The Tough, And The Not So Tough

When you look at Eli Manning, he doesn't look like much, right? I mean, he looks like a junior on some college campus throwing around a Frisbee and taking bong hits. Like a kid who still hasn't declared a major in college, and is real excited because he just scored Pearl Jam tickets.

But looks are deceiving my friends. Because Eli has the heart of 10,000 lions. This plantar fasciitis that he had, Eddie Curry would have been out until mid season. But not Eli, and everyone on the Giants knew it. What a tough bastard.

The thing about Eli, is that if he were so inclined, he could coast. This town would never forget him, he is a LEGEND after what he did in the Super Bowl. He never has to pay for a drink in NYC, his legacy is chiseled in stone. He is like Joe Willie Namath: he pulled an improbable upset, and just as Namath never had to do anything else to be immortal (in fact he never won another playoff game) neither does Eli.

But to Eli's credit, he has not coasted. He keeps working on his craft. This year, my jeweler's eye has noticed that Eli has a greater ability to shed and sidestep rushers which gives him a crucial extra second or so to make pivotal down field throws. (By the way, do you think Plaxi is watching every game in the prison rec room and every time Stevie Smith makes a catch, Plaxi bangs his head against the wall, like Jake LaMotta in the Florida prison in Raging Bull yelling why! why! why!)

I wish Eli's tolerance to play through pain could be transferred to Reyes, Beltran and Delgado. I call these guys the "space shuttle" Mets. Why? Because NASA doesn't let a Space Shuttle launch unless conditions are perfect. If there is a cloud in the Florida sky, NASA will postpone a launch.

That is how these guys play (I mean don't play) with injuries. If they ain't 100%, they will sit. Tell me they can't learn from Eli? How frustrating it was for Met fans week after week with these guys out and no real updates on what was wrong, and when they will return.

Next year, I don't wanna hear about injuries with these guys. If they are injured prove it. Bring back Kiner's Korner and have Ralph hold up an MRI to the goddamn light of a broken Beltran bone so WE KNOW HE AIN'T DOGGING IT.

Let these Mets show their inner Eli. If they don't have it, show them the door.