D.J. DFA

I woke up this morning (no, those are the first five words of a blues song parody, although with the way the Mets' bullpen has been performing lately, my songwriting skills might be needed soon) and the following five letters kept scrolling in my head like an SNY sports ticker on a slow sports night:

DJDFA

Whatever could those letters mean, I asked myself?  There were several possibilities.  First, I thought DJDFA was the opening act for LMFAO on their tour.  Unfortunately, that was not the case, as LMFAO is currently not touring with another act, but they'd probably want to know who this DFA is, and if he was a good DJ.

Staying on the music front, I then considered the possibility of DJDFA being somehow related to the German industrial rock band, KMFDM, but then realized that the only reason why I was thinking of a German connection was because I had seen Hans and Simon Gruber way too much this week in repeated broadcasts of Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance.

Maybe DJDFA stood for Don Johnson Doing Frankie Avalon.  After all, the man who made all thespians proud with his portrayal of Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice (and don't forget his turn in Nash Bridges) was also once a singer.  (Now that I think of it, did Johnson ever find that "Heartbeat" he was looking for?)  But no, Johnson isn't working on a album of Frankie Avalon covers.  In fact, he hasn't put out an album since 1997, when his record label put out an "Essential" Don Johnson greatest hits album.  (More like a "Greatest Hit" album, if you ask me.)

So what could DJDFA stand for?  Those aren't the initials of the obscure fan club (D.J. Dozier's Freakin' Amazing), mainly because that fan club never existed, although I think I remember Dozier hitting a walk-off grand slam in a spring training game for the Mets in the early '90s, which unfortunately did not turn into success in the regular season (Dozier hit .191 in 47 at-bats with the Mets in 1992, driving in two runs, or half the amount he had in one mighty spring training swing). 

I was about to give up guessing why those letters were taking up space in what passes for my brain.  Then I checked MetsBlog, saw one particular post, and knew immediately what the letters stood for.

DJDFA = D.J. Designated For Assignment

Unlucky No. 77.

Well, it's about frickin' time, Mr. Bigglesworth!  Over his final two games as a Met, Carrasco threw three pitches that sealed his fate:

• Pitch #1: Long home run by Rickie Weeks.  Prior to the home run, Weeks was hitting .153 (19-for-123) with 43 strikeouts.  If Ike Davis' woes can be contributed to Valley Fever, then Rickie Weeks had Valley Flu, which of course, was cured by one D.J. Carrasco meatball over the plate.

• Pitch #2: Ryan Braun gets plunked.  Intentional or not, Carrasco had no problem throwing the ball over the plate to Weeks, so why did he miss so badly on his first offering to Braun?  Carrasco got tossed from the game for his "efforts".

• Pitch #3: Deep goes Frazier!  Todd Frazier, he of the seven career home runs coming into the game, hit a monster shot off Carrasco to turn a one-run contest into a 6-3 deficit, a hole the Mets could not climb out of.  It was Frazier's second home run of the game.  Down goes Carrasco!

D.J. Carrasco signed a two-year deal with the Mets prior to the 2011 season.  Since becoming a Met, Carrasco has been awful.  He is the proud owner of a 6.11 ERA and 1.68 WHIP.  In 53 innings, opponents are hitting .338 against him and are reaching base at a .402 clip.  He has also hit seven batters, thrown four wild pitches and allowed nine home runs.

Needless to say, I can't say I'm upset to see him go.  Having him on the team was like hiring a pyromaniac to be a firefighter.

D.J. has been DFA.  Now GTFO and don't let the bullpen gate hit you on the way out.