There are few things you can count on these days, so it's reassuring to find some reliable constants. One of them is the unrelenting stupidity of Mets management who will always trade potential greatness for guaranteed mediocrity. Friday they traded their whole farm system for two mediocre pitchers no better than any one of dozens of no-names. In fact Kris Benson is so easily replacable that, had the Mets not traded for him, he could've been replaced by himself at the end of the season (when he'll be a free agent) for nothing. And Victor Zambrano isn't even the best pitcher in the major leagues named Zambrano. They traded Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi, Amos Otis for Joey Foy and learned nothing from the experience.

And the point is this: if I can get aggravated by this sort of narishkeit, life in Israel must be terrific these days.