Blogging will be a bit spotty here next week as I’ll be heading down to Florida for a week of R & R, unlike the week I spent upstate in the woods camping this is a real vacation.

Lots of positives for the Mets organization last night as the club swept a four game series from the Red Legs for the first time ever, Johan Santana pitched in a rehab game in St Lonesome and his arm did not fall off, and Daniel Murphy is now 3^rd in the NL Batting race behind Ryan Braun and Jose Reyes. No Mets player has ever won a Batting Crown and the way Reyes is playing this season there is a very good shot that he will be the first. Who knows after that, maybe Zack Wheeler could be the first Mets pitcher to throw a no-hitter in 2013.

Speaking of Mets pitching phenoms, Matt Harvey was on the mound last night for Bingo against Harrisburg and Nats phenom, Bryce Harper. Harvey had a very strong showing and K’d the much hyped Bryce twice but the B-Mets went down in defeat 2-1 in 14 innings. Harvey went 7 innings and K’d 10 and walked only 2.

Sad news about Hideki Irabu taking his own life yesterday in California. As Mike Silva points out, Irabu’s downfall in coming to the U.S. to pitch was his insistence to pitch for the Highlanders. The San Diego Padres held his rights and after a contentious back and forth with Padres ownership, Irabu forced a  trade Irabu to the Bronx where the pitcher thought it would be just like in the movies. He soon found out the myth of the Bronx Bastards failed to mirror the reality of playing for an overheated blow hard  self-promoting owner, who didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself.  Maybe Irabu life would have been different if he stayed in San Diego or Japan. We’ll never know but playing for the Highlanders did not improve his quality of life.    

Lost in the euphoria of the Mets four game sweep of the Red Legs and the fact they have been road warriors all season, is that the dreaded black uniform top and cap has been making many more appearance the last month or so than it did during the early part of the season.  I’ll never understand this fixation with the black jersey and hat when the Mets road greys are one of the best looking uniforms in all of baseball. Now that Sandy Alderson has put this organization in his vice-grip hands, I am begging him to order all the black uniforms gathered up for an end of the season bon fire at Citi Field. I sure this guy will bring the gasoline and matches.   

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The sad part of the Mets career of Carlos Beltran was just when he was enjoying being a NY Met and having the fan base sing praise and glory to his name, it was time to go. Just when he felt secure that the front office and the field manager were 100 % behind him and treated him with the respect he deserved, it was time to go.  With all the retrospect of Beltran’s career as a Met and with all the high (and deserved) praise that Beltran has received this season the bottom line is, it was time to go.  

Beltran lived up to the hype and money of his 7 year deal. I love the irony displayed by many in the fan base, the same ones who vilified Beltran for taking a third strike in the 2006 NLCS (forgetting he hit .296/.387/.667 with 3 home runs against the Cardinals in that series) and labeled him soft even after the horrific collision he had with Mike Cameron in San Diego on August 11^th 2005 and returned to action on August  17^th , just missing six games.

Beltran was not betrayed just by the fans but by ownership and the previous front office as well. When it came to handling the serious knee injuries he suffered, the training staff, GM and owner botched things so badly that Beltran felt he had to go and get his knees worked on his own. When he found a doctor who told him he needed surgery and he needed it now, Beltran and his agent Scott Boras went through all the proper channels to get medical clearance from the Mets doctors (who get wrongfully maligned) and the trainer and GM to get the right insurance papers signed, it was the GM (who has always been portrayed as a standup guy but really wasn’t) that tried to spin it as Beltran going rogue.

I’ve always felt that Beltran had this reserved way about him due to his mistrust and mistreatment by the former GM, managers and the owner. It wasn’t until Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins showed him the veteran respect he had earned that he felt more like a vital part of the team. In return, Beltran was able to be as productive as he was as he knew the days of bullshit artists running the team were over.  

Alderson and Collins saw just how hard Beltran worked to get back in shape to get back on the playing field. Collins saw Beltran strap on that knee brace game after game and fighting the manager whenever he wanted to give him a day off. It’s a simple situation, when players see a manager have their back, they will run through hot coals for him or in Beltran’s case thank him for his trust and belief in him by being the star baseball player that he is.

Sandy Alderson did what he had to do, at the age of 34, on the last year of his deal and with a knee that will never get better and a team while playing good and inspired baseball that will not be a post season participant, trading Beltran to a team in the post season hunt made tons of sense. The fact that Alderson got back exactly what he wanted in Zack Wheeler, a top pitching prospect, makes it all the better.

We will all miss Beltran and his familiar “El Esta Aqui” walk up song but don’t feel sorry for Beltran. He joins a team on which he will make a difference and a team that has strong pitching that is built for the post season. Hopefully the Giants repeat and Beltran gets a World Series ring.

As for Mets fans, anyone who feels this team is not worthy of buying a ticket to watch at Citi Field or to follow on SNY and WFAN, just admit to yourself you’re not a Mets fan. How could you call yourself a Mets fan and not be thrilled with the play of this 2011 edition?  The last two seasons the cry from Metsaptania was “play the kids, play the kids, we want the kids” Well, the kids are here and the kids are all right. Sure not being in a pennant race sucks but when you have a team that plays hard, never quits, handles adversity great, you should be proud of that team. Stop listening and reading the NYC MSM who for some reason (ownership maybe?) tries to focus on the blemishes of this team. Those same media types will be jumping on the Mets bandwagon in the next year or two when the Mets are fighting for a post season berth. This Beltran deal hurts the MSM because it was a positive for the Mets and finally not since Frank Cashen and his bow tie ran this club has a GM made as much an impact as Sandy Alderson has on the Mets. Don’t forget Terry Collins as well, who has not only shown that a man can learn from his past failures but he has shut up the We Want Wally Backman Teabaggers as well. As much as I was a Backman fan, there is no way he could have done any better than Collins has done this year.

There is a bit of a 1984 feeling around Flushing these days and if next year has a 1985 feeling, well, all you folks not going to Citi Field will be shit out of luck next year when Citi Field will be THE place to be and your ass can’t find a seat to sit in.

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After last night’s debacle in Atlanta, one piece of news that hasn’t been played up is the injury to Brian McCann.  McCann has been placed on the DL with the dreaded oblique strain that could take up to three weeks to heal. Not only is McCann the best bat in the Braves lineup, he also plays the premium position of catcher.

I’m sure Braves GM Frank Wren was up all night trying to figure out how to add a bat and as we all know the Mets are sitting on the best bat in all the baseball land that is for sale in Carlos Beltran.

Sandy Alderson is showing amazing patience in consummating the obvious, making Beltran an ex-Met, so with the injury to McCann, his methodical ways just might pay off .

My first thought was to add Ronny Paulino in a deal with the Braves to see if that would force Wren’s hand to add a top pitching prospect but looking things over, Paulino would be no use to the Braves once McCann gets back plus it would weaken the Mets at a spot where they lack both depth and talent.

It seems the Braves could use some outfield help so would adding Angel Pagan in a deal be enough of a sweetener to land a top prospect plus a B and C farm hand as well?

Alderson is really holding his cards close to the vest and it looks as if he will hold out at the last possible minute before he deals Beltran but with the appearance of Jeffey Skill Sets in Cincinnati, you could draw the conclusion that Alderson has alerted ownership that a deal is imminent, unless Jeffey took it upon himself to visit the Queens City as he had a craving for Skyline Chili.

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I’m a little concerned about Angel Pagan, now that the Mets have sent him for a blood test to see what is causing him to be fatigued during games. What also disturbs me is that Pagan has gone into a shell in the clubhouse. With the thought of Carlos Beltran ready to be dealt away, his own poor play this season and the uncertainty that he will be brought back next year, has to be weighing on his mind. Hopefully there is nothing medically wrong with Pagan.

Most of the talk this morning is about what will happen after Carlos Beltran is traded. From reading the quotes from Terry Collins it seems he understands what we Mets fans have figured out the last couple of years, some of these guys tend to lay down like dogs when they feel the season is over. TC has made it known now that anyone he suspects turning canine the last two months of the season will become ex-Mets. This has always been my main concern about the team that in the past, they have shown no heart in tough situations. Collins made it known to me over the winter that that kind of mindset will not happen under his stewardship and so far this season he has live up to his promise.

If anything this Mets team doesn’t roll over in fact, most non-Mets fans/followers have complimented the way the team plays, hard for 27 outs. That’s why I have faith in TC to keep that mindset going forward. I have to believe if a player doesn’t hustle or takes a play off, his ass will be fastened to the bench.

I have been a Mike Pelfrey fan. I’ve rooted for him to get his act together and become a solid front line starting pitcher. I’ve kept saying “one more year and it will all click for Pelf” but more and more this seasons, my faith in Pelfrey drops after each of his starts. I’m getting to the point where I’ll be surprised if he is a Met in 2012. After reading some of his quotes today about life after Carlos Beltran I’ve become more secure in saying that we may be seeing the last of Mike Pelfrey as a Met:

  ”I understand that if you want to get something back for him you have to trade him (Beltran),” Pelfrey told The Post before the Mets beat the Reds 4-2 last night. “But in the same sense I would think if we ended up getting rid of him, the front office’s view is that we don’t have a chance, because he gives us our best chance to win. If he’s not here, then they felt we can’t rebound from where we’re at.”

Mike, if you pitched better this season, the team would have had a better chance to compete for a post season berth. Don’t worry about what the front office is or has to do. It’s very simple, players play, coach’s coach, manager’s mange and the front office worries about trades and signings. Quite frankly maybe your problem is you worry about shit that has nothing to do with you and you lose focus on what you need to do, which is to pitch better. Hey who knows maybe your career will turn around next year when you’re a Kansas City Royal.

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The slider, when thrown properly, is a devastating pitch. As the batter’s hand to eye coordination gets in synched and sees the pitch as coming over the plate and the mind makes that split second decision to swing at it, the ball breaks downward to a point where the batter is fooled and cannot adjust his swing. But when a slider is not executed properly, it hangs up in the hitting zone. If the batter has some power that flat slider usually leaves the ball park screaming like in a cartoon. This is what happened yesterday to Bobby Parnell and his pitch to Logan Morrison that left Whatevertheycallit Stadium like it was shot out of a cannon.

As bad as that pitch was and the outcome, negating the 2 run blast by David Wright to put to Mets ahead 4-3 going into the bottom of the 7^th, pisses us me off as a Mets fan, I think we are now at the point of the season where we can chalk this up to closer in training Parnell’s learning experience.

Look, the season is what it is, a fight to finish with between 81-85 wins. If the Mets can do that the season is a positive and if Bobby Parnell and Pedro Beato work on being the future backend of the bullpen then that’s fine with me. Same thing with keeping Izzy around for the rest of the season. What can you get for Izzy? A C level prospect? He is much more valuable to the Mets as a veteran reliever working with Parnell and Beato for the next two months.

I think one thing in the Mets favor of keeping Jose Reyes with the Mets for years to come, is the consensus from the Mets players this season that the Mets clubhouse is a great place to be. Izzy for example, went to Sandy Alderson to tell him he doesn’t want to be traded. Carlos Beltran, understands the reasons why the GM is trying to move him, but Beltran will not be sad if he’s not dealt.  In fact Beltran would love to stay as he has cited this being the best clubhouse he’s been in since he became a Met.   Remember back early this season when Willie Harris caught hell from Mets fans when he spoke of the distance in the Mets clubhouse? Well, I wish those who have access to Harris would ask him if he still feels that way now that we have played more than half a season. I doubt it. For this you have to credit the manager, for keeping that clubhouse positive.

I’m worn out reading about when and where Carlos Beltran will be dealt to.  With all the debate over which team will offer the Mets the best prospect, the best take I’ve read so far on dealing Beltran comes from Paul of Random Baseball Stuff, who left this comment on my post from yesterday:

 I enjoy watching Beltran play, but I’m going to be annoyed if he’s still a Met on Aug. 1st. Sandy has got to move him for the best return he can get – the 2011 Mets aren’t going anywhere, and I don’t think Beltran fits in the 2012 budget.

 Even if he only gets salary relief, it would be better than nothing. The Mets haven’t finished signing all of their high-round draft picks yet.  

When you think about it, if you trade Beltran to a team that would take the rest of his salary for the year, it comes out to about $5-$6 mil. You could use that money to sign Brandon Nimo and RHP Logan Verret, not to mention any free agents in the Latin market as well. It may be worth more for Alderson to do that than any prospect the Giants, Phillies or Braves are willing to give up.

I’m not going to lie to you, I am ecstatic that the NFL lockout is over. I am ready for some football.

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Yesterday was a triple header day of baseball for me.  First my Babe Ruth League played a double header, yes that’s right a DOUBLE HEADER during a heat wave. We started at 8:30 AM and we finished up at 1PM winning the first game 7-6 and playing the second game to a 4-4 tie that was called due the heat after 7 innings the regulation amount of innings for Babe Ruth baseball. After a nice cool shower and lounging in air conditioning while watching the Highlanders-A’s contest from the Bronx (I muted the TV as it was Michael Kay and Paul O’Neil  doing the game and radio for Highlander games is not a option and besides I think I have a pretty good handle on the game of baseball that I really don’t need to hear the commentators unless of course it’s our own GK & R) I headed to St George for the SI Highlanders v. Tri City Cats of the Houston Astro organization. It was Boy Scout night so this was more a social call than an actual sitting and critiquing a baseball game .

So even with that I still woke up early enough to watch a replay of last nights Mets-Fish game . I think it safe to say Terry Collins went a bit to far with Chris Capuano. It looks like once you get to the third time around the lineup for Capuano, he falls apart. It will be interesting to see how Collins handles Cap in his next start as he he gets to the third at bats in the opposing line up.

Jason Bay looks like a boxer who looks toward his corner during a fight he knows he doesn’t want any more of. It’s like he wants Terry Collins to throw the towel on the field to end his season of futility. Making things worse for Bay is Lucas Duda is on fire and really needs to get into the lineup.

Maybe all this farewell to Beltran is a bit premature. What if Alderson doesn’t like the prospects offered to him for trade and says “Fuck it” and keeps Beltran for the rest of the season? Who you be surprised?

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 Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times has another great post today as he goes in depth on the Mets-Reds game that was played 25 years ago today. This game is famous for the Davey Johnson use of Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell shuttle from pitcher’s mound to the outfield and for one of the best baseball fights ever when Ray Knight knocked out Eric Davis for sliding into him at 3rd base.

I don’t know if this game has been available to SNY for its Mets Classics but if not, they need to pay whatever amount need be to obtain it even if it’s the Cincinnati feed because this was one of the best games ever!

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When it’s 87 degrees at 5AM you just know it’s going to be a day when putting a complete thought together is going to rough (or rougher than usual) so as I wipe the svitz off my forehead he are some thought’s for a Friday where my fingers and toes are crossed that Con Edison doesn’t fuck us over today.

Last night, I attended maybe the worst baseball game I have ever seen . It was a tilt between the Staten Island Highlanders against the Tamp Bay Rays NY-Penn League affiliate the Hudson Valley Renegades . It wasn’t bad enough that the heat and humidity in the soulless Richmond County Ballpark was suffocating, the play on the field was atrocious. Both teams combined for NINE ERRORS, the baby Highlanders account for six of them. The home plate ump Brain Miller made the night even more unbearable, allowing both teams to conducted marathon visits to the mound to the point I had to scream out to him “Blue com’on move it along” which could be heard clearly by the umpire as the stands were inhabited by about 1,000 or so sweaty ass’s in the seats and I was right behind home plate. Umpire Miller glared at me and I gave him an “are you fucking kidding me look” when he used his best judgment of the night and put his mask back on and continued the game. Asshole.

Oh by the way, the baby Highlanders won 8-7 and have an incredible 25-8 record that no one on Staten Island gives a rat’s ass about. This is one of the biggest head scratchers for me, Staten Island is Highlander country, you see about 10 Highlanders t-shirts/jersey’s to every Mets piece of apparel but for some reason the Baby Highlanders can’t draw anyone to the downtown ball park except when the Brooklyn Cyclones make the trip over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.  I get a few different reasons from Highlander friends and acquaintances on why they don’t patronize the minor league team. Some tell me they’d rather see the “real” Highlanders, some live on the South Shore of the Island and hate making the trek downtown. Some will go on the weekends when the club draws a bit better but the biggest segment of the fan base comes by ferry from Manhattan.  Manny of the fans at last night’s game were Manhattanites who live in Tribeca or SoHo and love taking the ferry over watching the game and then head back to the city.  

Give me MCU Park and the  Coney Island Boardwalk anytime.

David Wright is back tonight (as is Kevin Burkhardt on SNY) so it will be interesting to see how the offense works with Reyes lighting the fuse at the top and Beltran, Wright and Murph in the middle of the lineup. How long Beltran will be a Met is an ongoing saga. It seems from what you read Alderson is more than willing to trade your team Carlos Beltran and about $6 mil to cover his paychecks for the rest of the year for one of your prized farm hands. If you feel Beltran is the missing piece to your post season run you can have him, but he’s not coming cheap. Seems most of the GM’s who are in position to deal suffer from irritable bowel syndrome when Sandy Alderson rings the phone.  Bottom line, one of these contenders will cave as the bat of Beltran is too powerful to pass up and the Mets will get a top prospect in return.

I can’t stand the NJ Devils but I am very sad that Doc Emrick is leaving MSG and Devils play by play to be the exclusive voice of the NHL on NBC/Versus. I’m sure most of you have read the articles on Emrick on what a great guy he is and his play by play of hockey is unmatched and having met Doc I can tell it’s all true.

About 5 or so years ago, my wife and I were Christmas shopping at the Paramus Mall. As usual I had  enough of shopping and Christmas, so I told my wife to continue her spending spree while I hit the bench with a Starbucks Latte for a while.  A few minutes after I took a load off, a gentleman sat next to me, it was none other than Doc Emrick. I sat and talked hockey and baseball l with him for about a half hour when he had to leave. When he got up, he put out his hand and said to me “thank you for making this trip to the mall worthwhile for me, I enjoyed our conversation” I was like, “are you kidding, thank you for making me  glad I came here” we both laughed  and shook hands. Great guy that Doc.

(Sorry the link button is not working)

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It was quite a night at Citi Field last night. The SNY crew set up shop in the Pepsi Porch and I don’t know who enjoyed it more, Gary, Keith and Ron or us fans watching on TV. Between Ron wearing a glove like a Little Leaguer hoping to catch a ball or Keith buying hot dogs for him and his mates, it was one of the more enjoyable Mets games I’ve watched in awhile.   

There was a little bit of everything last night. R.A. Dickey showing all those of little faith that he is a legit big league pitcher and one I hope is around here for some time. After falling behind 4-0, Dickey got himself back on track and as much as I love to watch a pitcher dominant a lineup, when you see a guy start out shaky but refuse to panic and think out what pitches are working and which one isn’t and then have the ability to make adjustments on the fly is just as great to watch. If Mike Pelfrey could just have a sliver of R.A. Dickey’s guile and pitching smarts we would be talking about locking him up to a multi year deal instead of hoping he gets non-tendered in the off season.

Angel (El Kabong) Pagan has not been very good this season in the field and at bat. Pagan is another player that I’m sure will be part of a big discussion in the Mets front office meetings as to whether he’s worth bringing back next season or not. Pagan, like the rest of this team is an easy guy to root for. He’s worked his way back from oblivion of the bushes to be a bonafide big leaguer. In Pagan’s defense he is not a leadoff hitter and is not comfortable in the 1 or 2 spot of the lineup. This season his best offensive production as come when he is slotted in the 5 or hole. So last night was the right spot for Pagan in the bottom of the 10^th when he drilled his walk off home run. Good for Angel and good for the Mets. This is a day to reflect on the goodness of Pagan, we’ll have all winter to debate is fate as a Met going forward.

The stories today are all about Carlos Beltran and what is most likely his farewell game at home as a Met. If anything last night was his going away party. The crowd seemed to feel the same way. I was hoping that after Beltran launched his 2 run homer in the 5^th to tie the game that the fans at Citi Field would prolong their enthusiasm to the point that Carlos would come out for a curtain call. When was the last time a Mets player came out for bow after a home run? With today being a day game and the temperature climbing toward 100 degrees I wonder how many folks will show up for the game today (besides the day camp kids for whom the 12 noon start was scheduled for) but it would be nice if the fans gave Beltran a standing O in his first at bat to the point where he steps out of the box and doffs his helmet. We’re going to miss him.

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Josh Thole on the birth of their son Cameron and how about Daddy Josh hitting RBI single in the 8^th to tie the game at 5. I hope someone saved the ball to give to Thole as it would be a great conversation piece between him and his son when he gets older to relive the night after his birth daddy got a big clutch hit for the Mets.

Jason Pridie will start in LF for the Mets today for Jason Bay who is nursing a sore hammy. Bay claims his hip and leg have been bothering him for a few days and this doesn’t seem too serious. I know we’d all love to see Bay take a seat on the bench but we shouldn’t revel in an injury that puts him there. Mike Francesa had one of the few good points he makes every now and then about calling the Pirates about taking Jason Bay off the Mets hands for 50 cents on the dollar. Bay is owed $35 mil over the next three seasons so if the Mets offer Bay to the Pirates along with $17-$18 mil they would save $17-$18 mil. I doubt the Bucs would do this but Bay did have a great six years in Pittsburgh so maybe he Bucs need a love re-connection. Can’t hurt to ask.

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Last night while watching the Mets-Cards game and enjoying the return of Jose Reyes and short timer Carlos Beltran, I went back to a bad habit that I thought I had overcome, going on Twitter while watching the Mets. I tried breaking this habit because I couldn’t take the fill in the player’s name “You Suck” and then when said player comes through the same Tweeters comeback with fill in the player’s name “I<3 you”. It get tiring. Well last night I guess I’d had enough as Jose Reyes made his second great play at short. Bases loaded 1 out and Albert Pujols  at bat against Bobby Parnell and the Mets holding a 2 run lead. Pujols hits a ground ball at the 2nd base bag Reyes snares hit and touches the bag while trying to avoid getting wiped out by the runner gets a laser beam throw off to Lucas Duda for the double play. An outstanding play if there ever was one.

Now the play by play of than call by Gary Cohen was as usual perfect. Well to everyone but 1050 ESPN’s Don LeGreca. When I read that Tweet I was ready to scream, this guy works with arguably the worst play by play man in baseball in Michael Kay (John Sterling sucks as well, I know but at least Sterling is entertaining, Kay makes homicidal thought run through your mind) so I had to take matters into my own fingers and tweet back to Mr. LeGreca. He in turn tweets back that he is a big fan of Gary’s (don’t give that first name basis bullshit you just ripped the guy for an over the top call when in fact it was a great call and you look like a horses ass) and that wasn’t the point of the Tweet. Then what was the point? Saying the DP started by Reyes was routine? That makes you ignorant. Saying that Cohen’ call was “over the top” that just makes you look jealous and petty.

I think I’ll Tweet LeGreca back (before he blocks me) about he felt about his boss Kay and the way he not only ruined the Derek Jeter 3,000 hit call with his constant” listen to me try to make the moment mine” diatribe when Jeter homered and then how he went on to felate The Captain the rest of the game.

See that is the glory of Twiter, you say stupid shit and then your set straight. Let’s see who pisses me off tonight.

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