Mike Cameron's Literally Broken Face

I've been staying away from baseball here, because a) I feel disconnected from my team, the Mets, by distance and an inability to see them play, and b) because who really cares, and c) because for every five or six game spell that makes me happy about them there's another four or five game spell that irritates hell out of me. And it shows: they're playing almost perfect .500 ball, and according to an article on ESPN a week or three ago, they are threatening to be the team most consistently around .500 for an entire season in the history of MLB. Every winning streak suggests that won't happen; but each winning streak is offset by a follow-on losing streak.

Last night, the Mets lost a heartbreaker to San Diego, which is having a similar season, but for the fact that being just over .500 in the NL East leaves you in the cellar while being just over .500 in the NL West puts you in first place.

In addition to losing the game, the Mets lost their sparkplug right fielder, Mike Cameron, to one of the ugliest outfield collisions I have ever seen in a lifetime of watching and playing baseball. Bar none. This is ugly. Here it is described:

Mike Cameron and Carlos Beltran sprinted toward the sinking liner, both outfielders watching the ball and diving toward the same spot.

They didn't see each other and smashed face-to-face in what many of their New York teammates said was one of the scariest collisions they've ever seen. The Mets who ran to the fallen pair during the seventh inning of the 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Thursday said Cameron was dazed and bleeding from the mouth.

Cameron was taken off the field on a stretcher, his body immobilized and his neck in a brace. He was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he underwent two CT scans. Cameron broke his nose, had multiple fractures of both cheekbones and a slight concussion, and was to be hospitalized overnight, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said. Cameron was placed on the disabled list.

If you think you have the stomach for it, go to the article and click the ESPN motion link in the top right section of the layout. But I warn you, it isn't pretty. In fact, it's downright amazing to me that Beltran walked off the field relatively unharmed. Both of them could have been crippled.