A busy night of baseball talk in on tap for tonight as I will be hosting two shows on Blog Talk Radio.

At 9PM ET on THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN my guest will be Aaron Skirboll, author of the book” THE PITTSBURGH COCAINE SEVEN, How a Rag Tag Group of Fans Took The Fall for Major League Baseball”

Then at 10PM ET I’ll be hosting the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, Baseball Talk. My guest will be Dr. Tom Hanson of Baseball Confidence.com will talk about the mental side of baseball. In the second segment of the program the Subway Squawkers, Lisa Swan and Jon Lewin will join me as we look at the Mets, Yankees and all the happenings at the Winter Meetings.

I hope you can join us live but if you can’t make sure to visit the THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN show page and BASEBALL BLOGGERS ALLIANCE BASEBALL TALK show page on BLOG TALK RADIO   

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There is a segment of Mets fans who I bet are envious of the fans of the Washington Nats today as the D.C. rooters are reveling in the fact that their owner ponied up stupid money for Jayson Werth. Some of you miss those good old days when the Mets tossed around those dead presidents like they were Penny Saver coupons in an apartment building lobby, but I guess you all suffer from temporary amnesia since the last Championship flag to fly over a facility where the Mets work was 25 years ago.  I mean some of you are bitching about the Mets not going balls in on free agent, GET OVER IT those days a done, instead of going over the free agent lists I strongly advise you take a strong interest in the high school and college players eligible for the June entry draft

The Nationals are where the Mets were five years ago when they had to bribe players to wear the Mets uni with more years and more money than anyone else in baseball would. How did it work out? Pedro Martinez spent more time in St Lonesome than Flushing. Carlos Beltran and Scott Boras went to the Highlander with a last minute plea to make an offer as they hemmed and hawed about taking the Mets deal to either match or come close to the Mets offer so Beltran could patrol the green pastures of the South Bronx.  Then of course there are the deals that will live in franchise infamy like OP, Castillo and the Grand Daddy of them all, Bobby Bonilla’s contract of perpetuity and I’m not even counting Johan Santana and K-Rod’s deal that will take up $126 mil combined over the next four seasons and you want to know why after surveying this payroll carnage, Sandy Alderson has decided to stop the madness?

Really get over yourselves Mets fans, stop the bullshit about “oh we’re gonna suck next season” and “I can’t believe they cut Chris Carter, he was a warrior” “There’s no way they can trade Reyes or Beltran and if they do I’ll never root for this team again” WHAAAAA! WHAAAA! WHAAA!  you sound like a bunch of fucking rubes.  THIS ORGANZIATION TRADED THE GREATEST PLAYER IN FRANCHISE HISTORY AND THOSE US WHO WERE AROUND THEN ARE STILL HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew!!! Sorry for screaming but this “whole woe is a Mets fans” shit is making my blood boil.

I have no idea if Sandy Alderson will make this team a contender or if he can build the farm system for players that can useful playing for the Mets or for barter but I’m willing to wait and see if he can. I’m much more excited about 2011 as I was about 2010. I’m not in the gloom and doom mood I was last winter with this organization, shi,t I haven’t said anything nasty about Jeffey Skill  Sets in a month, that’s what you call progress.  Alderson has a track record of success so that’s why I feel the future looks brighter than most of you do.

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From the looks of things, Sandy Alderson and his staff seem anxious to get to Orlando and baseball’s Winter Meetings but  he won’t be bringing home any high end gifts to Mets fans. There will be no diamond studded Mickey Mouse watches coming our way, maybe a sweatshirt or t-shirt or two, nothing extravagant but more sensible.

No doubt the Mets will float the names Beltran, Reyes and Rodriquez during the cocktail parties and lobby loitering they will be doing so who knows, maybe the foundation for a blockbuster will be laid down but it seems like the Mets will wait until all the big pieces land before looking at the C and D list of free agents.

I like the honesty of Sandy Alderson when he states the fact that this team as is will be “competitive” and refrains from blowing smoke up the fan base’ ass that this team is a pennant contender. If that bothers you then you as a Mets fan need to grow up and realize the days of hearing fairy tales from the GM’s office are over.  I like the fact that this front office doesn’t listen to the fan base when it comes to personnel decisions. That was the big failure of the last regime, they tried too hard to keeps us happy, well fuck our happiness, just give me competence and a couple of nice t-shirts.

Alderson will meet with Omar Minaya to see where his standing is in the organization. I’ve almost forgotten that Minaya was not fired but re-assigned in his job duties but it he has options and quite frankly I think this sit down is more of how to pay Omar a buyout than a job offer.

Unless some GM loses his mind or gets a serious load on and makes an offer to Alderson for Ollie Perez, it looks as though OP will make it to St. Lonesome so the GM can observe him in order to make a decision to keep him or dump him. I guess Alderson’ thinks is I’m going to have to pay this scrub anyway  might as well see if he has any redeeming features  before  I decide his fate.

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On this date in Mets historyin 1974, the Mets traded Tug McGraw, Don Hahn and Dave Schneck to the Philadelphia Phillies for Del Unser, John Stearns and the immortal Mac Scarce.

Off season? What off season, there is more baseball news on this 32 degree morning in NYC than any other sports news.  Giants-Redskins? a murmur and some asshole comments. Jets-Pats? For such a big game the main topic is Tom Brady’s hair line. Knicks? Who gives a fuck.  Coach DiAntoni’s view of defense is when the opposition misses a shot.  NY Rangers, second only to the Mets in my fan affection but even with Gaborik’s hat trick and the fact the beat the lowly Fishsticks, not much buzz about the Blueshirts today. The big sports news in NYC, Baseball, Baseball and more Baseball:

The Mets non-tendered went as planned except for the curve ball Sandy Alderson tossed in by releasing Chris Carter.  As much as I like The Animal, and lobbied for more playing time for him last year, this is a very smart move by the Mets. According to Adam Rubin, Carter would have been given a minor league deal and would have been paid $200K but the real reason is Carter has no position on defense in fact you’d be better off signing Jack Cust than Carter.

Looks like the game plan on acquiring pitching will be of the low risk/high reward variety as reports are the Mets are looking to make a deal with injury prone LHP Jeff Francis and former Padre Chris Young. If both can stay healthy (a big IF) they are definitely worth t shot of signing to incentive laden deals.  Young would thrive in Citi Field as he is an extreme fly ball pitcher and to that fact I hope the Mets are looking at RHP Joel Peralta another fly ball pitcher for the bullpen and George Sherrill for the LOOGY spot if Perpetual Pedro proves to expensive.

WOW LMillz may be a LI Duck or a Lancaster Barnstormer  or an Orix Buffalo or maybe a KC Royal ?

Under the prior regime I’d say Joe Janish’s post aboutmoving Francisco Rodriguez to the White Sox would be a pipe dream. Under the Alderson reign, this post makes absolute sense and I could definitely see it happen.

Back in the day, I couldn’t stand Ron Santo especially back in 1969 when Santo would jump up and click his heels after a Cubs victory against the Mets. But I’m still sad to hear of his passing

So when will LeBron and the Heat go to Cleveland? Wait? What? It was last night? Shit. Who knew!

Looks like those cut throats running the Bronx Bastards will let El Capi-Tan save some face and juice up their contract offer today. No matter what happens, for now on Derek Jeter is Randy Levine’s bitch.

Good luck to Hisanori Takahashi on his signing with the Angels. A two-year deal for a 35 year old who can only pitch an inning of relief as the second time through the lineup he gets plastered may work in Anaheim but it sure doesn’t in Flushing .

Happy 62^nd Birthday to the Prince of Darkeness. Hope you have bloody good fuckin’ birthday Ozzy!!!!!!!!!   

An Ike Davis Hanukkah, OH……MY…….GOD!!!!!!!

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As we await the non-tender floodgates to open, the Mets have four players who fit the offer/non-offer list so let’s see who stays and who goes:

John Maine-I think we all agree the days of Maine are done in Queens. Maine did himself no favor by hiding his injuries and less than honest with the coaching staff and front office. With Old School Dan Werthan staying on as the Pitching Czar and the fact that Old School can’t stand the sight of Maine then add in his arbitration price could go to $4mil, it’s safe to say we can add John Maine to that long list of former Mets

R.A. Dickey-Look, we all love Dickey wait that didn’t come out right, We all love R.A. and he was a revelation both on the mound and in the clubhouse as Dickey was the only player when interviewed that I paid attention to as he would always say something of substance. But (and you knew the BUT was coming) let’s not go crazy with talk of multi-year deals for R.A.  I’d go 1yr plus an option $1.5 mil which is about double what he made last year.

Angel Pagan-Now Pagan is a different story. Pagan not only took his offensive game to a higher level but right now he’s the best centerfielder on the Mets roster. Pagan went from being a baseball dunderhead in 2009 to arguably the Mets MVP last season (Yes I know David Wright had a great offensive year but the case can be made that the best all-around season by a Met last year was Pagan) Angel made $1.45 mil last season and it would be hard for the Mets to win an arbitration case but what price is right for Pagan? 2yrs/$4.5-5mil?

Sean Green-We’re tendering him a contract, why?

Mike Pelfrey-Ahhhhhh Big Pelf.  The sticking point he is Pelf’s agent, Scott Boras.  Pelf cannot test the free agent waters until 2014, so the Mets hold the hammer on him as well. Pelfrey has made some coin off his ML contract he signed when drafted in 2005 to the tune of a shade under $5mil so this negotiation should be quite interesting. As the Mets hold all the cards they don’t have to offer a multi year deal but figure with Boras as his agent, I’m sure he will make up one of those elaborate books to present at the arbitration hearing to make Big Pelf look like Cy Young .

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Tomorrow my daughter will celebrate her eleventh birthday so when I asked what would be the best present she could get on this eventful day her answer was “FOR YOU TO GET THOSE STUPID BASEBALL CARDS OUT OF MY CLOSET DADDY”.  Ah…. that disposition, she is surely daddy’s little girl. See, before she was born her bedroom was my little man cave. I had sports pictures on the walls, a desk, a tv all the essentials that a man like me needs to sustain life. Then came the day I was handed a couple of quarts of Benjamin Moore pink paint and a brush and told take down Tom Seaver’s picture and that huge team picture of the 1994 Stanley Cup Champion NY Rangers and those plaques of the ’69 and ’86 Mets and that poster of Lawrence Taylor and move it down to the basement (it wasn’t until I was banished underground that I started blogging so I guess I fit the stereotype of bloggers in the basement except I own the basement and I wear pants most days) and turn this room into Eloise’s suite at the Plaza.

So today I will be going through boxes and boxes of baseball cards and copies of old Street and Smith Baseball Yearbooks, Who’s Who in Baseball books and about forty years worth of Baseball Digests and not to mention the long ago “Baseball Stars of the 1960’s” books I bought a the book fairs every year while attending P.S. 105. There is also a  CB Radio in that closet along with a collection of baseball caps, jerseys, roller skates, hockey sticks and I think a pair of boxing gloves.  I know for a fact there is a storage bin in the back of this closet that holds such treasures as a copy of the NY Daily News from the first moon landing and the 1969 World Series edition.  If you are old enough to remember, the Daily News even ran a color front page in 1969 which was revolutionary technology back then, not for the moon landing but to honor the Mets.   I also think I will discover some Bat Day bats from Highlander Stadium and I mean the original seat behind a steel pillar, 76,000 seat, Fred Talbot pitching to Jake Gibbs, ride the Sea Beach to DeKalb Ave to catch the Brighton Line to Highlander Stadium, Bat Day bats.

Now all that memorabilia, a very poor man’s Barry Halper collection, will be relegated to my underground lair, replaced by three pairs of Ugg’s and clothing from Justice (a preteen girls Model’s if you will) and about 20 pairs of shoes, flip flops and sandals.

It will take me hours to complete this mission and I know there will be stern words directed to me as I will go over every card, every score card reliving the games they came from, and wondering what I could get for a Steve Whitaker Bat Day bat on eBay?

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