A very busy Memorial Day weekend continues, first it was a trip to the Staten Island Homeport for Fleet Week and a visit on the battleships in port, then yesterday it was chillin’ and grillin’ in the backyard and today my family is honored to march in the Staten Island Memorial Day parade as both my kids will be flag bearers and then off to another barbeque. How can anyone like winter over summer ? I dread heading to work tomorrow for the fact I have to wear real pants and a shirt, I could be extremely happy spending the rest of my life in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops.

Take time out of your busy weekend to give a thought about the brave men and women of our military who have put their lives on the line for us and for our country and if there is a parade in your area today try to get out to it and show your support for those who have given the supreme sacrifice.

I’m not happy with just one win in Milwaukee this weekend, if this Mets team would have gone 11-12 on the road, to go with that great home record of 19-9 that’s 30-21 overall just a shade under .600 ball and in 1^st place in the NL East. Now it’s on to the 1^st place SD Padres and their top ranked pitching staff, 2 out of 3 here for the Mets would be sweet.

At some point Jeffey Skill Sets has to have a sit down with Ollie Perez and Scott Boras to get Perez to go to Buffalo. I’m sure Perez’ teammates are not happy by his selfishness and me attitude but when the team comes back home this weekend, just the sight of Perez at the ballpark will set off an ugly reaction by the fans. Jerry Manuel said in so many words that it would take a disastrous situation before he calls Perez on the bullpen phone so really Ollie man up and go to Buffalo.

Fernando Tatis was in the lineup for Ike Davis yesterday and batted clean up. That’s worse that the other Manuel line up staple of whoever plays 2^nd must bat 2^nd.  Do any of the other coaches go to Jerry and say enough is enough with these ridiculous lineup he puts together ?

If my vote means anything I vote YES on brining Dontrelle Willis to the Mets.

There is nothing sadder than seeing a house without an American flag outside of it especially on a holiday like Memorial Day.

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Non-Mets fan ask all the time why do Mets fans put all the blame Jerry Manuel after every Mets loss? Well, we don’t put all the blame on Manuel and we don’t hold him accountable for every loss and last night’s 2-0 loss wasn’t his fault but he did make a big mistake by not letting Johan Santana pitch the 9^th inning. Santana could have just as wel given up Corey Harts walk off homer but if he did so what. Santana is the ace of the staff and he should be treated as an ace. Forget pitch counts this isn’t Little League you need to have a feel for your pitchers and the feel last night was Santana was in a great grove.

That’s the biggest drawback with Manuel, look how long it took him realize the GMJ stinks and that Angel Pagan was more than capable of being the everyday CF’er? He still hasn’t figured out how to use Jenry Mejia all he knows is the young arm should be here and not in Buffalo starting. Manuel also has this mental block about whoever plays 2^nd base must bat 2^nd in the lineup. He also forced fed Jose Reyes into third hole with disastrous results and finally put Jose back where he belongs in the 1 hole and low and behold, Reyes has responded. For reason known only to Manuel, he trots out Jeff Francoeur every single game with his unsightly .218/.278/.364 hitting line. How does Omar or even Jeffey Skill Sets sit by and let Manuel play this automatic out every single game? FREE THE ANIMAL JERRY I’M BEGGGGGGGGGGGGGGING YOU!!!!

The Mets should still be riding the wave of the last home stand as you head into Milwaukee that fields a dead team in a dead ball park with not just your Ace but one of the top pitchers in baseball who pitches a gem but comes away with nothing. That sucks as did Jerry Manuel’s decisions last night.

The Mets will be wearing NEW YORK CUBANS uni’s tonight as a salute to the Negro Leagues. The Mets wore these once before I believe and I love these uni’s. I wish they would make a third jersey like these instead of those ugly ass black ones.

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So much for the talk of $iti Field being a detriment to the Mets winning. Talk about ‘there’s no place like home” Welcome to Citi Field Home of Citi Ball. It’s a little bit of small ball, a dash of long ball and three parts big balls pitching.

Not only did the Mets take two series from the Taliban (Highlanders) and Al-Qeda (Phuck Phaces) of MLB they did it with the one thing that all winning Mets teams have possessed, outstanding pitching and timely hitting. Now the challenge is to do it on the road as the Mets have an NBA team like split of 19-9 at 126^th & Roosevelt Ave and an embarrassing 6-14 when the bags are packed, that has to change and change this on this road trip to show the league and Mets fans that this run of success is not a mirage.

It’s quite obvious that “as goes Jose Reyes, so goes the Mets” is not hyperbole, when it’s Jose Being Jose, hitting line drives in the gaps, running like his feet are on fire, making tremendous defensive plays, and reacting with all the animation of a Looney Tunes cartoon, the team and the fans feed off the Jose Reyes Experience and I for one am glad it’s back by popular demand.   

I could’ve done without Big Pelf doing his Dice K imitation last night with the five free passes but other than that, the continuation of the Summer of Pelf was a pleasure to watch.  Now that Big Pelf has incorporated the split-finger fastball with great success mixed in with his 90+ FB effective slider and a much better curveball and the big ingredient, maturation what we are seeing is the blossoming of a star pitcher that is quite impressive.

I like to compare Hisanori Takahashi to the late Bob Ross of the Joy of Painting, he makes pitching look so easy. Takahashi’s “happy little trees” is his fastball that he places on the inside strike zone and outside strike zone and maybe one here up in the strike zone or one here down and in. It’s like Takahashi has a baseball palette on the mound, just mix a little bit of fast ball with some slider to create at a cutter, just a little bit of slider on those bristles, oh that one is out of the strike zone ? Not a problem we can fix that it’s just a happy little accident. That’s Hisanori Takahashi pitching in his moment of Zen.

You know something, the way the Mets are treating Oliver Perez is better than just releasing him. The Mets have become Amish elders with Perez as he is shunned by management for not accepting assignment to Buffalo. Ollie has become a non-factor on this team, only to be used in blowout conditions. Here are the Mets scrambling for a starter for Saturday and the names being tossed around are Raul Valdes, or R.A. Dickey on three days rest or just let Fernando Nieve start as a resurrection of the spot starter, not one mention of letting Ollie P take the mound. I wonder if Perez is bright enough to be embarrassed about this?        

As long time readers here know, I am not a big fan of Mike Piazza. I acknowledge the he is arguably the best offensive catcher of all time and a first ballot Hall of Famer and I hope he goes in as a Met. But he always struck me as a me guy and a phony because in my opinion, he was more concerned about his personal stats than winning baseball games. However, when it comes to speculation that he was a steroid user all of those who come out and say that Piazza used PED’s , show your proof or shut the fuck up. Show the test results that separates fact from fiction and I’m looking square at you Murray Chass you old broken down fucking hack. I wish Piazza would sue you for defamation of character to expose you as the irresponsible dolt that you are. If you want to read Chass’ bullshit post, Google it, there will be no links to his site here ever!!!!!!

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Here we go again. Just when it looked like the season was slipping away the message out of $iti Field is “not so fast my pessimistic Mets fan” this could be the start of an exciting summer.

I want to dance up and down and shoot middle fingers at the rest of the NL but I can’t because this team still has needs and I’m not confident that ownership will provide it.

It’s safe to assume that Jeffey Skill Sets is calling all the shots around here that Omar Minaya not only is under a gag order when it comes to speaking in public but his ability to make baseball moves has been clamped down as well. In a way Omar and Oliver Perez have a lot in common both have been rendered insignificant.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying this recent run of winning and solid baseball being played by the Mets but as Bobby Valentine says “you’re only as good as your next day starting pitcher” so today we’re in good shape with Big Pelf and tomorrow Johan Santana against the Brewski’s looks great as well, but when does the clock strike twelve on R.A. Dickey and the mystery fifth starter (playing the role of Jon Niese this weekend will be Fernando Nieve)?

At this point as much as I feel, along with what looks like the majority of Mets fans, that Jenry Mejia should have been working on his starting pitcher apprenticeship in the minors, at this point now let him stay with the big club as a reliever. Mejia seems to be settling in role of late inning man and the rest of the pen has been solid now that Igarashi is back so adding a solid starting pitcher should be paramount to management to go out and get.

So who is out there? As much as Roy Oswalt would be a huge acquisition between the money and cost in personnel and trying to get a deal done with Drayton McClain is almost impossible, I doubt that Oswalt will be Queens bound. Cliff Lee as a rental could be cost prohibitive as well.  If the front office could land Kevin Millwood, Mark Buehrle, or even Jake Westbrook it make a huge difference in solidifying the rotation and sending a message to the players and fan base that there is a real commitment to winning.

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Well one thing the 2010 Mets aren’t lacking in is drama, with ex-Mets trying to school new Mets and the bullpen coach telling the Diva Closer to shut the fuck up and the manager’s job status as volatile as the Dow Jones this is becoming a lot of fun.

I remarked on Twitter last night that I wondered where R.A. Dickey leaves his shopping cart during games. Dickey looks like the guys you avoid at the supermarket who bring in cans and bottles for the nickel deposit. Dickey has been outstanding in these last two starts and a huge upgrade over the Ritalin Kid that’s for sure. Plus the Dickey jokes on Twitter never get old.

Speaking of Dickey, did you get a look at what has been reported as Evan Longoria’s manhood? If I were packing something like that it would be the picture on my drivers license. Most definitely NSFW

I saw the video of the squirrel that ran on the grass at Target Field during last nights Twins-Highlanders game. The squirrel really looked lost and confused as he ran around out of control to the point the game had to be held up. The squirrel, who was identified as Rocket J. Squirrel of Frost Bite Falls MN said he was looking for the Tony O’s Cuban Sandwich concession stand when he got disoriented, he claims with the ball park’ so new he was still trying to find his way around the place.

I am definitely getting myself an I LIKE IKE t-shirt

Nelson Figueroa is the first player in the history of professional sports to get screwed over by a team. Give it a break Nelly Figs will ya!

After the Mets defeated the Phuck Phaces last night I had the pleasure of talking to Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley a member of ESPN Sweet Zone blogs (as well as Baseball Prospectus Baseball Digest Daily and Heater Magazine) on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN show last night. You can check out the podcast right there a Kranepool Society (see the player on the lower left sidebar) or at my show page at Blog Talk Radio or downloaded it to your iPhone, iTouch, or iPod at iTunes.

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Join me tonight at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on Blog Talk Radio. My guest will be Bill Baer of the Phillie site CrashBurn Alley which is a featured blog on ESPN SweetSpot as well as Baseball Prospectus, Baseball Daily Digest and HEATER Magazine.

We will discuss the Mets-Phillies seriesof course and other news and views around MLB.

Listen live tonight or listen to the podcast right here at Kranepool Society or at the show page on Blog Talk Radio or download the show from iTunes.    

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Even if the Mets take the next three from the Phuck Phaces as the series starts tonight at $iti Field, it looks like Jerry Manuel could still be out as manager of the Mets. There are some serious cracks in the foundation.

First there was the confrontation between Frankie Rodriguez and Randy Neimann the bullpen Sunday night. At first glance, I chalked this to shit happens in the heat of battle but upon closer inspection it seems Rodriguez is getting annoyed by the way Maunel is using him and made it known when the call came in to get up and get warm. It’s not really known what was said but I could guess that Rodriguez made it known that he’s getting tired of the way he’s being used, getting up, sitting down, being told you won’t be used then having to get ready and come in and get a 5 out save as it seems he’s not just saving games but saving the managers job.

The second incident has to do with a couple of “prominent Mets” upset that Darryl Strawberry has been in the clubhouse trying to help players relax and focus on winning. I mean we can speculate on who’s “wittle feelings” were hurt that big bad Straw. It’s not like Straw said anything critical of inflammatory:

  “He was saying you’re better than last place. He told them it was ‘rough’ watching them play, but you’re better than what you showed,” a Mets insider said. “Some of the guys who don’t know Darryl that well, don’t know he still bleeds Mets blue might have thought it (his advice) was too tough.”

“If they don’t know Darryl they might have wondered why he was coming on so strong,” the spy said. “He is sincere. He still cares. That’s why.”

WOW if they think that was too tough they’d cry like a baby reading what I write. I don’t think it’s Wright or Reyes doing the complaining as they’ve been around and know what Strawberry and all the 86’ers mean to the organization and the fan base but it would be leader-like for Wright and Reyes to step up and defend Darryl and his fellow World Champs and tell those who are complaining to shut the fuck up. If I ever find out who the players are who are crying about Strawberry in the clubhouse, I promise to expose these frauds for the fucking losers that they are.

It’s these little outbursts that show whether the manager is losing his team or not and add this in with the Maine blowout and the total misuse of his bullpen and the fact that David Wright was benched and Jeff Francoeur gets his name in the lineup every day and produces nothing but failure tells you it’s time to let Jerry Manuel go.

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There is nothing easy with these Mets. Johan Santana was vintage Santana last night but no Mets game is complete until we have the late inning Relievers on Parade with your Grand Marshall Jerry Manuel. Instead of a warm up jacket and Mets cap, Manuel should wear blue and orange tuxedo with tails, a top hat and sash.

I won’t say J-Man manages scared but this is the problem when you have a lame duck manager, every game is a referendum on his job. Mets beat Highlanders and I expect Ryan Seacrest to pop up on SNY to say the “the votes are in, and Jerry you are safe to advance to the Phillies series” which of course is 100 times more important than the played out Subway Series . Sure it’s good to beat the Taliban of Baseball but the real enemy is making its way up the Jersey Turnpike for three big games.

You have to be encouraged by the pitching match up for the Mets in this up coming series. First, no John Maine or Ollie Perez as R.A. Dickey and Hisinori Takahashi are both upgrades over those two stumble bums, as Dickey will go against Jamie Moyer and Takahashi gets Joe Blanton, then on Wednesday Big Pelf takes on Sissy-Boy Hamels.

There’s no question the Mets need another starter (Mark Buehrle anyone?) but just the fact that Maine and Perez are out of the rotation is a plus as Dickey and Takahashi can not be as bad or worse than the later two.

I hate talking bad about Joe Morgan, as he is one of my favorite players of all time but between him, John Miller and Orel Hershiser they could make you hate watching baseball. Morgan with his “the more runs you score the better your odds of winning the game” analysis reminds me of Chauncey Gardiner. Maybe if John Miller took time away from looking in the mirror while working on his exaggerated pronunciation of Latin surnames (he had to bring up Carlos Beltran just so he could say Bel-TRAN) he’d have gotten the ground rule right on the overly annoying Francisco Cervelli’ 335 ft single, the orange line is just for show John Mi-LLER. The Bulldog doesn’t annoy me but after Morgan and Miller my head just goes numb.

Could the Mets being getting another break with Luis Castillo sore heel? With Ruben Tejada playing well at Buffalo, trip to the DL for Castillo could force a promotion of Tejada to step into the 2^nd base position and free up Alex Cora to do his leadership thing.

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A shocker this morning,  as word is Jose Lima at age 37 is dead of a massive  heart attack. WOW No more Lima Time

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Sure I’m happy with the win last night but why do these games have to be so excruciating to watch? Why did Big Pelf have to come out after 6 innings? This is the shit that gets Mets fans boxers in a bunch about Jerry Manuel. This bullpen is running on fumes and Big Pelf was pitching with some big balls last night, he was pounding the living daylights out of the strike zone and getting ground ball outs, sure hitting Alex Cora for Pelf worked out with a single and a RBI but I still would have let Pelf bat there and come out to pitch the 7^th.    Most Mets fans feel that Pelfrey has now become a front line major league pitcher; it’s too bad Jerry Manuel doesn’t realize it yet.

Looks like Old School Warthern was right about the “hanitual liar” John Maine. The doctor will see you now Mr. Maine

This morning before our game, I was hitting fungos to my infielders. I was wearing my Mets nylon pullover while conducting this task when the following exchange took place:

Parent from the stands: “Oh sure the Mets win a game and you start wearing Mets stuff”

My wife: “ARE YOUR KIDDING” ? MY HUSBAND LIVES AND DIES WITH THAT STUPID TEAM AND HE WEARS METS STUFF JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE DAY WIN OR LOSE”

Me saying to myself : “Man, I hope it starts pouring and we get rained out, I can’t to go home with that woman”

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