Have you noticed that the Mets telecast on SNY has turned more into a sports/general interest talk show than focusing on the action on the field? Not that I have a problem with that, not at all, in fact if it weren’t for Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Kevin Burkhardt along with Bobby Ojeda in the studio, I don’t think I’d be watching many more Mets games. As much as I love our announcing crew though, it’s a sad state of affairs when they are the main draw to watching Mets baseball.

During the game yesterday, Gary posed the question to Hernandez about dangling the names Jose Reyes and David Wright out there as pieces in trade talk. Hernandez said (paraphrasing here) “of course you would; you’d have to as a GM just to see who is interested and what kind of package you’d get in return.” Now Hernandez DID NOT say Yes dump them, get rid of them, off with them. He just said what any smart thinking Mets fan would say, you have to at least see what you can get for either or both.

I am in no way advocating the trading of Wright or Reyes, in a perfect world both players would continue their careers as Mets and retire as Mets, I would be very happy if the end of their Mets careers finished with “…and they lived happily ever after…” but as we know too well we Mets fans live in a imperfect world.

When I Tweeted that I agreed with Hernandez on this issue you would have thought I opened up a Mosques R Us on Cortlandt St. The question I posed is this, Say the Skill Sets hire a new GM like Kevin Towers, or Mark Shapiro or even promote John Ricco and they get a call from an team with a deep farm and young players who are on the Major League team already. For either player I want a at least a starting pitcher, a second baseman, an outfielder and prospects (of course the Mets will throw in a few other players as well) as you see it would take a blockbuster to have me trade Wright and or Reyes but as a GM you have to see if that blockbuster is out there.

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If there is anyone in the Mets front office who feels Luis Castillo should remain a Met, their opinion had to have changed after last night. I don’t care if you are a relative of Castillo’, his actions after driving in Ike Davis for a come from behind walk off win proves he hates being here as much as Mets fans hate that he’s here. Talk about irreconcilable differences, there is no reason to put Castillo or Mets fans through this loveless marriage anymore. Let’s do it for the kids. By the way check out Greg Prince’ post on last night’s game at FFIF and tell me you don’t feel like crying. Misery in Winning, that’s Mets Baseball.

Is Wayne Hagin kidding with his gushing praise of Jeff Francoeur ? After Francoeur knocked in David Wright with a Sac Fly in the 2^nd inning, Hagin went Radio Ga-Ga over Frenchy. I’d have given Howie Rose $100 bucks if he slapped Hagin in the head after his ridiculous remarks.

A must read for all Mets fans is Adam Rubin’ 3 part expose of the failings of the Mets under the Skill Sets/Minaya regime.  From reading this series I take it that Jerry Manuel will be fired as soon as the team is mathematically eliminated from contention (even though we all know the season is over NOW)  Minaya will either be caned or reassigned and I’m leaning towards reassignment. John Ricco will be the GM and Wally Backman the manager. The organization will find a way to either deal off Oliver Perez and Luis Casitllo or just release them and that money ($18 mil) will the equivalent of a free agent signing. The organization will make Backman the focal point of the team in order to sell tickets. Will it work? We won’t know until this time next year.

In  Rubin’ report he mentions how little money the Mets have spent on draft picks and in the International market for free agents. I had the pleasure of speaking with Wilbur Miller, a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and a fan poster on Bucs Dugout about the recent leaks of the financial statements of the Pittsburgh Pirates on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Radio Show last night and one of the items we talked about was the Pirates under the ownership of Bob Nutting and Frank Coonley have spent $23 mil in 2008 and $21.2 mil in 2007 on player development.  The Mets in turn have spent a mere $14 mil the last three seasons on player development. That’s $4mil less than the money they will pay Perez and Castillo combined next season.  After listening to my interview with Miller you tell me who is more optimistic Miller the Bucs fan or me the Mets fan?

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Sorry for the late post but I was conferring with my attorneys, to see is we Mets fans can file a grievance against the MLBPA for filing a grievance against the Mets in the Mets v. K-Rod case.

I did not watch any of the Mets-Astros game last night and I’m glad I didn’t as it seems the play of the field made people wretch.

Rod Barajas will be activated some time today and word is Josh Thole’s spot is safe. So the Mets will go with 3 players out of 25 who play catcher. Then they have a pitcher who may as well sit in the bullpen in a Snuggie with a bowl of pop corn as he never gets to see the light of the pitchers mound. Now you know why the Mets organization is baseball’s equivalent of the person coming out of the bathroom with toilet paper sticking out the back of their pants.

I  have my doubts about people like Tony Dungy, who is one of  these holier

 than thou types, than I do about a guy like Rex Ryan. In fact, I would trust Rex Ryan more than I would Dungy. 

Matthew Cerrone thinks Bobby Parnell should be the Mets closer now and next year in the event that Francisco Rodriguez is gone from the team. Hard to argue that point in fact I’ve been saying for awhile the most overrated position in sports is the closer, with the exception of Mariano Rivera.

If you haven’t heard my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN show with Howard Megdal, it’s well worth your while, also don’t forget to vote of Howard for Mets GM right here.

Alex Belth has touched on a great subject at his Bronx Banter site, film crews in NYC. Where my office is located downtown we have crews for the now off the air Ugly Betty, Law and Order, and Rescue Me. There is nothing funnier than a crew trying to shoot a scene and telling pedestrians to please wait before crossing a street and having New Yorkers telling to go fuck themselves and keep walking.    

Now that the Mets are done for the year, are you following any other team that’s on the march to the post season? I always have a soft spot for the Giants so I like to watch their run (even though they’ve dropped 4 of 5 to the Padres and Phillies, two teams that if they needed to beat) for the NL West or Wild Card and the watching the White Sox-Twins series has been a thrill. So tell me is their a team your following or are you just waiting for football season?

Don’t forget to check out my NO PSL REQUIRED Fantasy Football League as there are some spots remaining.

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Tired of railing against this organization, who again screwed over the Mets fans by playing last night’s game in the rain, which made the field conditions so dicey that even Joe Morgan could see it was stupid to play with puddles (which I named Lake Wilpon) in the infield. How about poor ol’ Luis Castillo? He thinks Jerry Manuel put him in the lineup last night to boost the offense, when in reality management forced Manuel to put Gimp in the game hoping he’d break an ankle on that marsh of an infield.

Joe DeMayo put on his investigative fedora and found out that word on the street is the Mets will sign Matt Harvey, Greg Peavey and Drew Martinez. It may take a lot of these to get the deals done though.

Why wouldn’t the Mets pick up Jose Reyes option for 2011? You’re not going to trade him off this season as his trade value is not very strong and you have no one to replace him at short stop. The guy that has me concerned is David Wright, whose roller-coaster season is the ultimate head scratcher.  When Wright is on, there aren’t many better than him in baseball but when he falls into these awful funks at the plate as he is now, (how far outside of home plate can you stand that you’re not out of the batter’s box?) and you fuse that with the general malaise over this team, it makes for a toxic stew that pushes the fan base over the edge. Part of Wright’s problem, in my view, is he tries to hard. It seems he takes it like if he doesn’t do it, no one else will. What he lacks is a mentor, and I’ve mentioned this numerous times, Wright still misses Cliff Floyd terribly. Wright needs a veteran player who has been around the block a time or two who he can talk to and who can be honest with him when he fucks up. HoJo is the favorite uncle who takes Wright to Nathan’s and a ride on the Cyclone and gets him a candy apple for the ride home. Maybe David needs some tough love to straighten himself out. I’d love to get inside his head for a moment to find out how he really feels about the direction of this organization and if he wants to be a long term member of the Mets family.

As a Mets fan and as someone who has watched him beat the Mets ass for years, I should hate Chipper Jones and not give a shit if he comes back from knee surgery. But I can’t. I admire the shit out of him as he took everything the Mets fans threw at him and gave it back. With a smile. He kicked our ass for years, but I still have to tip my Mets cap at him if this is Larry’s Last Stand.

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What the hell is going on in Flushing ? Did Frankie Rodriguez mistake his father in law for Jerry Manuel ? I mean if KO-Rod was going to yoke someone, Manuel would have been the best target for not brining him into the game in the 8^th inning. How do you justify leaving your best reliever with his ass nailed to a seat in the bullpen in big spot late in the game?

So today KO-Rod will be arraigned in Queen Criminal Court on domestic violence charges and no matter if his father in law doesn’t want to press charges it’s out of his hands as in NYC the law is the City of NY is now the plaintiff in this case.  This could be the best news the Mets get all year, maybe Rodriguez gets two years in the slammer and the Mets get to void his contract. Props to the Pops for taking one for the team.

I have a very funny feeling that David Wright will go to management very very quietly this winter and ask to be traded.

I’m leaving the Cape tomorrow and heading back to NYC and what I’ll miss most besides the beach and Main St in Hyannis is the great baseball I’ve seen here the last 10 days.  Yesterday in Game 1 of the Cape League Finals I saw one of the best pitching performances of the year as  RHP Matt Andreise out of Cal-Riverside pitched a complete game shutout to give the Cotuit Kettlers a 3-0 win over the Y-D Red Sox. Y-D is an offensive power house and that makes this game more special.

Then I’ve been watching some Red Sox games as you can’t help it they are on every TV in every bar and restaurant on the Cape.  For all the injuries the club has suffered this year they keep on playing good hard fundi baseball and are still on the Highlanders tail.

There is a ton of good baseball and well run baseball teams out there just don’t go looking on 126^th St and Roosevelt Ave in Queens for it though.

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Yesterday’s Mets-Dodgers game was so bad in so many ways. Besides the fact that David Wright is standing so far off the plate that he needs a canoe paddle to hit the ball and that he desperately needs a day off, and that Jerry Manuel has some form of Antention Decifict Disorder when it comes to writing a lineup (Luis Castillo MUST BAT 8^TH GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) plus watching Manuel and St. Joseph of Torre match wits with the bullpen is like watching a four hour promo of the movie Schmucks For Dinner. Then to top off the whole afternoon of suck, the game was televised on FOX. Kenny Albert is not built for baseball. He kind of drifts off like he’s so fucking bored wishing it was winter so he can call football and hockey games. When Albert works both of those sports he’s solid but  on baseball he’s god awful. Eric Karros is a moron. Plain and simple, a moron. He makes no sense at all with any of his analysis especially when he thought pitching to Andre Either with first base open and one out with the winning run on thrird was a good move. Then there is Ken Rosenthal who I ask very nicely on Twitter, to shut the fuck up. For an “information guy” he brings you nothing except for some good old fashion Mets bashing. Yes we’re spoiled as we have the finest TV crew in baseball to enjoy almost every night, but at least if I’m going to sit through Jerry Manuel botching games and some pretty bas baseball this last month, I want to be entertained somewhat and only Gary, Keith and Ron can do that for Mets fans.

I’ll be shocked, SHOCKED if Jerry Manuel is the manager of the Mets come Tuesday night. If he is still the manager, then you know for sure the Skill Sets don’t care anymore. 71/2 back will soon be 10 games back and all out attention will be on Jets and Giants camp.

It’s so easy to kill Toxic Ollie for yesterday but Ollie is what he is. The only thing I can take out Manuel bringing in Perez was this was Manuel being insubordinate. It makes me think that Manuel told management he wanted no part of Ollie on this team and management told him to shut up and sit down as we are paying this balooka a ton of dough and Manuel said well then no problem I’ll make sure he comes into a tight situation and fucks it up. Manuel has managed this road trip like a guy is tired of his job and needs a change so the Skill Sets should do the right thing for him and the team and relive him of his duty.

The kicker today will be if the Mets are up or down by a lot today and Frankie Rodriguez pitches and after the game Manuel says “Frankie hasn’t pitched in awhile so he needed the work”

Jerry Manuel didn’t get on John Maine because he was John Maine. No Jerry Manuel got on John Maine because John Maine was pitching as John Maine right shoulder needed to be surgically repaired. Jerry Manuel liked John Maine but was mad because John Maine wouldn’t tell Jerry Manuel that John Maine was hurt. John Maine wanted the ball and tried to fight off John Maine’s sore shoulder. It didn’t work out for John Maine here as John Maine’ season ending surgery is likely to be the end of John Maine’ Mets career. So now Jerry Manuel has to find another John Maine to treat like shit like he did to John Maine.

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No much to say about last night’s game except Big Pelf has had trouble with the Snakes for his whole career and maybe that neck of his was still stiff, but you still have to take into account that Pelfrey hasn’t pitched well in a month. No worries, because Ollie Perez is back, pass the Imodium AD.

The concern over Francoeur riding the pine still has be stupefied, as does the call fro Jason Bay to sit. Forget for a moment that Bay is being paid a shit load of dough, he also has a body of work that Francoeur could only dream about. The one good move that Jerry Manuel has made this month is telling Angel Pagan he will play day in, day out.

On top of this awful second half start, it seems like the Mets will not be players in either the Roy Oswalt or Dan Haren sweepstakes. From trying to piece together the reasons it seems a combination of not wanting to over pay in prospects, which is fine by me, and the lack of dead presidents in the Skill Sets bank account. That part worries me.    

Remember when Rod Barajas was a stud? That was when? Back in May? I know Josh Thole is up as showcase item but maybe it’s time to put young Thole on the protected list?

While most of us clicked off the television in disgust last night, Greg Prince hung in there long enough to report that Justin Turner came in to play for David Wright in the 7^th and thus, became the 141^st third baseman in the history of the NY Mets. Where have you gone, Roy Staiger?

Don’t forget to join me tonight THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN RADIO SHOW on Blog Talk Radio 10PM ET  

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The Mets wrapped up a fine weekend in Baltimore with a three game sweep in front of a friendly crowd of Mets fans who made the trip down I-95 to Camden Yards, I’d love to get on the Orioles but I feel for ex-Met Juan Samuel and recently axed manager Dave Trembley because my youth baseball team is having an Oriole-like season so I just want to say misery lovers company fellas’

It’s games like today that show the huge step that Big Pelf has made this season. Last yer he would have fell apart as his command was off and he just did not look very comfortable on the mound but Pelfrey proved how important the mental side of pitching is. There are days when your physical tools are on auto-pilot and then there are days like to day where you physically misfire but you have enough savvy to make adjustments and keep yourself and your team afloat. Sure we all love those 3 hit 10K shutouts but sometimes watching a guy keep his team in a game on brains is a real museum piece as well.

I’m usually not one to vote for the All-Star Game but after the surge that David Wright is on I feel it’s my duty as a Mets fan to stuff the ballot box. David Wright deserves to be the starting 3^rd baseman for the National League in Anaheim.

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Day/Nighter today and I was sooooo ready to cut work and head to Flushing to watch Santana do his magic, but my desk is piled as high with cases as thick as Fernando Martinez’ medical folder,  So I’ll pass on going to the game to spend the afternoon with Howie, Wayne and my un-fucking-believable case load. So while you wait for Game 1 some great links to peruse:

Ed Ryan at Mets Fever feels the time is right to bring back Bobby Parnell and his high heat to bolster the bullpen. I agree as it my be time to send Ryota Igarhashi down and when John Maine comes back, stick him in the pen as well. To make room for Maine, the Mets can put Fernando Nieve on the DL saying he is suffering from exhaustion. No one will dispute that.

Nice gesture by the Mets to draft John Franco’s son JJ in the first year draft even though he is headed off to Brown University. I watched JJ play at Staten Island Little League when I was managing a team and John would come to the complex whenever the Mets were off and his son played. Another young man from Staten Island Little League, Bobby Lanigan has been very impressive pitching for the Ft. Myers Miracle of the FSL.

Ike Davis is a rare species of Met 

When David Wright can slap Big Pelf in the mush with his batting gloves and live to tell about it, then you know all is right in Metsland.

I swear the guys over at Amazin’ Avenue get up with the roosters (or they just stay up all night) and I for one am glad they do as their Daily Mets Farm Report is a must read for me every morning.

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for ending their 49 year drought by winning the Stanley Cup last night on one of the strangest goals in hockey history. Patrick Kane scored in OT but it wasn’t until the video review verified it. Kane and his teammates were celebrating but the Flyers and their fans just stood around like “now what” even the great Doc Emrick was a bit flustered. Anyway it’s nice to see an Original Six team win the cup. 

Memo to David Stern: Your thieving bastard refs are ruining the NBA Finals. When they are not gambling and throwing games or trading first class airline tickets for coach seats and pocketing the difference, they all but destroy the flow of the game and are so inconsistent with their calls that I don’t know what is and isn’t a foul anymore. And to you Mike Breen, your lucky I’m not working with you as I’d have punched you in the head by now you referee toady suck up.

Here’s your lineup for game 1:

            Reyes SS

•           Pagan CF

•           Bay LF

•           Davis 1B

•           Wright 3B

•           Francoeur RF

•           Cora 2B

•           Blanco C

•           Santana P

Will there be a Jesus sighting in game 2 ? How about the Animal?

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Saturday ramblings in no specific order:

While I applaud Jerry Manuel for yanking John Maine the other night and showing that if you don’t perform you’re gone, Manuel went a bit too much and it show how much he really can’t stand Maine when it was reported to Manuel that Maine said “he wanted to pitch so badly he’d go out and throw left handed” to which Manuel said with his Gangsta’ laugh “That’s not out of the question , he might have more stuff lefty” funny line but said at the wrong time. There’s nothing to joke about here with this team. The only fans buying tickets to Mets games at $iti Field are the opposing teams fans.  If you’re a Mets fan why would you want to sit in $iti Field and get ridiculed for three hours. Mets fans have been on an island the last few years, the players and management couldn’t care less that everyone who knows us as Mets fans repeatedly asks us the questions about the team failure and get the badgering for the failure of this team and organization. I don’t mind it from friends and family but it’s the front running douchebag Highlander fan who’s knowledge of the team goes as far as wearing a 2 JETER t-shirt and that the organization has won 27 World Series and if you’re a true Highlander fan that person should embarrass you as well.

David Wright has argued more third strikes this past month than he has his whole career combined. At some point the home plate umpire needs to tell Wright, “it’s not me, it’s you” The “hasn’t been good since the beaning” theory is starting too look spot on after each Wright at bat. Maybe it’s not Hojo’s fault but I just wonder if a different voice would help Wright at this point ? It’s just too easy to pitch to David right now. Start him off with an inside pitch and work your way outside, he won’t stride toward the outside at all. The ground out he hit against Rivera to finish the game was the pitch he used to go to right center with, now with this too long swing of his you get a little fart of a ground ball.

Benny Agbayani left the Chiba Lotte Marines because of the way the treated Bobby Valentine. Mike Hampton on WFAN yesterday said Valentine was the best manager he ever played for.  John Franco and Mike Piazza have said the same about Bobby V. You think any of the current Mets will have such loyalty to Jerry Manuel when he’s given his walking papers?

Let Bob Melvin or Terry Collins finish the season and then bring back Bobby V in 2011.

Kevin Russo ? Who the fuck is Kevin Russo? Now every year when this played out Mayor’s Trophy series is played we’ll have to read a Where Are They Now feature on Kevin Russo as he works as a valet parker at the Tropicana in Atlantic City.

Welcome back Uncle Elmer.

So Roy Oswalt has agreed to be traded, good for him, would he be a fit on the Mets?  Hummm  tough to say. At first glance you’d say of course but he’s 32 yrs old with a history of back trouble and his contract runs through 2012 with $15 mil for this year and $32 mil the next two years but there is a $2mil buyout in 2012. It’s not the money that would scare me off but the back issue would and the fact that Oswalt is a countryboy and played in a city that watches baseball until football training camp opens so that would be a concern as well but what would it take personnel wise to bag Oswalt ? Would the ‘Stros take a big bag of junk like Ollie Perez and Luis Castillo ? Or Perez and Fernando Martinez (can we all agree it just isn’t going to happen for this kid?)  and a low level busher?    Like I say the point is moot the Skill Sets won’t pay the money.

It may be ridiculous that the Highlanders have this ban on iPad’s and laptops by fans coming into The Mall on River Avenue and they are ridiculous with their law and order policies on what you can and can not bring into the park (I want to know how much of a kickback security gets from the bowling alley across the street for holding bags? What’s the number for NYC Consumer Affairs ?) but really why do you need to use a laptop or iPad as a fan during a game ? Sit back and watch the game don’t make a job out of it.

Time to finish things off on the parquet floor starting tonight, as pissed as I am over the Mets who cower under the bed when things get tough, I have to make a 180 degree move as a Celtics fan. The C’s are so confident they border on cocky but when Paul Pierce looks in the camera and tells Celtics fans that “we’re coming home to finish this off” and ends it with a wink , I believe him, I mean he is The Truth right? But what I love is the way the team leaders are not afraid to call out anyone on the team, I still laugh at Big Baby Davis after fouling in a bad spot in the game and getting called out from the bench by Kevin Garnett yelling “ I know , I know I fucked up, I fucked up”   Can I get David Wright to do that just once?

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