In the latest missive from the WWL, Peter Gammons is trying to sell the fact that the Skill Sets are not swimming in cash as it appears:

{The Mets don’t have the kind of money everyone thinks, especially having to pay Billy Wagner $10M next season. They will spend to get a starter, a reliever and a bat to supplement Ryan Church in right and the Daniel Murphy/Fernando Tatis platoon in left.

No one knows what impact the economy will have on baseball, especially in New York, but someone is going to pay a price for the national debt increasing by $450B in October. The Mets are not going to jump over the luxury tax threshold, so they will continue to build around David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, figure Mike Pelfrey will continue his quantum leap forward, and do their best to fill in around them.}

So a team that owns a television station, has a brand new ball park in the most populous city in the country and has sold all his suites and will draw a minimum of 3.5 mil fans has no money to improve the team? And tell me what the National debt has to do with the Mets finances? Sorry Gammo I’m not buying it. I’m not ready to go out and buy a pennant because I don’t think building through free agency is the answer but don’t you dare insult the Mets fan base and cry poverty. By the way to read the whole article you have to pay to read it.

Congratulations to Fernando Tatis on winning the Comeback Player of the Year Award and a great pick up by Omar Minaya

So here we stand on the first of September with our Mets and Mets fans getting through a spring and summer that saw injuries, an upheaval in the managers office, an as advertised Ace pitcher, the emergence of a young Ace pitcher that gives fans a warming feeling of the late sixties, mid eighties when the Mets had a dominant 1-2 punch in the rotation, the unexpected performance of Danny Murphy, Nick Evans and Fernando Tatis, the crap shoot bullpen, and the thought that starting next season that we will be priced out of our new home as the Skill Sets seem to rather have a wine and caviar crowd than the Bud and Nathans crowd that have given it’s tears and cheers to the organization since the days of the Polo Grounds. And with all that the Mets are a first place team today as the home stretch begins in Milwaukee. Sweet.

I’m very anxious about watching Jon Niese go tomorrow night but I’m also concerned with the Mets starting three lefties in a row espically against the  Brewskis as they pound lefties like they were Pabst Blue Ribbon

The big addition to the team will be RHP Al Reyes who could be the missing link in the command challenged bullpen. Reyes if healthy and on his game his a big strikeout pitcher so with Brian Stokes pitching well (thank you Tampa for making up a bit for the Kazmir heist) and Luis Ayala doing better than the rest maybe, just maybe we can have less angst watching Mets games plus the Mets organization has done well with players named Reyes.

33 years ago today I was a 17 year old sitting in Shea Stadium watching The Franchise strike out Manny Sanguillen for his 200 K and the 8 the straight season he had reached that mark a record. That was the last meaningful game at Shea that season as the Mets fell out of the division race.

The first thought that popped into my head when I heard about the death of Killer Kowalski was the Sunnyside Gardens in Queens. It was second only to MSG as the Wrestling Mecca of the city. Roller Derby too.

Of course the first thing I said when I saw John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin was Now that’s a middle aged hottie, the second thing I thought was why doesn’t McCain just call it a forfeit and let the Obama/Biden administration get ready to take over. Talk about pandering the only reason Ms. Palin is on the ticket is because she is a Ms. No way McCain picks a man with the limited qualifications than Ms Alaska has. The other question I have is this woman has five kids and one a baby with Down Syndrome, you would think she would have her hands full at home, what would happen if McCain kicks the bucket (was Palin on his Bucket List, Pick a Hot MILF for a running mate) and person with no experience at all has to run this country. Don’t give me she was the Mayor of town and the Governor of Alaska there are almost as many people on Staten Island than there are in Alaska and if SI Boro President James Molinaro had to run this country, I’d be moving to me Grand da’ house in Sligo.  

The Mets are rolling. Since July 1 to today the boys in Orange and Blue are 32-15 and winners of 14 of their last 18. With a 2 ½ game lead over the Phillies and a macho performance by Johan Santana last night Metsdom should be as giddy as Jeffey Skill Sets when he’s opening up the season ticket renewals. But of course there always has to be a turd in the punch bowl.

Gimp Castillo who has been a way from the team for what seems like three months has bogarted his way back into the starting lineup in what looks to be the first power struggle loss under the rule of Warlord Jerry. This is Omar Minaya pulling th “I’m the boss” card out on J-Man as Manuel knows he’ got a good thing going here and doesn’t want it disturbed. It’s not so much that Gimp is back in action, it’s more who gets the furlough to NOLA that is disturbing.

Look we can all read and the number that Gimp has over both Argenis Reyes and Damien Easley is his OBP of .365 which is superior to Reyes (.297) and Easley (.312) so if it were a question of the Mets needing an offensive shot in the arm then Gimp coming back would be greatly anticipated. But offense has not been a problem for the team since Gimp went out in fact the resurgence of Carlos Delgado and the LF platoon of the Gold Dust Twins added to the resurgence of Fernando Tatis makes the Mets offense one of the deepest and most productive in baseball. Sure the offense has helped the Mets-troliner get back on track but the biggest ingredient to the surge has been starting pitching and defense which always go hand in hand.

When you have a strong up the middle defense like the Mets have now with the Reyes-Reyes/Easley-Beltran tag team, it gives your pitching staff a little more confidence to pitch to contact because of the great faith they have in their fielders. That’s what Argenis and Easley have brought to the table that Gimp hasn’t. Gimp is shell of himself in the field and like the Visa commercial where everyone on line has a Visa check card and then one guy stops the line by writing a check that’s what Gimp will bring when he comes back. The baseball term on offense is when your down by a lot runs and you need a big inning when guys get on base you will hear from the bench”Just keep the line moving” and that’s what J-Man wants for his defense to keep the outs coming and he knows with Gimp out there that could be a problem.

But J-Man like most of us has a boss and his boss is Omar Minaya and not only is J-Man limited in his taking on the boss as he still has the”interim” tag next to his name he also has to know the burden Omar has with the albatross contract around his neck that is Gimps ridiculous deal. As bad as that signing has been for Omar and the Mets it’s unfair to kill him on it as so far Minaya has made many more positives moves than bad during his rein as Mets boss. If he could have just found a way to keep Gimp away from the team until September 1, that would have been another check maker in the positive column for him.

Meanwhile with all the bloviating I just got finished doing I will still be cheering for Gimp tonight as he is a Met and we have something very special going on here at Shea, that’s why I leave all my “hatein’” here and not at the ball park.

Even though the 12-0 and 9-3 games that the Mets have won this week are a welcome respite from the nail biters and “Please God Let Aaron Heilman Turn Into Dennis Eckersley” games we have been subjected to this season nothing is a better gauge of what your team is made of than when it gets down and dirty in a one run game and last night even with it’s scary moments the Mets had a (gulp!) Championship look to them. The Reyes Boys (Memo to Mark Malusis: When it comes to breaking down baseball personnel you’re clueless if you think Gimp Castillo at this point is better on the Mets than the A. Reyes/Damien Easley platoon then you’ve watch way too much of Robinson Cano) and Carlos Beltran flashed leather and arm in big D plays and Big Pelf had a bounce back game. Yes I know it was the Pirates and I swore I wouldn’t let myself get all pumped again about this team but when they do the little things that you need to win, I just can’t help myself.

I’ve thrown some stones at Billy Wagner here but you have admire the guy for saying screw minor league rehab and is forcing his way back as the closer. Wags knows the team needs him and as long as the medical staff clears him and Old School Dean Warthen gives the seal of approval then Wags will be activated on Monday. Then it looks like Eddie Kunz will go down for a couple of weeks but would come back on Sept 1.

Speaking of coming back, Ryan Church is playing in the GCL as a DH and hopefully by tomorrow will be in the outfield, same with Gimp Castillo who the rumor mill has it has been dealing with some medical issues with his wife.  I’m sure there is some kind of rule that both players have to be activated at a certain time but as it stands now there is no rush for either guy to come back before Sept. 1. As vital as Church’s bat has been early in the year with Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis both swinging potent bats (and don’t forget Nick Evans who has platooned with Murphy and started to hit) and Carlos Delgado’s deal with the devil still paying off, the Mets have the luxuary to let Church and Castillo take their time getting back. Depth it’s a good thing.

Funny I don’t feel “Fitty”? I had a very nice birthday it would have benn better if the Mets could have won (thank you Joe Smith and Scott Schoeneweis) but I did get some very nice gifts. A Mets t-shirt with the NY in a shamrock, Fay Vincent’s book on old ballplayers, the Shea Stadium DVD with the Essential Games and an baseball scoreboard that works off satellite like a GPS that give you up to date scores, standings and probable pitchers for all MLB games. We had dinner in Hyannis and watched the Sawx as I think it’s a state law that no other baseball game but Red Sox games can be shown in public.

I see where Jon Maine was yanked from last nights game with  shoulder soreness that Old School Warthen says it is not serious but they will still send Maine to NYC for a “picture” as J-Man likes to call an MRI so my guess is by Friday Maine’s arm will be amputated.

With teams asking too much for Omar and the Mets to give up, it looks like unless the price for Raul Ibanez drops alot the Mets wil go with Fernando Tatis as the everyday LF’er and call up Dan Murphy to add his bat and limited defensive skills. I know Omar lusts for Manny but the Mets do not have the chips for a deal to be made. Don’t worry Manny Mets fans we will have all winter to pursue the Manny Trail.

If anything the Mets look to need some bullpen help as Joe Smith and Scott Schoenwiess pitched awful last night as did Carlos Muniz and I am very disappointed in Muniz as he is getting his chance to show he belongs in the big leagues as he has not risen up to the task.

RHP Jon Neise was moved up to NOLA and looks like the guy who will take John Maine’s place if Maine is DL’d or even if the Mets decide to give him a start off.

Petey looks like he penciled in for Friday against the Astros with an 80 pitch limit let’s hope it not one and done for Petey.

Time to hit the treadmill as I had ice cream last night (hey it was my birthday) but now that I am officially an old man I have to watch my middle aged figure.