Here are a couple of Haginisms from this past week:

Wednesday night against the Philles. John Maine had run the count to 3-1 to Chase Utley in the fourth inning. Hagin: "If you're John Maine, you don't want to walk Utley in this spot. Because after him comes Burrell and Howard. And you just can't let them beat you." Obviously Maine didn't want to walk Utley, but what's the difference between Utley beating you or Burrell or Howard beating you? Utley is actually the best out of those three players this year. Should you groove a fastball to him so he can hit it 450 feet?

Last week, Jose Reyes was leading off the game in Cincinnati, when Hagin began clumsily spewing stats. "Jose Reyes is second in the National League in hitting this year. (Two-second pause) At least in terms of hits accumulated. He has 198 hits this year!" Really, Wayne? Reyes has 198 hits through mid-July? Pretty good. I think he's going to set some type of record. And who ever refers to a leader in hits as "leading the league in hitting?"

Here's some advise for someone who's been listening to Mets games for over 30 years: Speak less and let Howie and Eddie get a few words in from time to time. They actually know what the hell is going on!

Last year Ed Coleman did an interview with Wayne on WFAN and they talked about his career. He told the story about what happened on April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado while he was working for the Colorado Rockies who were supposed to play the Montreal Expos that Tuesday night at Coors Field, but the tragic shootings at Columbine High School happened and the game that night (and the next night) were postponed out of respect for the victims.

Wayne Hagin is a likable guy with an excellent speaking voice who, I think, knows his baseball, particularly pitching, which he describes very well. And he tells interesting stories from time to time. Unfortunately, I agree with someone above - Hagin is often behind in calls and his delivery can be ragged, with occasional stuttering when he tries to regroup. I know we were spoiled by the likes of Gary Cohen and Bob Murphy, who almost never missed a call and whose deliveries were smooth and secure. Come to think of it, the same could be said about Howie Rose and Ed Coleman, while Tom McCarthy was fine in his two-year stint in Flushing. Hagin seems a step or two down from all of them. And his home run call (KISS IT GOODBYE!!) usually seems excessive and tacked-on. Make no mistake - you could do worse than Hagin. But we've had better.