13 days until pitchers and catchers

Last night’s hour long PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL show, went by in a flash thanks our own Yankee-Doodle, Michael calling in and Matt Silverman coming on to talk about the ’69 Mets. Some of the topics I wanted to get to in the opening of the show got pushed back as I went on a bit of a Fernando Martinez rant, so I guess I’ll touch on those here.

By the way I got to see F-Mart’s AB last night with the bases loaded and two out in the Dominican Republic v. Venezuela Caribbean World Series game. Martinez did not get a hit in the AB but it was an impressive turn at the plate that lasted 10 pitches until he hit a foul pop that was caught by the Venezuelan right fielder.

I’m not anti-Fernando in any way; I just want the kid to stop acing like he’s a 27 year old journeyman who has never gotten a chance and be the 20 year old who plays so well this spring that he beats out Angel Pagan to be Carlos Beltran’s understudy.

Looks like me and Orlando Hudson have something in common; we both will never play second base for the Mets. So after all the debate about second base for the Mets what’s done is done, Luis Castillo is the Mets second baseman for better or worse till death due us part (or until Reese Havens can prove he can play at the big league level) for 2010.

What is the under/over on how many times Gary Cohen or Howie Rose say “Just out of the reach of Castillo, for a base hit” this season? Let’s set the number at 75.

The last place in the world I thought I’d ever see the name Municipal Credit Union would be on a ball park marquee.  I wonder if those of us with accounts at MCU will get a discount on Cyclones tickets.

I’m very happy for Nelly Figs and his great performance the other day for DR in the Caribbean Series but it wasn’t like he was pitching against the Phillies or Highlanders, it was against Mexico and 45 year old  270 lb Vinny Castila, The Big Fajita!

Maybe things are not as bleak for the Mets as we think. FOX has the Amazin’s scheduled for broadcast 8 times this coming season and one of the games is a prime timer versus the Bronx Bastards.

Maple Street Press is coming out with it’s Mets Annual in a few weeks and there will be a section on the Mets Blogosphere, that will include yours truly.

Matt Silverman is putting out a revised paperback version of his book “100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” 

Posted under Uncategorized

Some fellas look at the eyes
Some fellas look at the nose
Some fellas look at the size
Some fellas look at the clothes
I don’t care if her eyes are red
I don’t care if her nose is long
I don’t care if she’s underfed
I don’t care if her clothes are worn
First I look at the purse!

J.Geils Band

I should be a happy Mets fan this morning, with the news that Jason Bay will sign up to man left field for my favorite baseball team. What’s not to like about Bay ? Big time power hitter from the right side of the plate, he stepped in to a situation in Boston, as crazy a baseball town as NYC and he took the place of one of the greatest right handed hitters to ever pick up a bat in Manny Ramirez and excelled. I was  at Fenway Park for Bay’s first game as a Red Sox and his hitting and attitude won over the hearts of Royal Rooters that weekend.  So why am I not on the phone pleading with the Mets ticket office to please, PLEASE, sell me a season ticket, I don’t care if a handrail or giant piece of Plexiglas impairs my vision of the field, I JUST WANT TO BE AT $ITI FIELD IN 2010!!!!!!!!!!   Well, because Jason Bay can’t pitch.

It’s not just that Bay is not a pitcher and the Mets need about three starting pitchers to even think of contending for an NL Pennant , I still look at the Mets as Bay’s last resort.  You have to feel, the Red Sox were his first choice to re-enlist with and his agent made a 4yr/$60mil offer to which Theo Epstein said “Do I know you”? That’s Cold Hearted Theo, “Come back when you settle for as 2yr plus and option and maybe I’ll dance with you”. The Highlanders would seem to be choice two, put it seems that the heirs to the Highlander fortune, Hal and Hank A/K/A The Fortunate Son’s, feel as though we won the World Series so now it’s time for us to set up our bank accounts because there will be a mucho disposable dinero flowing in the Bronx this summer and the Fortunate Sons want to bring back Bags O Cash to their Tampa lair. Then there is the Seattle Mariners ,which for Bay would have worked out the best for the Boy from BC.  Mrs. Bay is from the Pacific Northwest so the thought of playing house close to where he grew up with many millions in his pocket had to be very pleasing to the Bay’s. Problem is new Mariners GM Jack Z felt, sure we’d love to have you here but not for some ridiculous sum of $16 mil a year. Instead Jack Z went for bat shit crazy Milton Bradley who came to the Emerald City with his pockets full of cash, letting the M’s save money for something important like pitching. Did you know that Jack Z was once part of the Mets front office?

So the way I look at it, Jason Bay had no other choice but to play for the Mets. But I still feel the Mets were that last fat kid picked when you would choose up sides in the school yard. I just hope that at the Bay presser he doesn’t start waxing poetic about being back in the Mets organization ,in fact I’d have a better appreciation for Bay if he didn’t have a presser but I’m sure Jeffey and Jay Horowitz are at King Kullen right now ordering the cold cuts.

Look you have to give Omar his props as he obtained a power hitting corner outfielder at his terms. For all the venom tossed at Omar’s way this winter once in a while you can give him a pat on the back. Beisdes, Jeffey Skill Sets and Dave The Shyster would just the money on a house in the Hamptons.

Now is not the time for the Mets front office to take any bows, there work is far from done. Now try to make a deal with the Reds and Royals for Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo or Gil Meche . Get two of those three and I’ll bring a marble rye to the presser.  

Posted under Uncategorized

I’m running out the door to spread some Christmas cheer but before I do, a moment please:

What does your Dickey do? Mine throws a knuckleball

Hello? Where have you been hearing that the Mets should get David DeJesus and Gil Meche? Hello? Is this thing on?

Fork please! Carlos Delgado is as done as a Christmas goose.

When it comes to Assclowns nobody beats Highlander fans. Some of these geniuses have been calling WFAN or Twittering that they hate the deal that brought Javier Vasquez to the Highlanders for Melkey Cabrea and a couple of bush leaguers. Sometimes Highlander fans your stupidity is breath taking.

Thank you Mike Vaccaro, thank you for a wonderful column this morning.

Why do I get the sad feeling that we will see more Red Sox stories in the fish wraps this summer than Mets news?

Posted under Uncategorized

It’s time to tell Jason Bay and Bengi Molina we’re not interested. Call both their bluffs in fact just tell Bay’s agent “sorry we’ve had second thoughts” then call Molina’s guy and Rod Barajas guy and the first one to say yes to a 2yr incentive laden deal gets that deal.

The reason I’m ready to “Bay-O, Bayyyyyyyyyyyy-O we’ve got no deal so you gotta go home”, is I want the Mets to sign Johnny Damon to play LF in 2010 and 2011

Now I’m not saying that Damon is better than Bay, he’s not, but the drop off is not so fierce that you could get Damon for half the money you’d spend on Bay and with less commitment. Then of course there is the all important intangibles. Damon is a dynamic presences in the clubhouse, he has dissed publicly by the Highlanders so you know he is going to come to camp ready to make a big statement, and he wears two world championship rings from two of the highest profile team sin sports. Not to mention the good will you would build up with Scott Boras for making his client look good after he (Boras) dropped the ball with the Highlander negotiations.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the last team Jason Bay wants to be a part of is the New York Mets. There is no mystery team, there is no competition for his services, now would be the time to tell Bay and his agent we’re going in another direction and announce the signing of Johnny Damon to a 2yr/18 mil deal with incentives to get the money over $20 mil. Damon is a winner and those types of players are in short supply I Queens.

Enjoy Camden Yards Jason.

Posted under Uncategorized

Baseball’s garage sale begins tonight A/K/A the non-tendered players go on the free agent market and there are some players on the list that would help the Mets immeasurably like:

RHP Kevin Corriea

The Padres are trying to have the lowest payroll since the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings started paying players so a very good #4 pitcher like Corriea will be sitting out there to the highest bidder. Right now Corriea would be better than anyone other than Johan Santana in the Mets rotation.

Garret Atkins/Ryan Garko

Either player would be an excellent compliment to Daniel Murphy as a right handed hitting tag team partner at first base.

RHP Chien-Ming Wang

Yes he is coming off injury and yes he is a Highlander but Wang is perfect for the Mets if sound as a ground ball pitcher, Wang won’t be ready to pitch until May but Omar has signed bigger question marks than Wang so he’s worth an incentive laden contract. I’ll be surprised if the Highlanders let him go though.

Alex Cora is in mid season form. I guess the Mets will extend his contract now.

Posted under Uncategorized

No one kills Mets management as much as I do, in fact I love calling out the clueless Jeffey Skill Sets and that shyster David Howard, but I’m kind of puzzled with the reaction of some Mets fans to the offers the club has made to Jason Bay and Bengi Molina.

Most of the criticism goes to the fact the Mets made just a $5 mil bump in monies to Bay. It’s a first offer, it’s a start, it now gets the negotiation going. The front office has concluded that Bay fits the club better than Matt Hoilday and I agree. The Mets even used (are you ready for this?) STATISTICAL  ANALYSIS to show how many fly balls Bay has hit last season would translate to $iti Field and it’s safe to say Bay would send many a souvenir baseball into the left field seats.

The big knock on Bay is his defense which I feel is a fallacy. The guy did have 15 outfield assists last year and his fielding number are better than league average plus with Carlos Beltran in CF I’m willing to bank on his ability to cover the ground that Bay can’t with the trade off of 30+HR and 100+ RBI.

So the Mets first offer is 4yr/$65mil. Bay’ counter off will be more years and of course more money. The thing to watch is who besides the Mets are in the running for Bay’s services. His former team the Red Sox are not known for giving out big deals to 30 year olds and have a track record of not getting personal with the help. Theo Epstein is all business. We’ve also seen that Bay is not giving the Sox a home team discount.

The Highlanders now with Curtis Granderson are not players for Bay. The Mariners? As bad as we feel the Mets are with dough they won’t be out spent by the M’s. The one team that could come in and make it interesting is the Angels.

It looks like the Mets want Bay and most likely will get him. For all the criticism of Omar he usually gets the guy he wants, it doesn’t always work out but count me as on board for Bay.

With all the jokes about the Mets cornering the market on backup catchers they still need a legit #1 backstop and if it takes 2yrs for Bengi Molina, then sign him. Sure he’s long in the tooth and as Joe Mc Donald said last night on our PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL show, you run the risk of Brian Schneider revisited but for 2yrs/$18 mil I’ll take a shot that Bengi is still on his game this year and is at worse a backup to Josh Thole in 2011. The one concern I have about Molina (and it’s not his speed on the bases ) is last year when the Giants brought up uber catching prospect Buster Posey to add some more pop in the G’ints flaccid offense, Bengi Baby didn’t ‘t respond well to having a pocket full of Posey, staring at him on the bench, so attitude is a bit of a red flag.

But like Casey Stengel said, You have to have a catcher because if you don’t you’re likely to have a lot of passed balls.”

Mets Police has a great post where Detective Dan had an actual conversation with an employee in the Mets office. Dan sent back his season ticket invoice, not with a check but with a “no thank you” note. It looks like the Mets are getting a lot of these no thanks notes from season ticket subscribers so they are now burning the phone lines to ask why and boy oh boy, did Dan tell them why.

Maybe, just maybe, there has been a revelation in management that the Mets fans are not mad anymore, but worse, they are apathetic. At least with hate there is still passion. Remember it’s a thin line between love and hate but once apathy sets in you’re fucked.

Posted under Uncategorized

 

I did not see last nights Mets-Brewski game as I was attending the Staten Island Highlanders-Aberdeen Iron Birds game that was delayed 1 hour due to daily rain event here in NYC, but before the game I was a guest on Mike Silva’ NY Baseball Digest radio program, where Mike and I discussed the state of the Mets and what direction we felt this team should take. We both agreed that Mets fans have to relax a bit with their yelping for Omar Minaya to make a knee jerk trade as it’s not about trading, in fact this would be the worst time to make a deal of top prospects for a D-list of players that some fans think will lift this team. But one of the things we discussed was a Tweet I read from ESPN1050 that the had info that Jerry Manuel was told by the front office to knock off the rhetoric about injuries and calling out the front office to make a deal that has added gasoline to the fans/media bon fire this by the way I brought up yesterday and I agree with management telling Manuel to zip it.

Well it seems J-Man has gotten the message loud and clear as he closed the doors to his clubhouse after the game (another suggestion I brought up) and from the sound of it, reversed his sermon and told his team to stop looking for outside help and look at each other. Manuel tried to stem the tide of individualism that seems to have crept into his clubhouse and from this vantage point it looks like Manuel’ job is on the line. Not for this season but for next.

I don’t think it’s the fact that the team is losing but the way they lose that has them being mocked and laughed at throughout baseball and has caused embarassment to all who root for the Mets. The Mets players are lucky I’m not the team owner because I would have closed the club house door with a handful of player release forms in my hand and tell the players that the forms are loaded and “I’m not afraid to use them”

The last time the Mets had a month like this June was back in September 2003 when the Walking Cadaver Art Howe was in charge and “battling” all the way to a 7-19 record. That was the Met team with such notables as Jason “Goggles” Phillips, Vane Wilson, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Danny Garcia and The Brothers Glavine. Another fact that gave me a “WOW” moment was that Pedro Feliciano is the only player to play for both losing Mets squads. Felicano has been a Met for 6 years AMAZING!!

Posted under Uncategorized

 

 

I know as Mets fans this is not the best time to talk about a book dealing with the Highlanders but MUNSON: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain by Marty Appel(Random House) is a must read as Thurman Munson was a not only a revered Yankee but he was respected by everyone in the game. At the time of his death, which is approaching its 30^th Anniversary (W-O-W!!!!) the big debate with baseball fans when it came to the catcher position was Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Munson. All three could hit and Bench was the better receiver and Fisk the more durable but none were tougher or more of a clutch hitter (back in the 70’s we believed in clutch hitting) than Munson.

 

As tough and productive as Munson was on the field he was as complex off it and if anyone could give you a look at the complexity and the esteem that Thurman Munson held with his teammates and his peers it’s Marty Appel.

 

Appel was the long time Yankees PR Director in the heyday of “The Bronx is Burning” era of Yankee baseball.

 

Put your team alliance aside for now and pick up MUNSON: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain by Marty Appel as it is not only gives you an inside look at baseball back in the 70’s but it chronicles the life and times of a player who was headed for the Hall of Fame who was taken at young life as he tried to juggle his responsibility as a husband, parent, teammate and leader.

 

MUNSON: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain can be found in book stores and at

Amazon

BN

BORDERS 

 

 

One of the things about baseball that it has head and shoulders over other sports is it’s characters and one of the greatest of all time was Satchel Paige. In SATCHEL: The Life and Times of an American Hero, (Random House) Larry Tye goes in depth about not just Paige the pitcher but Paige the man taking us from his childhood in Mobile, Alabama through the Negro Leagues, to his Barn Storming Tours to finally making it to the Major Leagues with the Cleveland Indians in 1948 and winning AL Rookie of the Year at the age of 42.  After reading SATCHEL : The Life and Times of an American Legend, and ask yourself where does Paige rank on the list of all time pitchers and if you didn’t think he was a top 10 before you may be surprised you change your mind after reading this book.

 

SATCHEL: The Life and Times of an American Hero can be found at book stores and at

Amazon

BN

Borders

Posted under Uncategorized

Pitching a one hitter against the Mets right now is like going bass fishing and catching a minnow. Sure you caught a fish but how much skill did it take to reel in that little fellow? Same with pitching to the Mets just don’t pitch to David Wright and throw fastballs down the middle to the est of the lineup and you should be fine. End of scouting report.

No problem here with Mark DeRosa going to the Cardinals for pitcher Chris Perez and a PTBNL. Then Mets equivalent to Perez is Bobby Parnell and I wouldn’t trade Parnell for a 34 year old rental player. The Mets problems are beyond adding DeRosa.

With all due respect to some of my Highlander buddies (Ben Kabak, Alex Bleth, Rebecca Glass) just observing Highlander fans most of the young ones are clueless when it comes to not only the rules of baseball or the strategy of the game but have no idea at all about their teams history. The older ones have a Pavlovian way about them as soon as you mention the name of the team they all bark out “26 Championships” I guess what I’m saying they’re a sad bunch. Our team may not win much but we’re a better class of fan.

A little bit of Tim Redding is good a lot of Tim Redding…..ahh…not so good. If there is one pitcher on the Mets that is the picture of a mop up guy in the pen, it’s Tim Redding.

Ol’ Cholly Manuel laced into his team after a another loss on Friday night and his club responded with a 10-0 win over the Blue Jays. After losing two straight to the Highlanders, Jerry Manuel took his team to the Lemon Ice King of Corona and told them it’s not their fault we have a lot of injuries and “You’re all winners YEAH!!!!!” Maybe that’s why Ol’Cholly has a ring and J-Man doesn’t. I’d love to see J-Man lace into his team and remind them this is the big leagues and they need to compte like big leaguers even if he doesn’t believe half of his roster belongs here.

I hate to bring up this Michael Jackson is dead thing again but there are a few things bothering about this whole Jacko worship that’s on going. As I stated the other day I was not a big fan of Jackson the man or the music. Pop music is not what I listen to I’m a Garage/Punk kinda of guy plus all the folks who think that Jackson was the greatest showman alive obviously had never seen a Stones concert, a Queen concert or a Plasmatics concert but that is neither here nor there

My biggest trouble with Jackson is the fact he slept with little boys, and that is fucking sick. My feeling for this does not just lie with Jackson but with the Catholic church as well and it’s the reason why I have no respect for the clergy any more.

Now if you bring up this part of Jackson’s life to a fan of his you get called al kind of names from a racist (which is funny as the guy went above and beyond to be white) or a heartless fuck. And that is because the truth hurts. But his fans and the media have given him a pass on his past crimes and have treated him like an American hero in his passing.

Michael Vick didn’t sleep with little boys (as far as we know) but he did maim, torture and kill animals which is still despicable and I would love to see Vick tortured the same way he did to those dogs. I’m not some crazy PETA zealot but I do own pets and I’ve been around dogs and just the thought that this scumbag gained the trust of the dogs then made them fight and the ones who weren’t fighters he killed makes my blood boil. Again if you are anti Vick you’re a racist, and a heartless reactionary and the man severed his time and deserves another chance. Not to me as Michael Vick is nothing but a fucking coward and also he wasn’t a very good QB either but he will get a chance some place and his past history of cruelty and murder of dogs will be replaced with cheering fans and enablers

What I’m getting to in my long winded way is Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds are just some of the biggest stars in baseball who have been found to use performance drugs to enhance their play on the field and to recover from injury to stay on the field. Of course their actions were wrong as taking PED’s they way they did were unlawful but for the most part not against the laws of baseball well not until the jig was up and the Used Car Salesman acted with shock and horror that players were using PED’s, a performance worthy of an Oscar.

In no way do I condone the actions of the players involved in what is now the Steroid Scandal Era (especially since I’m reading American Icon which will become the essential reading when people look back on this time in baseball) but what I don’t get is how these players are treated worse than a guy who slept with little boys and a guy who killed dogs?

I just wish there was the outcry for the actions of Michael Jackson and Roger Vick like there is for Manny Ramirez who of the three committed the lesser crime.

Posted under Uncategorized

 

 

Talk about a buzz kill, after Thursday ‘ game and the fact that the Mets took 3 of 4 from the Cards to pull within a half game of first place in the division, I was starting to wonder could this team play just good enough to stay in the race until August when we’re told the walking wounded should all be back in the lineup plus a chance that Billy Wagner could make his way back to the pen. Could it happen? Well, after last night’s cold water in the face, bringing me back to this awful place performance, it’s  going to be mighty tough.

This one was over in the second inning as the Mets decided that the lineup they trotted out on the field wasn’t enough of a handicap that they had to help the Highlanders more by playing shitty defense to leave Big Pelf out to dry. The combination of bad D and having his nuts squeezed by home plate ump Tony Randazzo had Pelfrey close to meltdown mode.  As Ron Darling pointed out on the telecast Pelf was showing emotion but he was still in control and after that awful second inning, pitched well but at 93 pitches through 5 innings and with two on and two out, and Pelfrey due up, Manuel sent up a pinch hitter which was the right call, the batter he sent up was Argenis Reyes and that was the wrong call.

When your lone right handed bat on the bench is Argenis Reyes he doesn’t see the batters box until the game goes to the bottom of 145^th inning. Manuel does not have the luxury of matching lefty righty with  this cut rate roster you have to go with your best hitter on that bench so in that spot you have to have Daniel Murphy hit for Pelfrey.   I wonder if there was some subliminal message that Manuel was sending to the front office with that move?

If ever there was a game to close the clubhouse door and air out your team it was last night but J-Man didn’t do it.  Last night in Toronto, after the Phillies lost to the Blue Jays, Charlie Manuel closed the clubhouse and laced into his club to get its head out of its ass. After the tongue lashing C-Man refused to speak to the media most likely going back to his hotel room with a big bottle of Canadian Club to wash away his frustrations. So which Manuel do you think is GANSTA’?

J-Man mentioned his roster depletion due to injury in his post game talk and it’s pissing me off that he keeps using that excuse as he needs to add a little Belichick to his game.

So now John Maine is getting a cortisone shot and will be shut down as he still has “discomfort” in his shoulder. Can we just send him to Birmingham to Dr Andrews already and get it over with? The Mets med staff is embarrassed one more time and the sad part is it’ll happen again.

The doctor who shot Michael Jackson with so much dope it killed him shouldn’t worry about a job I’m sure the Mets would gladly take him on their staff.

I agree with Gary Cohen, F-Mart is up here to play as a showcase for a trade.

MLB Trade Rumors had a link at deal with the Nats to send Nyjer Morgan to the Nats for Lastings Milledge.  I wouldn’t mind going after Morgan if I’m the Mets.

Posted under Uncategorized