FanHouse AaronSele

OK, that title may be a little off-base, but Reyes is apparently the only member of the Mets that's holding out on the whole "shave your head for team unity" thing.

Heck, even the front office and support staff are getting into it -- the New York Post reports that GM Omar Minaya, hitting coach RIck Downs, trainer Ray Ramirez, assistant trainer Mike Herbst, physical therapist Jeff Cavaliere and PR guy Jay Horwitz have all jumped on board and forsaken their follicles. But Reyes? He's still not sure.

"I don't know," he said yesterday morning. "Maybe tomorrow I'll do it."

Said Willie Randolph before the game yesterday of Reyes, "He doesn't have like a regular 'do. He's got a little style to his 'do. So it's different."

I'm predicting Reyes will cave, hopefuly today. Once Aaron Sele shaves his head (he was postponing until after today, since he was scheduled to have some family pictures taken), Reyes will be the only guy in the clubhouse that still has hair, and whether he's in love with his hair style or not, sometimes you have to just take one for the team.

Previously on FanHouse:
Bald Is Beautiful for the Mets

I highly doubt that it was a tribute to former Met and current Brave Chris Woodward (besides, I couldn't find a picture of Barry Lyons without his hat), but the Mets tried a different look for Tuesday's game against San Francisco, as almost all of the Mets shaved their heads before the game.

Not everyone looks great, but then again, it's probably not that big a deal. After all, I said to Billy Wagner about his 'do, "That is one ugly looking cut." His reply was, "Yeah, but I'm rich."

They must have felt they needed to try anything against Giants fireballer Matt Cain, and it worked early as David Wright (who came up with the idea) and Carlos Beltran (who was the apparent barber) had back to back doubles off of Cain as two runs scored. It should be noted that Jose Reyes, who doubled to lead off the game, is one of the four players who did not shave his head (along with Aaron Sele, who has to take family pictures on Thursday, Aaron Heilman, and the fourth player to be revealed below).

Shawn Green did shave his head, and according to Wright during a pre-game interview, he wasn't thrilled with the prospect since he had to shave the hair that he just had styled in Arizona (I hope it wasn't too expensive). Since Green was fifth in the N.L. in hitting coming into the game, it might not have been the best idea to go bald ... and sure enough he went 0-for-4 (paging Delilah ... white courtesy phone).

Tom Glavine, who was the fourth Met player who did not shave his head (but in his in-game interview said that he doesn't think he's going to escape the barber too much longer), won his 294th career game despite giving up a home run to Barry Bonds (who's been bald for years and is now ten home runs away from Hank Aaron).

Bald is indeed beautiful.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Barry Bonds Blasts 745

A look at some of baseball's old-school scuffles....

The year was 1993 and Aaron Sele came in a little too high and tight on White Sox slugger George Bell. You know the drill from here. Bell takes offense, comes sprinting to the mound and tries to land a crushing right hand blow in Sele's face.

Problem is, Sele dodged the hook and well, let's just say Mo Vaughn's actions look a little more Ray Lewis than Sugar Ray Leonard.

BOOM.

Oliver Perez has been, and can be, a dominant talent. As evidenced tonight, he can also be one of the most maddening, frustrating pitchers ever to lace up a pair of spikes.

Perez breezed through the first inning, battled through the second but went unscathed, and got the first two outs in the third inning on Wednesday. Then, all heck broke loose. A base hit, four walks, and a hit batsman later, Perez was gone. Perez gave up three runs and they were the difference as the Phillies beat the Mets 5-2.

What may be most frustrating for Mets fans is that the start before showed Perez at his very best, a seven inning gem with no walks against Atlanta. Combine that with the first two innings tonight, it seemed Perez was on his way back to his 2004 form. But then came the third inning. And one wonders how much patience Willie Randolph will have with Perez with Aaron Sele (who pitched a decent 4 and 1/3 innings tonight) in the bullpen, and Chan Ho Park in the minors. Consider Willie's quotes on Perez before the game:

Off one regular-season start, he wasn't buying Oliver Perez just yet and he said so before Wednesday night's game against the Phillies at Shea Stadium.

"I'm a big consistency guy," Randolph said. "I think you have to do it over a period of time before we can say you've arrived."

The Phillies, meanwhile, have their second victory of the season, and did it largely by keeping the bats on their shoulders. The Phillies lead the league in walks drawn with 51. Adam Eaton pitched well against the Mets with four hits and three walks in 7 innings. Eaton is a lifetime 4-0 against the Mets, but this is his first victory against a Met team which is actually pretty good.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Oliver Perez stops thinking, Throws Strikes

Chan Ho Park battled for a job this spring training and now he's got one. However, it's not the one he really wanted. Mets brass came up with the decision on Friday night, but failed to tell Park about it until after his performance on Saturday. It was a performance, by the way, that Park had expected would go five innings, but instead he was pulled after three to start to get him used to relief work. Park's surprise turned to disappointment:

"I came here looking for a job as a starter, that's for sure," said Park, who agreed to a $600,000, one-year contract with the Mets in the offseason. "They asked me to be a reliever, and obviously I'm unhappy. I have to figure out what's best for the team."

It's simple, really. What's best for the team is to have right handed relievers that aren't complete dog meat. And right now Park, who pitched effectively in relief at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, is a better bet to come out of the pen from the right side than say, Ambiorix Burgos (an 8.76 ERA in the spring), Jon Adkins (8.10 ERA) or Jorge Sosa (who's one good season came with Leo Mazzone as his pitching coach). Park is needed in the pen until guys like Duaner Sanchez and Guillermo Mota return from injury and suspension.

And also what's best for the team is Park (and Aaron Sele, who has also won a job with the Mets ... most likely in the bullpen) to be around as insurance for Tom Glavine (age 41) and Orlando Hernandez (age 37 or 41 depending on who you believe). El Duque has torn a calf while running, cramped up while running, and developed arthritis in his neck ... all in the last six months. Mike Pelfrey will most likely already be in the rotation, and nobody knows when/if Philip Humber will be ready this season. So Park is needed to be on the same page with the Mets' line of thinking. Hopefully after the surprise wears off, he will be.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
El Duque is old
Mike Pelfrey is young
Duaner Sanchez's suspension begins
Duaner Sanchez's suspension ends