I then came home to see my neighbor-two doors down-tree uprooted and about twenty of my roof shingles strewn in my yard and driveway.   So I spent the majority of the night watching the tree in my backyard sway back and forth while our trampoline was swooped up from the front of the yard and transported to the back of the yard. While that was occurring the basketball hoop that is connected to a metal pole that has a base of sand and bricks to hold it down, topple over. Oh yeah then the gutter on my garage came off and landed in the yard of the house in back of me. I tried to settle down for the night but the constant sirens from fire engines and ambulances touring the neighborhood kept me awake. When I finally did get to sleep, I woke up at 9AM but then remembered it was really 10AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time.  So while I was relieved that my house was still on the same lot it was built on about 100 years ago and that my basement was not an aquarium I thought I’d just relax for the morning. But wait, what’s today? March 14^th OH SHIT!!! I have to go scout 14-15 year old baseball players at New Dorp High School for my Babe Ruth team. I get dressed and out the door but every other block was closed off with trees deposited in the middle of the streets. A five minute ride took twenty five minutes. If I get to draft this one kid I saw-14 years old about 6’2” hard thrower and soft hands-the trek will have been worth it.

Other than that a pretty quiet weekend, how about you?

With the witch hunt by guys like John Harper and the Legion of Ignoramuses A/K/A the callers to WFAN talking out their ass about Jose Reyes’ Thyroid (how is this for a man bites dog story, Joe Benigino and Evan Roberts are now the best and informative hosts on the station since they had an actual Endocrinologist on their show to talk about thyroids unlike the Hot Air Balloon that’s on from 1-6 whose show is as dated as the old Lawrence Welk shows that run on WLIW. I wish I had a tape of Francesa trying to figure out how Twitter works, did you see that Mikey? that was the 21st Century passing you by) and all the other righteous assholes dogging Mark McGwire  I thought about this song and how great would it have been if McGwire would have preformed it before Congress

The worst part of the Reyes Thyroid melodrama is not the illness as it appears with rest and proper diet, Reyes can get his overactive Thyroid under control, it’s the fact that the front office now has to make some very important personnel moves and that alone should set all our Thyroids into overdrive.

As a fan I’m petrified about Jerry Manuel getting his way, having Jenry Mejia thrust into the set up role, and of Alex Cora becoming the everyday shortstop, and Cora can crow with all his bravado about grabbing the shortstop job until Reyes comes back but in the words of Harry Callahan, “A man’s got to know his limitations” you are what you are an overpaid backup. Now Manuel has another problem, trying to put together a lineup without two major pieces, a leadoff hitter and three- hole hitter.

The way it looks now the lineup for opening day would be this:

Pagan

Castillo

Wright

Bay

Murphy

Francouer

Barajas

Tejada

However, with the current situation the Mets find themselves in now and the way Ike Davis is hitting, the Mets may be forced into brining Davis up and letting him be the everyday first baseman. Now you may be saying, “Aren’t you the big time Murphy Fanboy” yes, yes I am, the problem is though, Murphy is not a 5 hole hitter, he is more a 2 or a 7 but with Wright and Bay both hitting from the right side, to have Frenchy got to 5, I would not be comfortable with three consecutive right handed batters plus Davis is showing that he could be ready and having that lefty power bat early on not only would boost the lineup but it would re-invigorate the fan base.

Murphy early on would be a lefty bat off the bench and by the time Beltran comes back (talk about a guy who has fallen off the radar screen, is Beltran working out in camp? at home?, at the mall ? where’s Carlos B ?)   along with Cora and either GMJ (switch-hitter) or Frank Catalanotto or Chris Carter with Fernando Tatis and Henry Blanco ready from the right side.  Then when Beltran and Reyes do come back, reassess the situation and move accordingly.

The biggest gripe I have and most Mets fans have is the lack of a strong leader in management. There is no one in the Mets organization that can stepped to a podium that makes me feel like they are in control of any situation. It’s sad. Every time a situation arises with this team it turns into embarrassment, we want to believe, we want to look at the ownership with confidence that there is a plan, we want to see the manager and players hold their heads high and play tough physically and mentally but all we get is a bunch of guys with high water pants and eye glasses held together with scotch tape. Not very inspiring is it?

I’d go into the pitching situation but my Morphine drip is almost empty.

This not a woe- is- us post or a bash Omar and management post as we will have all summer for those, no this one is let’s get on the phone and find a shortstop post because even when (if ?) Reyes comes back, the days of him playing 150+games look to be over.

So who is out there for the Mets ? First off, forget about getting a replacement for Reyes, the Mets are going out and getting anyone close to what Reyes brings to the table, so the player you need to go after has to be a defense first shortstop and the first name that pops into my head is Paul Janish of the Reds. Janish is a terrific defender and makes just $435K which fits into the Skill Sets budget. Jed Lowrie of the Red Sox could be had for a song (and maybe a dance) too bad Wilson Valdez has let go to Cleveland as he had a slick glove as well.

Who I don’t want to see is Alex Cora or Anderson Hernandez. No knock on Cora, once or twice a week is ok for him to play but he is no longer an everyday player and Hernandez shouldn’t even be in camp as he’s as done as a Christmas ham.

It looks though as if the Mets will go with Ruben Tejada and I guess Cora twice a week. But I would still try to find a guy like Janish or Lowrie to spell Reyes this year once a week at least. It’s not like I’m nailing Cora to the bench, he can play some second base when the Tree Stump needs a day off.

25 days until opening day YIPPEE-EYE-O-KI-A  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s stupid, idiotic, short-sighted, desperate, mind numbing, ridiculous, insane, moronic, and unconscionable and the sad fact is he might just happen, unless somebody in the front office puts his big boy pants on and stops Gangsta’ Jerry from sacraficing a twenty year old, who most experts project as a top of the line starter, to save his lame duck ass.

From John Sickels Minor League Ball Site:

1) Jenrry Mejia, RHP, Grade B+: He needs to refine his breaking ball and a full year of Double-A/Triple-A is necessary in my view, but he also has number one starter potential. I hope they don’t rush him.

I  have to watch these videos as I’ve heard they are very good, unfortunately at work they are filtered out so it you have the capability here are the check out the Jeff Wilpon Video Blog #1  and #2

Ever have days where you feel like this guy? First, I attempted to make a turkey sandwich to bring to work but I got bum rushed by our two cats and it cost me two slices of roast turkey to thwart the attack. Then when I get to the Chambers St Subway station, I realize I have but seventy-five cents left on my Metro card so before I exit I go renewed it at one of the two kiosks near the exit. Both kiosks are occupied so I run over to the newsstand in the station to pick up the News and the Post. I can not break the habit of buying these tabloids; it’s kind of like the last remnants of the “olden” days when all my info came from newspapers, and a hard habit to break.

Anyway, I go back to the Metrocard kiosks and this young lady seems to be playing these machines like your old Aunt Bess works the slots at the Borgota in A.C.  Seems her credit card wasn’t going through on either unit, so instead of clearing them out she just walks away. Are you fucking kidding me? Even though she was damn cute I still had to give her a “oh, what the fuck”?, early in the morning. So now I have to clear the machine and as I’m doing that, a 2 train from Brooklyn rolls in and of course the Brooklynites getting off the train need to recharge their cards as well and with me clearing the machine and dipping my credit card and putting in my zip code I start getting the “oh what the fuck treatment” I don’t have time to tell them my story as I still have to get coffee and go punch in, so it’s off to my favorite Dunkin Donuts on Chambers St.

Now I’ve written about the change in personnel at this DD and the service has gotten worse, where as the Hindu Princess that worked the counter would see me and have my XL coffee, milk only ready. They even knew my signs better than any Mets player did from Razor Shines last year. They’d point at the dounuts and bagels and if I pointed at my stomach that meant “no way, too fat today”  If I did want something I’d just flash the number of fingers that corresponded to the breakfast special on the board, like a basket ball point guard calling out a play. By the time I reached the front of the line my order was ready. Life was good. Now there are two Latina Princess behind the counter and quite frankly I don’t mess with them because I think they can kick my ass. One is nice but slow the other is pissed off to be working there and always has a smirk on her face. Everyday the line gets longer and longer but today topped it off. The line was out the door and onto Chambers St, the actual street! Now I had no time to wait so it was off to Plan B the 7-11.

Not bad coffee is very fresh, nice big cups and it’s even cheaper than DD. One problem the dickhead behind the counter is too busy looking at his bills to come to the register. So it what could be a record, I had my second “Oh, What the fuck”? of the morning and it wasn’t even 7:30 yet.  So I get to work, punch it, open my yogurt (yes it’s an I’m too fat day today) open up the Post to read Mike Vaccaro’s telling me  “what we have here in St Lonesome is a failure to communicate” as it pertains to Jose Reyes and his Thyroid.

It can’t be this difficult can it? Player goes for tests. Tests results come back. Doctor calls player with results. Player tells agent who in turn tells management. Management, medical staff, player, player agent either meet or set up conference call to get all the facts straight in order to send out press release. So who lost their way here? Why is this so difficult?

So far we know that Reyes either has or doesn’t have a Thyroid condition. If he does ,it can be regulated by diet or medicine. He will or won’t be back at spring training this week. It’s either very early in the spring or it’s getting late to worry about Reyes. Reyes will either lead off on opening day or bat 3^rd. My head will either explode by noon or I will bang my head into my office wall.

Wait for the press release.

Join me today at 5PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on BLOGTALK RADIO. My guests will be Anthony Amobi and James Baker of Oriole Post and Michael Baron of Metsblog and Mets Photos.

When Jerry Manuel took over the managers office form Willie Randolph, the one statement he made that resonated with Mets fans was that his team would be tough and fight through whatever adversity was in front of it. His quote was “Gangsta’s on the field, Ladies on the bus”. I thought it was a great motto and felt maybe Manuel would be a speak softly carry a big stick kind of guy but I was wrong. If anything Manuel let the rash of injuries suffered by his team, become a crutch for losing and all around stupid baseball. Gangsta’ my ass.  but, so far this spring, Manuel looks to be getting his Gangsta’ on.

I’ve been critical of Manuel for not coming to the Jason Bay coronation and not being around for that weak ass Winter Caravan the Mets rolled out this off season, but now I know what Manuel was up to, he was planning his going out in a blazing glory strategy for the season.

Manuel knows that his contract is chump change and the only reason he’s back is a combination of the injuries and Omar Minaya’s contract. Minaya got to stay because the Skill Sets are tired of paying guys not to work for them. Omar does not have the juice he once had the organization and if and when a managerial change is made he will have little input in the new hire, hell if the wheels fall off early, the outcry from Mets fans will so loud, even the tone deaf Skill Sets will hear it. So in a long winded way, I’m saying Jerry Manuel has nothing to lose here if he puts pressure on management to take the best twenty five players he feels give him and the team the best chance to win.

We are already hearing him push for Jenry Mejia to make the team as the 8^th inning set up man and you can bank on Manuel pushing either Hisanori Takahasi or Fernando Nieve to make the starting rotation over a struggling Ollie Perez, and dumping OP in the bullpen, while making it known that he was not responsible for his awful contract, and with Ike Davis at first base over Daniel Murphy. If Manuel thinks Davis would be better than Murphy at first he will make it public knowledge.  

It’s a win/win situation for Manuel. If he gets his way and gets to take the players he wants North, it’s possible he could not just make it through the season but get an extension as well. If he doesn’t, and the team tanks, he gets to spend the summer at home in Cali waiting for the Mets checks to clear. We all should have such problems. 

When I can not only go online and buy tickets to opening day and do so two hours into the exclusive pre-sale time frame, you know this organization has its work cut out for them to not have a repeat of last season.  If Jerry Manuel can convince Jeffey Skill Sets that bringing  Mejia and Davis up North to not only help the team win but also sell tickets, then J-Man will not just be a Gangsta’ he’ll be The Godfather.

tip of the Mets cap to Metstradamus for the picture

Craig Calcaterra’ favorite past time is bashing the Mets (he’s a Braves fan so that explains that) which should piss me off, but the does it so well and is very witty that it doesn’t. This week he is at Port St. Lonesome and had two anecdotes that well, quite frankly made me laugh out loud.

  My doctor recommended that I take extra good care of myself while on assignment, so I stopped at a liquor store Saturday night to stock up on some Kentucky medicine. Behind the counter was the friendliest and least discreet clerk I’ve ever met. He asked me if I was in town for baseball and I said yes. He then told me that Mets pitcher John Maine had been in there a half hour earlier, came up to the counter with a bottle of Grey Goose and was getting ready to pay for it when a Mets coach walked in. Maine and the coach talked for a few minutes, and then Maine walked out, forgetting to buy his vodka.  I got this mental image of him getting back to whatever social gathering he was attending and someone asking him where the booze was, only to have Maine go “Ummm, oh. Man.”

Something tells me Dr. Ed Coleman was pissed that Maine came back empty handed.

I woke up yesterday morning to get my continental breakfast on, and in the lobby was a young woman in black spandex pants, Mets fleece and Mets cap yelling at one of the desk clerks.  Seems she left her car someplace the night before — obviously not at Maine’s party, as there was no booze there — and needed to get a cab to go and pick it up. When told it would be 45 minutes before a car could get out there, she yelled “I’m from New York and this sh– doesn’t fly!!  I live an HOUR outside of Manhattan, and I can get a car to my house faster than that!”  I suppose she has a point about 45 minutes being a long time to wait, but I’ve found that one generally doesn’t get what one wants in this world by telling people that you come from someplace better and more important than they do.

You what I find funny about this, whenever I go out of town; I usually like to avoid my fellow bridge and tunnel-ers. My problem is as soon as I open my mouth I reek of Brooklyn and in fact I’m proud of that since it seems the great Brooklyn dialect is a dying language but when one of my fellow outer boro “brudders of sistahs” act up at an airport, hotel or restaurant, someone will inevitably turn to me with a shake of the head, “Humph, those New Yorkers” at that time I break out my Irish brogue, cultivate from years of living with parents born in County Sligo. So if I were in that hotel lobby and asked about Lady Going Ga-Ga I’d have said “Ah tis sad, she’s actin’up” Hey, sometimes it’s best to go undercover.

I rarely ever listen to Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason on WFAN but from reading a post on Mets Merized Online I read that Carton who tries to be a Howard Stern type jock but falls woefully short in the gift to be offensive and very funny, made some irresponsible about Jose Reyes and his health. If these quotes are true and I have no reason to believe MMO is making them up, how could WFAN keeps this low rent shock jock wanna be employed? Then again WFAN has become a station that can only attracted advertisers for hair plugs, hard on medicine and scams to donate cars for children so what should I expect. I’m sure a big pussy like Carton would never go into the Mets clubhouse and say to Reyes’ face what he’d say in the microphone. 

Brian Costa via TWITTER says Frankie Rodriguez is back in camp.

Who is this Nick Evans of which you speak ?