Give the Skill Sets some credit here as they are going full bore in the interview process for a new GM. There doesn’t seem to be a bad choice here as the caliber of candidates are quite impressive. As much as I’ve taken a seat on the Sandy Alderson bandwagon, I could just as easily hop of and get on the cross-town  Rick Hahn Express as well.  You also have to feel good as a Mets fan that they are talking to Logan White of the Dodgers, who supposedly has a deal in place with LA but with the Feuding McCourt’s tearing apart the franchise, the Mets, amazingly enough, look like the more stable organization and quite possibly White would join the team as an executive in charge of scouting and player development which along with a hire of either Alderson or Hahn, would push the respect meter to a point we haven’t seen in Flushing since the Frank Cashen days.

Seems an Alderson run team would allow the Skill Sets to hire Wally Backman as long as Backman realizes he’s there to carry out the Alderson Plan. As we’ve seen with Alderson’ run with the A’s and Padres, the manager is more like a shift supervisor who enforces company policy.

No matter who is hired as the new man in charge of baseball ops, it will be no longer be business as usual in Queens.

Adam Rubin has a great preview of Mets farmhands now competing in the Arizona Fall League. Brad Holt who I thought  was going to be a big time pitcher for the Mets when I saw him pitch in Brooklyn a few years back, is trying to redeem himself in the eyes of the organization and CF’er Kirk Nieuwenhuis are two of the players for Mets fans to keep an eye on.

A lot of talk before last night’s Rays-Rangers Game 5 was about the looseness of the Rays players seems the Rangers took advantage of that attitude by going all out aggressive on the base paths against Tampa.

So we have the Highlanders v. Rangers and Phuck Phaces v. Fuck Yeahs in the LCS. The Highlanders own the Rangers so it is with a great sense of urgency, that the Rangers play the same aggressive style in Game 1 against CC and his battery mate the defensively challenged Dumbo Posada. A Game 1 loss will send Highlander fans into a pure panic, and isn’t that we haters of Bronx Bastards live for?

I am going all out to root for the Giants as I’m thinking of making a little shrine with my Jim Ray Hart bat, Will Clark baseball cards, and my photos of John McGraw. Game 1 Saturday is a must watch for all baseball fans with Halliday and The Freak hooking up.

Taryn Cooper has her last post of the season up at her My Summer Family site and she is also stepping away from the everyday grind of Mets blogging, which is a major loss to Metsfandom.  Hopefully we can meet up at MSG Coop, to root for our Broadway Blueshirts.

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The Baseball Bloggers Alliance is ready to announce it’s first post season award, the Connie Mack Award for manager of the year in the NL and AL. As the NY NL Chapter President, I am proud to announce our vote:

1st Place- Dusty Baker, Cincinnati Reds

2nd Place-Bruce Bochy, San Fransisco Giants

3rd Place-Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves

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Join me tomorrow, October 12th at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on BLOG TALK RADIO. My guests Lyle Spatz and Steve Stenberg, authors of the book “1921 The Yankees, The Giants, and The Battle For Baseball Supremacy in New York (published by University of Nebraska Press)

We will discuss the first subway series in NYC between the Yankees and Giants, which started one of the great and heated rivalries in sports.

If you can’t join us live, you can listen to the podcast right here at Kranepool Society or on the show page on Blog Talk Radio or as a download in iTunes.

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You know what? I’m glad Terry Ryan said he wasn’t interested in interviewing for the Mets GM job, I’d want nothing to do with anyone from the Minnesota Twins organization.  It’s one thing to lose a series to the Bronx Bastards but the Twinkies laid down like dogs. No fight whatsoever.

If your a Twins fan and what I’m saying here pisses you off and you say that my Mets suck , so who am I to call out a team for failure, remember this, the Mets at least split their six game this season with the Highlanders and there are only two teams the Pinstriped Pricks  fear the Mets and the Red Sox.

Oh so Phil Hughes is now a great pitcher after last night’s performance. As I said in the comments section to our resident Highlander contributor, Michael all Highlander fans were shitting themselves silly over their starting rotation and now after playing a team that gave up, they think they have three Cy Young candidates. They’ve all but forgotten their bastard child AJ Burnett, who will have to pitch in the ALCS  and kicked to the curb Javier Lopez, who is awaiting deportation to the National League.

Oh yeah I got my Highlander Hate on in full glory!!!!!

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All this great talk about Sandy Alderson has me very edgy as he would be my first choice to come in to run the Mets and it seems all signs are pointing to Alderson becoming the Mets Baseball Czar if Jeffey and Freddy Skill Sets give the A-OK.

If all that purging of their souls on execusion day was real, then Sandy Alderson will be running the Mets by the end of the month. If it does happen I promise to start calling the Skill Sets by their proper names and I will buy a ticket plan for 2011 and I will wear a piece of Mets clothing everyday this off season. That’s how much I want to see a Sandy Alderson presser at Citi Field.

So Jeffey, Freddy and Uncle Saul this is your time to stop being pinheads and act like real baseball owners.

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So I’m still a man without a home, a work home that is as the renovation of my office is taking on a rebuilding of London after WWII feel to it, but I figured give a little bit of an opinion of the last few days as per the Mets GM search and the post season:

It looks like Sandy Alderson is very much interested in running the Mets baseball ops and I as giddy as a character on GLEE if he gets the job. The fact that John Ricco was retained by the Skill Sets bodes well for Alderson coming on board and grooming Ricco to learn the GM the right way.  

Look I’m not happy with the Phuck Phaces domination of the Reds and Halladay’s no hitter, but I have to give him his due, that was one of the greatest pitched games I have ever seen from a guy not named Seaver.

Is it worse to not make the playoffs where at least you know your team needs to make some big changes or is it better to win your division but get your ass kicked in three games like the Twins? Just once I’d like to see the Twins step up in a post season match up vs. the Highlanders.

Same with the Rays, this is not the way to get folks to come out and support you

My boy Tim Lincecum was down right nasty last night as he dominated the Tomahawkers. Anyone for a NLCS Lincecum v. Halladay? Fuck Yeah!!!!

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While I sit and wait for the Skill Sets to pick a new baseball czar, there is post season baseball to revel in starting today with a triple header on TBS. As viewers, we can be thankful that this year we won’t get “fisted” while watching the coverage but he have to hope that Ernie Johnson knows the difference between a suicide squeeze and a pick and roll. On to my predictions:

Phuck Phaces vs. Cincin-NATTA Red Stockings

Let’s be truthful here the Phuck Phaces have the best three man rotation in the playoffs with Halladay, Oswalt and the Girlie Man so this is a tough assignment for ol’ Dust-aroo and his Queen City Rollers. If Edison Volquez can beat Doc Halladay in game 1 we could have the makings of a great upset but that’s asking a lot but if the Reds can win game 1 and then have Mike Francesa Boy Toy, Bronson Arroyo going in game 2 then their will a ton o’ pressure on Cholly Chuckles boys. I want to say Reds in 4 but it ain’t gonna happen. Phuck Phaces in 4

Small Cox vs The Fuck Yeahs

Has word gotten to Braves fans that their team is in the post season? Maybe a couple of them would like to go to a game or two ? My rooting interest is with the San Francisco By Way of W 155 St & 8^th Avenue Giants. It’s part nostalgia and part that I’m a Tim Lincecum fanboy and part I find the Braves and the city of Atlanta revolting. The Bochy Boys have too much pitching to lose here in fact I’m calling this one Giants in 3.

Lone Stars vs Men in Plaid

This is a tough choice here as I love Nolan Ryan but I find Joe Maddon cute and goofy plus there is the Stu Sternberg Brooklyn/Mets fan factor so I’ll go with the Rays in 4. Of all the game 1 match ups today the Cliff Lee -David Price engagement is the best.  It’s a shame that this game is not the prime time game but hey, it’s my day off so I’ll have ass in seat at 1:30 to watch it.

Bronx Bastards vs. Gardy’s Gang

It’s that time of year kids, time to get your Highlander Hate On. You know I’m going all out to root for the Men of the Land O Lakes and I think they will dispose of the Highlanders in 5 games, Just to make it even more painful for those who call themselves Disciples of the Bronx Robber Baron, let’s have Delmon Young hit a game tying homer of Joba and Jim Thome, the game winner off Mariano in game 5. By the way who wants to join me on Halloween to go egg the Robber Baron’s plaque in Monument To Douchebagery Park ?

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Join me tonight at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Radio Show on BLOG TALK RADIO. My guest will be Matt Pignataro of 7 Train To Shea. Matt and I will go over the fallout from the dissmissals of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel and give our opinions on the course ownership needs to take to get the Mets back on the winning track.

If you can’t join us live, you can listen to the podcast here at Kranepool Society (lower left side bar)  or at the show page on BLOGTALK RADIO and as a downloaded podcast on iTunes

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So the inevitable happened this afternoon at $iti Field when Freddy and Jeffey Skill Sets put the fan base out of it’s misery by firing Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel. First off, can the MSM put the violins away and give Mets fans a break about the termination of both of these men?  I’ve never seen the media make a fuss over auto workers or teachers losing their jobs like they are about Minaya and Manuel. Minaya is leaving with a $2.5 mil golden parachute and by the way, it looks like Minaya is totally gone from the organization as he stated in his only as Omar can way, that he was offered a position in the org but turned it down as he feels a new GM should pick his own front office. He didn’t rule out a return to the Mets in some capacity but he is free to find employment elsewhere.

Minaya will find a job as a scout or player development person and by the way, I have never seen a guy so happy to get the ax like Minaya, he kept making the goofy grin after answering questions that quite frankly has me wondering if he is either relieved to the get the hell out Flushing or he’s an idiot.

Manuel will be fine as well, he will get a coaching job at a nice Christian school where he can play his Gandhi act with some Evangelical baseball players and they all go out and win one for the Baby Jesus.

With all the tweets I’ve seen on Twitter about telling fans to remember that “these are two good men who lost their jobs” and yada, yada, yada. Spare me the nice guy bullshit.  I’m sick and tired of the lets’ play nice mentality of this organization. Enough of Jeffey and Freddy,  who spewed the same old line of horseshit about how they love this franchise and how Freddy Skill Sets hurts after every defeat, wah, wah, wah cry me a fucking river. I’m sick and tired of talk, as the old saying goes ,if bullshit was electricity, the Mets would be a fucking powerhouse.  Give me a guy like Bill Belichick who is hated by the media because he’s a world class prick, but he is a championship winning world class prick.

Jeffey, Freddy, Uncle Saul and Dave the Shyster, you have no idea how much pain me and my brothers and sisters in Mets fandom feel.  You don’t wear Mets caps or Mets jerseys or jackets and have people say “you’re brave to wear that” I’m not brave you asshole, I’m loyal.  No matter how bad this team is and how badly the $iti Field personnel treat me and the constant urge to stalk Jeffey Skill Sets just to smack the shit out of him, I stick with this team though thick and thin and as a guy rooting for the Mets for 46 years there’s been a whole lot of thin but I still buy tickets, I still wear my Mets regalia with pride and I still stick up for this team when it’s attack by other fans.  I can bitch and moan about this team and organization every day at this site but I still count the days until spring training and the day tickets go on sale and make sure I secure my tickets for opening day. All I ask in return is for the ownership to make an effort to bring in a front office and players who have as much pride in the New York Mets as this fan base does.

I hope the Skill Sets were sincere in the message they portrayed today, that they want a solid GM who is progressive in his approach to building a baseball team. Minaya is a dinosaur whose way of running a baseball team is way in the past; it’s time to get this organization into the 21^st century and use statistics along with scouting to build a solid organization. No more throwing money at players where you’re the only bidder in the auction. No more throwing millions at 30+ year old players who are as washed up as hypodermic needles on the Coney Island sand, no more turning the other cheek , time to step up for your teammates. The next 3-4 weeks may be the most critical in the history of the Mets franchise, let’s just hope we are not here this time three years from now regurgitating all this “we want to win” mantra. Please Skill Sets I’m begging you ,hire a Baseball Czar and let the man/woman whomever, run the baseball ops as they see fit.  Actions speak louder than words Freddy prove me wrong about you and your dopey son, please prove me wrong.

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As sad as the season has been with another post season less autumn in store for Mets fans, yesterday was a glorious day at Citi Field.  It was Gary, Keith and Ron Day at the ballpark which is sponsored by Pitch in For A Good Cause, a charity endeavor run by Gary Cohen’ wife Lynn who by the way, would make a great GM of the Mets as she is the most organized and passionate about her work  more than any one currently involved in the Mets organization.   I got to meet and take pictures with Gary and Ron Darling (I’ll post them up sometime today) but I was most happy to meet Kevin Burkhardt who I’ve enjoyed trading Tweets with all season. Kevin is also a reader of this site and for that I must have thanked him a hundred times. As great as Kevin is on TV is an even nicer guy in person.

I was so happy to meet up with Kathy Foronjy and Joe Coburn who I first met about five years ago when they were starting to film their award winning documentary  on Mets fandom,  Mathematically Alive. Kathy and Joe and Stephen (sorry I never got your last name) were kind enough to follow myself and my family as we gathered to go on the outfield warning track for the National Anthem and I thank them for that.

It was a nice afternoon to commiserate with fellow Mets bloggers Dana Brand and Greg Prince, two gentlemen who should be on the search committee for the new baseball czar of the Mets.

Top that off with home runs by Chris Carter, Lucas Duda (a majestic blast that went about 15 rows up in the Pepsi Porch) and David Wright, who really Cadillaced around the bases after getting buzzed by Tyler Clippard, I was waiting for Wright to do the Willie Montanez stutter step at each base.

I watched Jerry Manuel make a strange move by bringing R.A. Dickey into the game in relief in the 8^th inning. On the ride home listening to Mets Extra, Wayne Hagin felt the media was going overboard on their questioning of the move (Hagin is clueless and in fact I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a pink slip either) , as Manuel said he wanted to show whoever is here in the future, that Dickey could pitch on his bullpen throw day and to let Dickey get an ovation from the fans. From reading Dickey’s locker room response it doesn’t seem like he was totally in agreement with the move, but R.A. being the well spoken and savvy guy we have grown to love, handled it perfectly.

No matter how happy you are that there will be a change in the manger and GM for the Mets and make no mistake both Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya should be fired, the way the Skill Sets are handling this is really bush league, but then again when it comes to comes to these difficult moves the Skill Sets have never been known for being classy.

In the next week, I’ll be posting my who should stay and who should go list but I’ll say one thing here about the next GM, he or she should come from outside the organization.  This organization needs a whole new set of front office personnel and if the Skill Sets want to keep Minaya on payroll then make him a scout and send him out on the road and let it be known he has absolutely no say in any personnel moves. If he wants to travel Latin America then by all means go but I really want the next person in charge  to be THE person in charge. With Jeffey Skill Sets still involved though that might be a pipe dream.

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