Mets (A). He was also the 2006 Sterling Award Co-Winner at Hagerstown (A).

Dodgers: RHP Brad Penny finished 2007 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA. He is currently the favorite to start on Opening Day for the Dodgers.

Today’s game will be broadcasted on the CW11 (Channel 11) and WFAN (660AM) at 1:10pm. As always, head on over to the Hot Foot Bleachers to watch and discuss the game your fellow Mets fans.

One of the Mets leaders had a good take on ESPN’s Jayson Stark’s “unnamed” Phillie who said that this year, there will be brawls. David Lennon writes on his blog for Newsday that David Wright wants to keep the fights off the field…but the bleachers are another story:

“And if you want to talk about fighting, there’s a lot of fights going on in the stands. We’ll let the fans do the trash-talking for us and let the fans take care of business fighting-wise. I’m not condoning it, but it happens.All of a sudden you just see security running everywhere so you know what’s going on.”

In an earlier post on his blog for Newsday, Lennon talks about Carlos Beltran’s reaction to Jimmy Rollins‘ “plagiarism” jab. Beltran seemed in good spirits about everything, saying:

“I have nothing against Jimmy, [...] He plays hard, he does his job, he’s always hustling. Philly found a way to play better at the end and they won the division. But this year is going to be different.”

Beltran looks ready to stand by his comments about the Mets being the “team to beat” and I am glad for that. As Billy Wagner suggested, you can’t just say “oops, I was kidding!”. And I, for one, thought Wright’s comments about the brawls was an excellent way to handle it. Trust me David, I am going to be at the home opener on April 8th, I’ll keep everyone in line…maybe.