As stated here and on other sites, the repartee of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez and Kevin Burkhardt have helped take the edge off another unfulfilling season by the NY Mets. Last night was no exception.

Just as I was ready to switch over to the Rays-Jays game, Gary Cohen brought up the comments by Wally Backman about the Mets managerial job. Wally kind of hinted that some of the moves that Jerry Manuel has made this season are not particularly the same ones he would have made as Mets manager. No one is better than setting up his partners like Cohen and this subject got Hernandez and Darling going and we were off to the drag races.

Darling seemed offended by Wally’ statement saying there should be some sort of code of conduct between mangers. Hernandez then added it wasn’t such a bad thing like when Gary Carter practically put his thump and pinky to his ear during an interview and mouthed ‘Call me Jeff” into the camera. Darling agreed and you can just tell that back in the day, Kid Carter was a handful in the clubhouse. Hernandez then went on to let us know that Wally likes to talk. He mentioned that when the Mets were to play the Astros in Game 5 of the 1986 NLCS Backman was crowing in the clubhouse how the Mets were going to win that game. Hernandez said he went over to Backman and told him to keep quiet, and reminded him that Nolan Ryan was pitching (against Dwight Gooden in one of the great post season match ups as Ryan K’d 12 and walked just 1 in 9 inns while Doc pitched 10 innings and got a ton of ground ball outs as the Mets won the game in 12 innings on a Gary Carter single scoring guess who? Wally Backman) to which Backman replied in his Wally Way “Who gives a fuck”!

From there the SNY camera got a glimpse of Roger McDowell on the Braves bench and Hernandez had us all gather around the 50’’ Sony HD TV to hear the how Roger McDowell hated Gregg Jefferies guts. Keith brought up, as he has a many occasion (you get the feeling that Richie Hebner would be given a warmer welcome into the Mets Alumni than Gregg Jefferies ) how Jefferies was the only player on the team to have his own private bag for his bats, and Keith blamed Charlie Samuels for that as Darling added “you blame Charlie for everything” and the trio of announcers had a good laugh. Hernandez continued on how this burned the other players ass’s and McDowell had had enough of this little prima donna getting preferential treatment and proceeded to take  Jeffries bats and tossed them from the bag out into the parking lot at Shea. That yarn brought back memories of when Soldier of Fortune aficionado Randy Myers and McDowell took Jefferies bats and sawed them in half. I have mentioned here a few times  when John Franco joined the Mets in 1990 he tried very hard to get Jefferies to understand he needs to be more of a “we” guy than the me guy he was and to that end Franco invited Jeffieries for a night on the town in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. Franco was an acquaintance of a few of my friends so I’ve gotten to meet him on a few occasion so when he walked into the club where my buddies and I were hanging out, with Jefferies, we thought we were set for a pretty good night of partying. Well, after just about an hour at the club (The Penthouse for all you old disco types from Brooklyn out there) Jefferies was hitting on every woman in the place and nearly got the living shit kick out of him for it. Lucky for him the bouncers at the club were teammates of ours from our Staten Island Touch Tackle League team (Someday I’ll tell the story of when I ran down former Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steelers QB Terry Hannraty  for a sack, the highlight of my journeyman athletic career) so Jefferies was spared a Bay Ridge beat down. Also that was the last time Franco ever invited Jefferies out for even a cup of coffee. When I was managing teams in Staten Island Little League, Franco’ son JJ was in the league and John would come watch him play when he could, When I saw him one evening at the complex I went to say hi and he said “Geez I see you everywhere around the Island (Franco lived just a few block from me on Staten Island) I laughed and then I asked him if he still kept in touch with Jefferies, Franco looked at me and said “Holy shit your were there too”?

Wow talk about making a short story long, anyway, Hernandez went on about the last game of the 1989 season when McDowell then a Phillie, and Jefferies fought as the last out of the game and season was recorded. The story in the NY Times paints a very ugly picture of that season and gives us a glimpse of the turmoil that the 90’s would bring. This quote from Phillies manager Nick Leyva sums up the feeling for Gregg Jeffries around baseball:

Nick Leyva, Philadelphia’s manager, defended McDowell by saying that Jefferies is not popular among his own teammates, then Leyva said, ”There were 30 guys on our side rooting for Roger and 20 guys on their side rooting for Roger.”

As a Mets fan, the one thing you should be rooting for right now is tonight’s game is a blow out early, maybe story time with Keith and Ron will talk about the nights at Rusty Staub’ restaurant on the East Side, that will be better than Taxi Cab Confessions.

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It was a move long overdue. In fact give John Ricco credit for getting a live body for Jeff Francoeur  but the organization shouldn’t have stopped there. It’s quite clear that again for the third season in a row the Mets have rolled over and died. How Jerry Manuel gets to fill out a lineup card today for the Mets is a smack in our Mets fan faces. Sure it doesn’t matter anymore this season but by firing Manuel and Omar Minaya today would send a message that a tidal wave of changes are coming. But I have absolutely no confidence that inept bullshit ownership has the balls to do this.

A real owner who owned this close to one BILLION dollar company would go into that clubhouse and rip the living shit out of this team. But that won’t happen.  The only passion comes from the fan base. It’s not just a matter of screaming and yelling in fact screaming and yelling wouldn’t have any effect on this team anyway. If the owner would just go into that clubhouse and tell this team the truth that they are an embarrassment and what has him baffled is they don’t seem to mind that they are saddled with this label. The owner would also be of the right to let them know that this little Country Club mentality that has infected the clubhouse will be dismantled. The owner should then go on about how there will be a new GM and manager next year and if this new management team says to me that (pointing at players) you, you or you need to go, then you got to go. The owner should also stress that his office is closed to any player who has a baseball related issue, all of those inquires must go through chain of command from manager to general manager. If you have a personal or family issue as the owner, he should let them know he will help him as best he can.

As fans we can talk about who to cut, who to trade for, who to sign as a free agent but all that talk is a waste of words and oxygen unless ownership either cleans out the front office and makes a concerted effort to change the perception that the organization is clueless, leaderless and headed on the fast track to nowhere.

By a show of hands, how many of you Mets fans out there are still wearing your Mets gear in public?  Not many I see. I can’t blame you as it wears you down to wear your WRIGHT 5 or REYES 7 and have to answer inane question after inane question about the team. I don’t know about you but I’m worn out from answering question after question about why this organization is so bad and can’t get out of its own way.  All I can tell them is “Blogging about the Mets ain’t easy “

All you need to know about the player’s view of the team is in this Tweet from Steve Popper. First Rod Barajas now Francoeur, if the players don’t want to be here then why should I buy a ticket or watch SNY or wear drape myself in Mets regalia? Why do I feel the chasm between the team and fan base exists because the Mets fans take this much more personally than the players do? Did you see the smile on Francoeur’ face last night when he spoke to the media about being sent to Arlington? When was the last you smiled as a Mets fan?

I’ve seen some of the Tweets of Mets fan who are actually upset that Jeff Francoeur was dealt to the Texas, are you fucking kidding me?

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Join me tonight at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio as my guest will be Steve Slowinski of Drays Bay. Steve and I will be talking about the Tampa Bay Rays and skin tight race between the Rays and Highlanders in the AL East.

Join us live at 10PM ET or on the podcast later right here at Kranepool Society (lower left side bar) or at the show page on Blog Talk Radio or download from iTunes.

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So it just happens that Jeffey Wilpon en route to St Lonesome to watch some of his prized farm hands with GM in training John Ricco in tow, makes a pit stop in Atlanta maybe to watch his team play but most likely to buy a pair of high class kicks, but anyway while he was in town taking in the ball game, his manager for the next month, Jerry Manuel felt this was as good as time as ever to show Jeffey Skill Sets where is daddy’s hard earn cash is going. First J-Man inserted Luis Castillo and Jeff Francoeur in the lineup, because I don’t know if you’ve heard (come closer to the screen because this info needs to be kept on the downlow) the Mets still think they are in contention for the post season shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh don’t let the rest of the NL know shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Pat Misch made every Mets fan who wondered why he wasn’t given the call up earlier the answer to that query by getting pounded harder than an British Heavyweight . But just as Jeffey Skill Sets and Executive in Training Ricco were ready to leave, Manuel sent a note to them to hang in for another inning or two as he had a really big surprise for them. So Jeffey grabbed another cotton candy and went back to his seat.

So now it’s the bottom of the seventh inning and the Mets down five runs and Jeffey on his eighth Coca-Cola is getting antsy as he’s seen enough of this listless team and all he can think about is watching Nickelodeon on the TV of the St. Lonesome Motel 6 when all of a sudden the visitor’s bullpen gate opens and on the big screen at the Ted this video appears and the crowd let’s out a collective gasp:

“One singular sensation, every little step he takes……………….

IT’S…..IT’S……OLLIE PEREZ…………………

Welllllllll Jeffey drops his Coke, Cotton Candy and his Mets Build A Bear. Ricco drops his Baseball General Managing for Dummies book and both men stare at the Mets manager as he stands on the top step of the dugout laughing his lame duck ass off.

For the first time in a month Ollie Perez takes off his Mets Snuggie to enter a game and throw live pitches. Oh and did Ollie ever throw a live pitch to Brian McCann. McCann just missed the first offering by OP, I guess he was still startled by the Resurrection but he made sure he got a hold of the next pitch and launched it over the right field wall for a home run. Ahhhhh so good to see Ollie hasn’t lost a step in his month layoff; if he’s anything, he is consistent. Of Perez’ 29 pitches 14 were K’s not bad. With only 17 home games left in this scintillating Mets season we can only hope that J-Man uses OP in a few of those games as Perez is such a fan fave we all want to express our feeling for him.           

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Have you noticed that the Mets telecast on SNY has turned more into a sports/general interest talk show than focusing on the action on the field? Not that I have a problem with that, not at all, in fact if it weren’t for Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Kevin Burkhardt along with Bobby Ojeda in the studio, I don’t think I’d be watching many more Mets games. As much as I love our announcing crew though, it’s a sad state of affairs when they are the main draw to watching Mets baseball.

During the game yesterday, Gary posed the question to Hernandez about dangling the names Jose Reyes and David Wright out there as pieces in trade talk. Hernandez said (paraphrasing here) “of course you would; you’d have to as a GM just to see who is interested and what kind of package you’d get in return.” Now Hernandez DID NOT say Yes dump them, get rid of them, off with them. He just said what any smart thinking Mets fan would say, you have to at least see what you can get for either or both.

I am in no way advocating the trading of Wright or Reyes, in a perfect world both players would continue their careers as Mets and retire as Mets, I would be very happy if the end of their Mets careers finished with “…and they lived happily ever after…” but as we know too well we Mets fans live in a imperfect world.

When I Tweeted that I agreed with Hernandez on this issue you would have thought I opened up a Mosques R Us on Cortlandt St. The question I posed is this, Say the Skill Sets hire a new GM like Kevin Towers, or Mark Shapiro or even promote John Ricco and they get a call from an team with a deep farm and young players who are on the Major League team already. For either player I want a at least a starting pitcher, a second baseman, an outfielder and prospects (of course the Mets will throw in a few other players as well) as you see it would take a blockbuster to have me trade Wright and or Reyes but as a GM you have to see if that blockbuster is out there.

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The dog days of summer look to be going out with a bang in NYC as we will be in the grips of another heat wave just to top off one of the hottest summers in NYC history and for Mets fans, it’s just more month of uninspiring baseball before we get to see what changes will be made in Flushing.

Seeing that Johan Santana spots an 8.03 ERA in the first inning of his starts, maybe on his days to pitch, the strategy should be reversed, have the closer pitch the first inning then let Santana work innings 2-8.

R.I.P. Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish

Congratulations to Wally Backman (future manager of the NY Mets) and his Brooklyn Cyclones on clinching the McNamara Division of the NY-PENN League.

Why do I have a feeling my football season is going to suck as bad as my baseball season.

Go get em Rapid Robert, at 91 Bob Feller is still tough as nails get well soon

That’s about it, Mets blogging ain’t as much fun as it used to be

For your listening pleasure, The Soft Parade

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Through all the anger and despair of another lost season in Flushing sometimes you have to step back and look at some positives, though there aren’t many but one is the resurgence of Big Pelf.  Pelfrey’s season is a microcosm of the Mets this year, more ups and downs than an elevator shaft at the Empire State Building.

Pelf had a great start to the season and then was just average in May and June and down right awful in July and now has bounced back to this April quality this month of August.  So how did Big Pelf turn his season around?

For one thing Pelfrey is back to throwing strikes and using his two seamer  with authority. It seems any problems Pelf has it always comes down to confidence in his pitches and this year it’s taken him a while to master that two seam fastball which is a new pitch added to his arsenal. It seems that pitch eluded him for the month of July and one thing we know for sure about Big Pelf is for a big strapping guy, he can be quite fragile emotionally. Maybe the July meltdown and the fact that he now realizes his problems are in his head and not his arm will be the turning point to his career. There is too much talent here for Pelfrey not to become a stud pitcher.

I watched just bits and pieces of last night’s game as I was more involved in the Red Sox-Rays game but I did see that Jerry Manuel brought Bobby Parnell in to pitch the 9^th inning last night but then let Takahashi finish the game. Parnell  K’d Hunter Pence then gave up a single to Carlos Lee who took second on Pagan’s double then after Chris Johnson singled Manuel decides it’s time to become Tony LaRussa and over manage by bringing in Takahashi. Why not see if Parnell can get out the jam ? I can see the point of not wanting to lose this game and get Pelfrey a another win but I’d would think with Parnell having been pitching well in this spot of late and with Parnell looking to fill the void at closer why not let him finish? Even if he gives up a hit and the lead and blows the save, at least you can see how he responds to that as closers have to have short memories in order to succeed. You could lose this battle but win the war if Parnell shows the guts to forget it and comeback strong in his next outing. He could also strikeout the next two batters and have his confidence sore from that experience as well. Maybe that was too much for Jerry Manuel to think about .

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At this point in the Mets season, my mood has gone from outrage to amusement. The outrage was over the start of the second half of the season when the team decided it was time to pack it in, the amusement is listening to players and the GM tried to tell us the team is still in contention. ROFLMYFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Listening to Omar Minaya discuss the Mets, is like hearing a child try to explain why filling the bathtub with water and Jell-O was a good idea. You’re so pissed off at them as you survey the situation but the more they try to explain themselves and try to wriggle out of bad situation, it starts to become comical.

Omar is trying very very hard to convince the fan base that this team is still in contention when we all know this team talks tough but when it comes down to fighting for a post season spot, they are a collection of conscientious objectors. As much as I’m a fan of D-Wright just once I’d like to hear him say in his after a loss post game statement, that the team needs to get some players who are mentally tough. Who is he worried about pissing off? The manager is clueless and the GM insults our intelligence and the owner is scare shit to be seen in public. Please can someone just say the truth in that clubhouse? Is it that hard to say it? The truth will set your sorry ass’s free.

I bet if Omar came out and said “All this mess is on me. I miscalculated on a lot of the personnel here and I gave out contracts that will haunt me and the organization. I’ve learn a valuable lesson about over paying players and with the help of my front office staff, we are ready to regroup and re-invent they way personnel moves are made with this team”  If he would make a statement like that, I bet talks of fan boycotts would go away. In fact if he made a statement like that and was retained by ownership for another year, the out cry for his head, would die down a bit. But if he keeps going with this tired comedy act of his then he needs to be shown the door. 

I think it has finally sunk into Luis Castillo’ head that he has no future here in Queens. I do feel for the guy for at least he puts up a fight to get in the lineup and has some pride unlike the miserable fuck, Oliver Perez, who is no different from Bernie Madoff as first class scam artist.

See if the organization had the brains and passion of Taryn Cooper Mets fans would never complain again (SHOCKING!!! I know) last night she organized the Citi Field Sit Out where fans were asked to NOT attend last night game. Coop herself made the sacrifice of not using her tickets or putting them up for sale. The protest I’d like is where everyone shows up at Citi Field and in the third inning we all get up and walkout. I wonder if State run SNY TV would cover something like that?

I’ve always been a fan of the HBO show Hard Knocks, but having the Jets and Rex Ryan on this season had made the show appointment TV. Last night was outstanding and the more I watch, the more of a Rex Ryan fan I’m becoming. I always though Ryan was just a big blowhard but the way he interacts with his coaches and players is classic. He pats players on the back and he tells them when they suck. His confrontation with a D-lineman on the bubble after he finds out that DE Ropati Pitotua blew out his Achilles was riveting as he tells the lineman about Pitotua’ injury and asks him if “he wants to make the fuckin’ team or do I have get someone off the street” was Happy Rex morphing into Darth Vader Rex. Special Teams coach Mike Westoff needs his own show, he’s the Paulie Walnuts of Hard Knox.

For your reading pleasure please read this post by Ms. Jacqueline Conrad at Cardinal Diamond Diaries about her Grandmothers influence on her becoming a baseball fan.

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If there is anyone in the Mets front office who feels Luis Castillo should remain a Met, their opinion had to have changed after last night. I don’t care if you are a relative of Castillo’, his actions after driving in Ike Davis for a come from behind walk off win proves he hates being here as much as Mets fans hate that he’s here. Talk about irreconcilable differences, there is no reason to put Castillo or Mets fans through this loveless marriage anymore. Let’s do it for the kids. By the way check out Greg Prince’ post on last night’s game at FFIF and tell me you don’t feel like crying. Misery in Winning, that’s Mets Baseball.

Is Wayne Hagin kidding with his gushing praise of Jeff Francoeur ? After Francoeur knocked in David Wright with a Sac Fly in the 2^nd inning, Hagin went Radio Ga-Ga over Frenchy. I’d have given Howie Rose $100 bucks if he slapped Hagin in the head after his ridiculous remarks.

A must read for all Mets fans is Adam Rubin’ 3 part expose of the failings of the Mets under the Skill Sets/Minaya regime.  From reading this series I take it that Jerry Manuel will be fired as soon as the team is mathematically eliminated from contention (even though we all know the season is over NOW)  Minaya will either be caned or reassigned and I’m leaning towards reassignment. John Ricco will be the GM and Wally Backman the manager. The organization will find a way to either deal off Oliver Perez and Luis Casitllo or just release them and that money ($18 mil) will the equivalent of a free agent signing. The organization will make Backman the focal point of the team in order to sell tickets. Will it work? We won’t know until this time next year.

In  Rubin’ report he mentions how little money the Mets have spent on draft picks and in the International market for free agents. I had the pleasure of speaking with Wilbur Miller, a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and a fan poster on Bucs Dugout about the recent leaks of the financial statements of the Pittsburgh Pirates on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Radio Show last night and one of the items we talked about was the Pirates under the ownership of Bob Nutting and Frank Coonley have spent $23 mil in 2008 and $21.2 mil in 2007 on player development.  The Mets in turn have spent a mere $14 mil the last three seasons on player development. That’s $4mil less than the money they will pay Perez and Castillo combined next season.  After listening to my interview with Miller you tell me who is more optimistic Miller the Bucs fan or me the Mets fan?

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Join me tonight at 10PM ET on Blog Talk Radio for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN. I have no guest booked for the show so the call in line will be open. To talk baseball tonight call in at (646) 727-2465. Some of the topics I’m looking to discuss is my big concern on who will be the next Mets manager and who is making the call on that hire (Jeffy Skill Sets, Omar or a new GM ?), Rob Dibble calling out Stephen Strasburg to learn to pitch hurt, the Pittsburgh Pirates showing profitability in suckitude and the Cincinnati Reds honoring Pete Rose on the anniversary of Rose breaking Ty Cobb’s hit record and anything else that’s on my mind.

What’s on your mind? Call in and vent at (646) 727-2465 tonight on THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN. 

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