{He said, Patches
I’m dependin’ on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it’s all left up to you}

This piece of shit is the new patch that will be on the Mets uniform tops to commemorate the first season of $iti Field.

I could have gone into any kindergarten in the city and come out with a better design.

All this does is prove my case that there is not one ounce of creativity in this organizations markenting division.

Derek Lowe saw this patch and told Scott Boras that he now wants $20 mil a year to wear a Mets uniform due to this embarrassing patch.

(A big tip of the Mets cap toMetsBlog for the link)

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Still a bit stunned after watching the Celtics lose to the Knicks last night at MSG. Memo to Al Harrington, I know last night was the highlight of your career but remember, come April you will be sitting on your couch while the C’s are deep into the playoffs so get your popcorn ready. I’m pretty sure that the Knicks will be raising banner on the 14^th before the game with the Wiz to commemorate the victory over Boston.

 

So while we wait for Scott Boras/Derek Lowe to produce a counter offer to the Mets let me alert you to the fact that Pro Baseball Central will be back this week on the air this Thursday night at 9PM (EST) on Blog Talk Radio. So join Joe McDonald and yours truly for our first PBC of 2009.

 

Yesterday, in the Daily News they had a piece on Anthony Young and it was good to see Ol’ A.Y. is alive and well and to reflect on his 27 consecutive loses which was a hard to believe 16 years ago.

 

Over at NYBD Frank Maniscalco has a fantasy baseball column up and some details of a Fantasy League that Frank will be running. Also check out the NYBD show from last night on the Hot Stove with Mike Silva and Howard Megdal.

 

Mets Geek has an in-depth piece on RHP Sean Green who came over with J J Putz from the Mariners and will take over the Joe Smith role. Green could be a big part of the late inning Mets pen.

 

I love how the Mets Police has gone on the war path over the awful black Mets jerseys. Really,  with the new ball park opening this year it’s time to ditch the black. The Mets should stay with the pinstriped classic uni for home games with either the snow whites for Sunday games with the all blue cap, orange top button and NY on he front  and the road uni should be left alone but if you want to tweak that you could go with a gray top and pants with orange/blue stripe on the pant leg with the classic orange NY on the left breast. I’d even go with the old NY Giants all black cap with the orange NY for the road cap well. Anything is better than those awful looking black jersey’s. Wow all of a sudden I have the urge to listen to Peter Allen records.

 

Hopefully by the end of the week (Please Omar sign Lowe/Manny/ Orlando Hudson and trade Gimp Castillo on Thursday) there will be some movement on the free agent logjam or we will all need a good colon cleansing soon

 

 

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{A-I-D-A. Attention, Interest, Decision, Action. Attention – Do I have you attention? Interest – Are you interested? I know you are, because it’s fuck or walk. You close or you hit the bricks. Decision – Have you made your decision for Christ? And Action. 

 A-I-D-A. Get out there – you got the prospects coming in. You think they came in to get out of the rain? A guy don’t walk on the lot lest he wants to buy. They’re sitting out there waiting to give you their money. Are you gonna take it? Are you man enough to take it?} 

Blake from Glengarry Glennross.

You could change the name to Omar from the NY Mets as it pertains to the Derek Lowe/Scott Borras negotiations.  So it seems that Lowe/Borras are not very happy with the 3yr/$36mil contract the Mets have offered but to me it’s more years and more money that anyone else has put on the table. In fact Lowe has stated he wants AJ Burnett money but the problem with that the only team offering stupid money is the Highlanders and they don’t seem to want Lowe or maybe they do but not at the stupid money price of $16mil per.

According to Boras, the Phillies and Braves are in the running for Lowe’ services. If the Mets played in the AL East Boras would tell us the Highlanders and Red Sox were serious bidders. If the Mets played in the Middle East Baseball League, Borras would tell us the Israeli’s and the Palestinians are serious bidders.

Oh of course there is the “Mystery Team” that may be the Milwaukee Brewers but of all those teams mentioned only the Mets have made an offer. So my question to Scott Boras is “Where are the fucking leads”?

If any team wants to give Lowe  4yr/$64mil go right ahead and as much as I wanted Lowe on the Mets there is no way in hell I’d give him that deal. In fact if I’m the Mets GM I say here is 3yr/$42mil then I’d flip over a three minute egg timer and tell Lowe/Borras that when that timer goes off so does my offer.

Derek Lowe wants $16mil a year for four years and I want to brush my hair out of my eyes. Neither one is happening.

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Everybody awake? How’s that hangover? That’s one thing I don’t miss from my drinking days as club soda has no kick but you wake up fresh the next day and what used to be a day to watch college football bowl games is now a day to watch the NHL Winter Classic and the debut of the MLB Network.

As a kid I loved New Years Day Bowl Games because there was real meaning to the games and at the end of the night there was a National Champion. Today, with the exception of the Rose Bowl (I’m a big JoePa fan go Nittany Lions!)  I couldn’t care less about any of these games. My focus today is the Blackhawks and Red Wings from Wrigley and hopping that next year the Winter Classic is played in NYC.

As expected Derek Lowe told the Mets that 3yr/$36 mil is not enough for his services and of course we’re not surprised. I’m not going to get my draws in a bunch with this as I know and we all know that the Mets will be the last phone call Scott Boras makes before Lowe signs any place else. It’s a slow dance and there will be a lot of foreplay before this union is consummated.

There is a petition on NYFS begging the Skill Sets to open the coffers for Manny Ramirez. I know the Skill Sets have a few minions who scourer the ‘net to see what the fans are thinking so hopefully one of those geeks stumbled over here to see that the fans base wants the ownership to man up for Manny.

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First and foremost a Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone and a huge thank you for your support of this site and of Pro Baseball Central and my wish to you is good health and happiness and hopefully post season baseball for our Mets.

 

Finally Omar has reached out to Scott Boras and Derek Lowe with an offer. While the Mets offer of 3yrs/$36mil is nowhere near the reported 5yr/$90mil that Boras was looking for, it is a starting point.  The Mets do not want to go more than 3 years with Lowe and with the big boys on the sideline (Highlanders and Red Sox) this looks like advantage Mets.  I could see a scenario where there is a 4^th year option and maybe the money goes up two or three million with Omar telling Scot Boras he’s doing it as a face saving measure and let Boras know he “owes him one” but it looks like this will get done soon.

Then it will be interesting to see where Omar turns next. The longer Manny Ramirez sits out on the open market the more pressure there is on the Skill Sets to get in the Manny game. Word is leaking out of the air tight front office bunker that Omar wants to get Manny in Blue and Orange but the stumbling block is getting the Skill Sets to release the purse strings. If Manny slips through the Mets hands due to Jeffey and Freddie not giving Omar FULL AUTONOMY  to make this deal and Manny Ramirez signs with GOD FORBID the Highlanders or goes back to LA for a 2 year deal I am putting the Mets on notice that whatever past posting here toward management they thought were venomous and nasty will look like love letters  compared to the carpet bombing I have in store for them if they pussy out with Manny. I’m not looking for them to go more than 2yrs for Manny so I don’t think that’s outlandish.

 

Long time reader of this site Nik Kolidas has a new Mets blog Kiner’s Korner which not only has a terrific layout but the content is first rate. Click on the link and bookmark the page and thank me latter.

 

Outstanding job by Amazin’ Avenue with their detailed comparison of Oliver Perez vs. Ben Sheets. If or when Derek Lowe signs with the Mets adding Ben Sheets to a 2yr deal would an outstanding outside the box move by the Mets. Which means it won’t happen.

 

Over at Mike Silva’s NY Baseball Digest there are a couple of items that are must reads. First Mike has a posting on January as the Month of Manny and this passage should be e-mailed to Jeffey Skill Sets or better yet I would love to hand deliver it to him and shove it in his face to make sure he gets the message:

   {The Mets, although improved, might need something to get past their 2007/2008 failures. Johan Santana should have done it, but the dour Willie Randolph negated all good will from that coup of a signing. The excitement of having two closers is nice, but putting Ramirez in left field would create a fresh buzz to the new ballpark. Imagine opening day and Manny hits a three run homer in the first. They may need to check the new buildings structure to ensure it’s ready for that kind of punishment. Manny would take a solid lineup and make it great. There is that g-word again. Unfortunately, there is no Hank Steinbrenner in the Wilpon family. Even an engaging salesman like Omar MInaya has been unable to convince Fred and Jeff on Ramirez. The fans remember Vladimir Guerrero and the winter of 2003. Maybe another rally with Craig Carton at Citi Field would help the Wilpon’s remember.}

 

BRAVO MIKE!!!!!

 

Also on NYBD is Frank Maniscalco who will be the sites Czar of Fantasy Baseball this year. You may know Frank as Frankie The Sports Guy and now he has added fantasy baseball to his ever growing résumé.

 

Good to see Charles Barkley getting that last DUI of 2008 out of the way early.

 

 

   

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Omar Minaya should heed the advice as to not overindulge in alcohol during the holiday’s as that has to be the reason for him to even contemplate trading for Andruw Jones. Sure it would have rid the Mets of Gimp Castillo, who the Mets couldn’t rid themselves of even with the promise of delivering him with a suitcase full of Mets Money, but as bad as Castillo is at least he has a position unlike the chubby Curacaoian who plays centerfield one of three position where the Mets need no upgrade. As for Jones playing right field,  didn’t we try that before playing two centerfielders with Beltran and Mike Cameron? How did that work out (OUCH!)

 

The Skill Sets need to cut the bullshit and give Omar the go ahead to sign Manny and Derek Lowe. Or better yet make the Andruw Jones deal this way I know that the Mets don’t give a shit about winning and I go on and enjoy my summer doing something else.

 

Did you hear the one about the two Cuban baseball players that defected?

 

Happy 73^rd Birthday to the greatest left-handed pitcher in the history of baseball.

 

According to reports today, over 47 million tourists visited NYC this past year and every one of those fuckers rode the Staten Island Ferry every night at rush hour.

 

 

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Here I was all set to write about Brad Penny signing with the Red Sox and how it looks like the Mets stand alone in the Derek Lowe sweepstakes when I hear over the radio that Jets head coach Eric Mangini has been given the well deserved ax;  oh and welcome Jets fans to the TEAMS THAT GAG CLUB as your team takes a seat at the table with the 2007 NY Mets. The firing of Man-Gina is not only justified but if anyone deserves to get his ass kicked it’s this rat. I have no use for rats and Man-gina is as big a rat as the inflatable ones at no-union job sites.

 

One more Jets note. Brett Farve may be a future Hall of Famer but if I had to win one game and my choice of QB is either Farve or Ken Stabler, I’m taking The Snake in a heartbeat. The fact that Stabler is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a fucking joke and any one who thinks differently either never saw The Snake play or just goes by numbers.

 

Now that Man-gina is out the next NY coach that needs to get the pink slip is Tom Renney. The collapse of the Rangers is not all Renney’s fault as the team is run in the front office by a cadaver named Slats but Renney rules the bench and he controls the playing time and the fact that Aaron Voros and Freddie Sjostrom play every game while Peter Pruchca sits in the stands night after night is a disgrace as are the countless bench penalties the team takes and that is on the coach. Mark Messier was at the Garden for the loss to Devils on Saturday; hopefully he put in a call to Clueless Jimmy Dolan and made his pitch to takeover the organization.

 

Omar Minaya would like Johan Santana to sit out the World Baseball Championships and hopefully Santana will abide by this request. Is there a bigger waste of time and work hours that the WBC? Who gives a shit? I understand that the Latin players have tremendous pride in playing for their countries and that is commendable but when the MLB team you play for is putting a roof over your head and food on your table your alliance is to the MLB team period.

 

I keep reading about Ken Takahashi the lefty out of Japan and how the Mets are looking at him as the replacement for Scott Schoenewiese and all I can do is ask why? What jumps out at the Mets that says this guy is worth bringing to the U.S. NPA Tracker has a nice write up on Takahashi and the array of pitchers in his arsenal but the guy is 40 years old and his BB/KK splits don’t thrill me so I’m sure there is someone (Brian Shouse?) who fits the LOOGY bill better than Takahashi.

 

Interesting post on NY Baseball Digest that suggested the Highlanders could deal X-Nady to the Red Legs for either Bronson Arroyo (Mike Francesa’s Man –Crush) or Aaron Harang.

 

Got to go listen to Joe (Bada-Bing) Benigino kill the Jets. 

         

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If you missed our live broadcast of Pro Baseball Central,  you missed a discussion of the Highlanders signing Mark Teixiera and and another spirited debate on the Mets going after Derek Lowe and/or Oliver Perez. Joe McDonald and I were joined by Mike Silva of NY Baseball Digest and after a some good baseball discussion we went off on a tangent going over drinking establishments in Bay Ridge and a travelogue of Ireland and alot of other silliness. To figure out the meaning of the picture with this post you have to listen to the show and believe me it will be worth it.

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It’s not that I don’t like Christmas, I do but not as much as Thanksgiving as the Pilgrims are my heroes because any day I can sit home eat, drink  and watch sports with my pants unbuttoned is a damn good day. But Christmas music makes my ears bleed. Plus if my in-laws give me pajamas again this year I’m going to show them EXACTLY what I sleep in.

Early day today and tonight we have Pro Central Baseball at 9PM so I hope you will join Joe McDonald and I for that. I have a nice bottle of Manhattan Special chilling in the fridge and anyone who knows the effects of Manhattan Special knows it makes Red Bull like Kool Aid.

According to this site (grain of salt required) Mark Teixeira will sign with the Boston Red Sox for 8yr/$170 mil. Hopefully this is true as it not only gets the Teixeira minutia off the back page but it also means the Red Sox are not a player for Derek Lowe and opens up the Mets as a Lowe suitor.

Thanks to Neil Best and his Watchdog site as he saved me a phone call to DirecTV customer service to find out what channel the MLB Network will be on. Also thanks for the pic of my darling Hazel Mae.   

More tonight on Pro Baseball Central but last but not least Happy Birthday to Jerry Koosman and to our  Gangsta’ In Charge Jerry Manuel.

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If you missed last night’s edition of Pro Baseball Central you missed a spirited discussion by Joe McDonald and I over the issued of re-signing Oliver Perez (Joe’s guy) over signing Derek Lowe (my guy) after going back and forth on the issued Joe played the Tom Glavine card that had me reassessing my opinion. We also looked at the Skill Sets finances and spoke about J J Putz. So check out the podcast for more entertaining baseball talk.

 

Greg Prince at Faith and Fear in Flushing has been checking out a sneak preview of the MLB Network which goes live Jan 1. From reading the site there looks to be some fine programming on the channel plus the WBC and there will be live games during the season and the lovely Hazel Mae in studio.

 

Story in NEWSDAY today about the unknown of the nation rescission and its effect on the Mets and Highlanders and are they rescission proof? Andrew Zimbalist the noted economist believes both teams are in a dangerous territory and I agree as what fuels both teams are the high rollers on Wall St who are either broke or ready to be indicated. The story also looks at the real baseball fans like us who work hard and like to spend our discretionary funds on our favorite baseball team but the Mets have to be very careful as not to price out the hard core workingman Mets fan as that and not the Madoff scam will be the ruinations of the franchise.

 

On this day in Mets history, remember 1986 World Series Game 6 parachutist Michael Sergio? He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and fined $500 for his stunt. Try that today and I’m sure you’d get a stiffer sentence.

 

Metsblog has a breakdown on the stories of the pitchers who the Mets have interest in. From the looks of things Omar’s pitching wish list looks like this:

 

1. Derek Lowe
2. Ollie Perez
3. Randy Wolf (who needs to get over his 3yr/$30mil asking price)
4. Tim Redding
5. An assortment of non-tender, rehabbing stumblebums.

 

I’m on the Derek Lowe bandwagon with his sinking fastball and slider that fits the Mets need perfectly. He is durable and consistency and even at 36 years old I’d offer him 3 yrs/$50 mil with an option on a 4^th

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