If Angel Pagan is the Mets opening day center fielder I’m going to be pissed off.  A lot of my angst over Pagan has to do with his inconsistent play especially in the outfield and some of it has to do with what is perceived as a “me” attitude that looks as if it chaps the mangers ass as well. Terry Collins was miffed when Pagan took himself out of a game last year claiming he had a stomach virus and was dehydrated but never told the manger he was headed to the porcelain palace in the clubhouse as his turn to bat was up. Pagan also bitched and moaned about batting leadoff when Jose Reyes was out with his blown up hammy, solidifying his rep as a selfish player

Mike Silva wrote a piece on how Pagan may be the best of what’s out there as far as centerfielders go, but why do the Mets always have to settle?  If it’s going to cost at least $5mil to sign Pagan why not go a couple of million more and sign David DeJesus?

DeJesus would be a upgrade over Pagan in the outfield for sure and  an upgrade in the lineup as well as DeJesus has a better ability to get on base than that of Pagan.

Sandy Alderson has targeted the pitching staff, zeroing in on the bullpen, as job one this off season but he also needs to address the defense which was one of the worst in baseball last year.  The up the middle D was especially poor (Jose Reyes by the way was -11 in Runs Saved ) so if the organization can’t afford to go all out to get some decent arms then maybe an upgrade on the defensive side would help the arms the Mets have now?

I think this post by Shannon at  Mets Police says it all about being a Mets fan.

The NY NL Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) ballot for the 2011 Walter Johnson Award for the best pitcher in the National League is as follows:

1. Clayton Kershaw

2.Roy Halladay

3. Cliff Lee

4. Ian Kennedy

5. Craig Kimbrell

The NY NL Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) has voted on this years Goose Gossage Award for the best reliever in the National League and here is our final vote:

1. John Axford

2. Craig Kinbrel

3. J.J. Putz

In a unanimous vote the NY NL Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance has selected Atlanta Braves RHP Craig Kimbrel as it choice for the 2011 NL Willie Mays Award for Rookie of the Year.

The chapter vote was as follows:

1. Craig Kimbrel

2. Freddie Freeman

3. (tie 1 vote each) Danny Espinosa, Jose Altuve, Vance Worley, Brandon Belt, Lucas Duda

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) has begun voting on its end of season awards. The first award the BBA will announce is the Connie Mack Award for Manger of the Year. As President of the New York National League Chapter, I am pleased to announce the chapter’s final ballot for the Connie Mack Award for National League Manager of the Year:

1. Kirk Gibson , Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Ron Roeneicke, Milwaukee Brewers
3. Terry Collins, New York Mets

The announcement of the Connie Mack Award winner will be on Monday October 10^th

 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!

There is no reason for Mets fans to panic…….yet over the news that Scott Boras has been pitching woo to Jose Reyes. If and when it happens I’ll react but right now it’s just heresy.

Now that doesn’t mean it won’t happen and if it does don’t scream at the Mets, Reyes or Boras if it does and Jose goes elsewhere. Never forget this is a game to us but it’s a business to the team and a livelihood to the player. As great as Reyes is playing right now and that he is a homegrown Met that we all want to see stay and retire in orange and blue he is not getting more than 5 years contract from the Mets nor should they.  By the same token, Reyes should go out and get the best deal he can as he has paid his dues in baseball to reach the point where he calls the shots on where he’ll play the rest of his career and for how much money and never ever forget, it’s all about the money.

If the Mets go to Reyes in the weeks ahead and make him an offer of minimum 5/$100mil with all kinds of exotic clauses and options that could send that deal to 7/$140mil and he and whoever his representative  is turns it down, what would you like Sandy Alderson to do?  What Alderson would have to do is what he feels is best for the Mets organization. That’s his job. Same as it’s the player agent job to get the best deal for his client and it’s up to the player to do what’s best for him and his family. Unfortunately fans are the least of the equation in this process.  Just like at the ball park, we’re just spectators here.

Having had the pleasure of meeting Jose Reyes I can tell you first hand he is unbelievably charismatic and extremely likeable. I am sure it touches him dearly the fan support he has gotten to the point of obsession about him staying a Met 4 Life and I bet in his heart he would love for that to happen but he has a chance to not just set up his current family for life but his grand kids and even great grandkids as the money he can make on his next deal will help generations of Reyes for years to come. That is where Reyes’ loyalties lie.

As crushing as it would be to lose Jose Reyes, the Mets will survive. One thing about this franchise, it’s damn near indestructible from M.Donald Grant letting Whitey Herzog get away, to losing Gil Hodges to a heart attack, to trading Tom Seaver, to not drafting Reggie Jackson to the De Roulet daughters nearly killing the franchise to the current dunderhead owners, this franchise has survived all that, so even though it will suck to go on without him, the franchise will survive the absences of Jose Reyes as well

Tonight at 10PM ET on Blog Talk Radio, I will be hosting the Baseball Bloggers Alliance Baseball Talk Podcast. My guests will be Jeff Pearlman, author and contributor to Sports Illustrated and Zachary Ball of Pro Draft Central.

I will be discussing the news of Gary Carter’s fight with brain cancer, the lastest problems with the law and Lenny Dykstra and get Jeff’s take on the direction the Mets are headed in the near future

Zachary and I will discuss the MLB Entry Draft and look at some of the teams that made big news in the draft and a look at some of the picks made by the Mets

Finally, someone has stepped up and given the NY Mets the kick in the ass they need, not the pats on the back they have been getting from Father Flanagan Terry Collins, what R.A. Dickey said last night should have come from the manager or from Sandy Alderson but leave it to Dickey to put it eloquently that his teammates suck and need to realize the level of suck they have attained and until the team comes to the grips that the way they have played is an embarrassment and the reason they have been so bad so far this season is that they suck:

“It starts with me,” said R. A. Dickey, who generally pitched well but gave up three runs in the second inning and the decisive home run to Hunter Pence in the eighth. “We have to find a way to be honest with ourselves about what kind of team we are. We can’t keep telling ourselves, ‘Oh, we’re a better team than this.’ We may not be.

“We’ve got to be honest about that and identify what we’re doing wrong and do it better.”

In other words, you are what your record says you are. When you have the worst record in baseball, then you are the worst team in baseball. The problem the last few years in Flushing , the delusion in the clubhouse has clashed with the stark reality that the talent on 25 man roster is just not very good.

Daniel Shoptaw is the President of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance and he is also a St. Louis Cardinals fan and runs a Cardinal site called C70 at the Bat. Daniel does a feature where he does a Q & A with bloggers of other team called Playing Pepper. His most recent PP is up at his site and it featured yours truly along with my fellow Mets bloggers Anthony of Long Live Shea, Paul of Paul’s Random Baseball Stuff , Kerel Cooper of On The Black, AC Wayne of Mets Public Record, M.W. Strout of Mets Fans For Life, Phil Hoops Jr. of Hoops Approved, and Dave Doyle of the Mets Report