Jon Alba of Sports Full Circle takes a look at the top ten worst sportscasters of all-time. It’s an interesting list to say the least, and one of our very own showed up at #7 on the list.

7. Keith Hernandez-Hernandez is a very smart man, don’t get me wrong. He was an All-Star multiple years, and will often provide good insight. However, it is the stupid things that he says which makes you want to do a face-palm. During a game in San Diego, Hernandez spotted a girl employee in the Padres’ dugout. Upon realizing herself as an employee, Hernandez stated, “I won’t say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don’t belong in the dugout.” Why Keith, why? This brought large amounts of criticism to himself, which he may never recover from. It is said to “Have a Keith Hernandez Moment” when you have a sudden realization of what you have done, all in reference to his appearance on Seinfeld.

Keith is one of a kind, and is far from the greatest sportscasters. He has been criticized for going off into his own world in games that are absolute blow outs, but that is one of the main things that I love about having him in the booth. When the games are often boring, the things that he can come up with sometimes just amaze me and are just so out of left field, so to speak.

Head over to Mets Heads to see a list of “Keithisms” compiled by Regis Courtemanche.

It’s great to see that both John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman rank within the top 3 on this list as well. These two paint the worst possible picture for a baseball game that I have ever heard. However, for the most part, I can agree with this list.

I will have Lynn Cohen, wife of Gary Cohen, on tonight to talk about the inspiration behind the garykeithandron.com website.  She will also talk about the guys charities as well as her most memorable Gary call of his career.

Tim Grubbs, New Orleans Zephyrs broadcaster, will give insight into the Mets new coaches as well as talk about players such as Val Pascucci, Jose Valentin, and Tony Armas among others. Its great insight as to what Mets fans can expect in terms of reinforcements from the AAA squad.

To listen live at 6pm click HERE or go to the NY BASEBALL DIGEST ARCHIVE to download the replay.

Brian Costello of the NY Post provides us with this hilarious pic while breaking down the popularity of Keith Hernandez. Costello talks to Hernandez about the possibility of managing one day and how he felt when he was first dealt by the Cards to the Mets 25 years ago today.

Matt Cerrone of Mets Blog and Keith’s booth mate Gary Cohen were asked for their opinion on Hernandez’ popularity.

“I think he hearkens back more to a tough era and a style of play that Mets fans appreciate,” said Matthew Cerrone, who runs metsblog.com. “I think things like ‘Seinfeld’ and the mustache contest have over time built up the legend of Keith Hernandez.”

“People just love him,” said Gary Cohen, who shares the broadcast booth with Hernandez on SNY. “He’s a rock star.”

The moment Keith joined the Mets he became my favorite Met. He was smooth in everything he did and he was always the man you wanted up in the big situations. He played his position with a grace and intelligence that made me proud that he was on the team I rooted for.

Marty Noble of MLB.com writes about Mike Pelfrey’s possible demotion and his reaction:

“I know I pitched well enough to win two of those games,” he said. “I had a no-hitter going in one. But I’ve been disappointed with the others. I haven’t pitched well. I know that. That’s why I hate the game right now. It’s miserable. I’m miserable. I haven’t been able to command my pitches. When I do, I win. But it just isn’t there.”

Ed Ryan of Mets Fever lobbies for Tony Armas Jr. to be promoted. Armas has been pitching great for the New Orleans Zephyr’s, Ryan writes:

Tony Armas Jr. is absolutely dominating AAA…Armas deserves a start and then could be moved into the pen as a true long-man. Last night Tony Armas went seven innings in which he allowed one run on six hits, no walks while striking out seven his ERA is at 2.23.

Anthony Rieber of Newsday’s The Final Score points us towards a newspaper columnist ( Pete Colaizzo of the Poughkeepsie Journal ) that actually wants Willie Randolph to remain as Mets manager and this is before yesterday’s win.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman tells us that Mets brass wonder if Aaron Heilman is “tightening up in tough situations” since his stuff is still very good. Heyman also writes a bit about Gary Carter lobbying for Willie’s job and Keith Hernandez‘ reaction.

The folks over at the blog formerly known as Mets Geek received a lot of attention because of their name change to Rays Geek. Hot Foot’s own Anthony De Rosa wrote about it here. But according to the USA TODAY not all the attention has been positive:

“We were starting to get death threats from Rays fans that they hadn’t won since we switched the banner,” Eric Simon of Rays Geek said.

This recent stretch of bad road for the Mets has been hard to take. Enduring the losses can really wear on ones patience. Part of being able to cope with all the losing comes with having someone to put it in perspective and also try and add a little levity to the situation, along with keeping it interesting. The SNY booth has done just that, with their solid analysis by Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Gary Cohen.

I especially enjoyed Keith moving down to sit directly behind home plate, giving him a unique perspective on the game than the one he usually sees up in the booth. Keith was able to give us a better feel for how each pitcher was throwing, and in his own special way that we have come to know and love.

I also appreciate the fact that SNY is so open to trying new things, such as the calls to the booth, and allowing Gary to fulfill his dream of broadcasting a game from the upper deck behind home plate. Their willingness to do something different makes watching Mets games, whether or not you are a Mets fan, a unique and enjoyable experience.

While the losses mounted, I felt like I had an old friend there in Keith, Gary and Ron to rationalize and endure the losing with. I feel pretty lucky as a fan to have these guys calling the games and lending their entertaining personalities to what has been a rough two weeks.

Keith Hernandez had some critical remarks during today’s Mets broadcast regarding Gary Carter expressing his desire to take over the Mets managerial job from Willie Randolph,

“I have great respect for Gary as a player,” said Hernandez, “He’s a Hall of Famer. When Johnny Bench left the game, he was the premier catcher in the National League.

“But, that being said, and I’ve kept quiet for such a long time, but for the people out there listening, just go in the dictionary and look up ‘unconscious’ and you’ll find a picture of Gary Carter.

“I know that’s strong, but it just happens too many times and it’s just, you’re walking around unconscious.

Before Keith’s comments, Gary Cohen was equally critical of Carter.

“Regardless of what happens, you can’t be any more indelicate or graceless than Gary Carter was in saying the things he said about being available to take over the job. I just cannot believe that Carter said what he said.”

If you read any of the accounts of the famed 1986 Mets, you’ll find that many teammates found Carter to be a bit overbearing, which led to his nickname “Camera Carter” as he often seeked out the press for his own self-flagellation. Keith seems to still bear some of that annoyance of Carter, and wasn’t shying away from expressing it in light of him undermining Willie Randolph.

WFAN’s Mike Francesa started the Mike and the Mad Dog program off with his usual know it all tone and little by little he let us know that he spoke with Omar Minaya. Mike said Omar gave him the “impression” that not only is Willie Randolph’s job safe (for now) but that the decision will be his and his alone.

Then, Francesa said “lets get serious about this” and they went on to discuss possible replacements for Willie’s job. Tony Pena’s name was brought up as was Keith Hernandez. Chris Russo insisted that Keith Hernandez would never consider the position however Mike chimed in saying that during last weekend’s subway series he asked Hernandez if he would take the job if it was offered and Keith said yes. Russo went on to say “Hernandez never said that on the record but I did see you (Mike) talking to him”.

Keith Hernandez spoke with Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio to talk about Billy Wagner’s comments, his famous Seinfeld episode, and the recent struggles of the Mets.

Keith hits the nail on the head here. This is a good listen, so check it out if you can.

You can listen to the audio of Keith’s interview here.

Over at his always informative and entertaining blog Watchdog Neil Best clues us in on another vocation the great Keith Hernadez apparently excels at. I’ve heard of Professor Reyes but Professor Hernandez?

Keith Hernandez taught a class for Cornell Adult University in Port St. Lucie… Apparently it went well, because the university invited him to teach a class on the history and culture of baseball after last season.

What did he talk about in those Port St. Lucie sessions?

“The first was about my baseball experience, historically the ins and outs of being a professional ballplayer,” Keith said, “and the second was about the transition to the media. It was fun.”

What can’t he do? Clutch ballplayer, great Baseball Analyst, top notch partier (in his younger days of course), Wine Connoisseur, Actor and now Professor. The man, the myth, the legend that is Keith Hernandez.

Head on over to MLB.com to read Marty Noble’s latest mailbag where he answers questions on whether or not Keith Hernandez’s and Darryl Strawberry’s jersey numbers should be retired, Willie Randolph, and how he thinks Paul Lo Duca will be received in his return to Shea.

This Opening Day left us little to complain about. Production from the bottom of the order? Against a left-handed starter no less? Check. Johan Santana looking dominant? Check. David Wright and Jose Reyes looking like their old selves? Check. Keith Hernandez discussing food during the broadcast? Check. (At least I think I heard him discussing food—I was watching from a sports bar at Foxwoods and may not have got it right.)

It might be a different story when the Mets face a real lefty on Wednesday in young phenom Andrew Miller (and we all know how the Mets usually do against rookie pitchers), and we’ll see what happens when the Mets face a bit tougher lineup with something less than their ace on the hill, but for now all is grand.

Well, not all is grand. Carlos Delgado didn’t exactly leave me brimming with confidence after watching his at-bats today, and it was kind of sad that we needed three pitchers to get through the eighth inning, but most everything is grand. In fact, I would go so far as to say that merely seeing Santana take the mound has put all our collective fears to rest. We have a legitimate team again. The guys who were out there today looked far more professional than the guys who were out there at the end of last September. Of course, we looked pretty damn professional during the opening series against the Cardinals last year, too.

The beauty of the game is that we don’t what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone the rest of the season. It almost doesn’t matter that the Mets looked great in the opener. It matters far more that the Mets are finally playing games that count. Welcome back baseball! Too bad there are only 161 of these left.

Matthew Artus at Always Amazin brings us this new Just For Men commerical starring Keith Hernandez, Walt “Clyde” Frasier and Emmitt Smith.

Greg at Faith and Fear In Flushing brings to our attention a chapter from William Nack’s book “My Turf” that gives a closer look at Keith Hernandez.

Many may not know the intensity Hernandez played with, the role his father played in his intensity, and how much his teammates appreciated him and how close he was to them.

Check out Greg’s post on Faith and Fear for more about the man they call Mex.

On SI.com, Jon Heyman handicaps the race to acquire free agent Alex Rodriguez. He pins the Mets at 10 to 1 odds and makes this interesting comment.

“A-Rod has wanted to be a Met forever (his favorite player growing up was Keith Hernandez)”

Heyman gives the Anaheim Angels the bets odds at 4 to 1.

Image courtesy of ImKeithHernandez.com