As we get ourselves ready for the big three game series with the Cheesesteakers let’s take a look at some of the Mets news of the day:

John Harper has become the P.R. agent for Warlord Jerry as he has for the second day in row wrote a story giving us the feel that Randolph was out of touch with his players and didn’t know what buttons to push to motivate his team. Also there are more quotes from Tony Bernazard who is taking on a much more public persona. Now I don’t know if that is for the better but if you think this turnaround is not in part due to the change on manager your, delusional. The players like Delgado and Reyes won’t come out and say it but Ron Darling had no problem on the post game show last night saying that the Mets clubhouse is a much more relaxed place with J-Man. The facial hair ban, the music ban and not having the ability to interact with his players led to the charge that Randolph didn’t have the feel or pulse of his clubhouse which is one of the biggest thing a manager needs to be successful. The x’s and o’s are not as big as some of us think but the ability to connect with your players is something Randolph via his Highlander training couldn’t do. After awhile Rick Peterson couldn’t do it either. What you hear about J-Man is that he is a straight shooter that we tells his players up front what their role will be and what he is doing. He looks them in the eye and let’s them know the deal which it seem is something Randolph and a hard time doing. J-Man is as cool as the other side of the pillow whereas Willie was in meltdown mode as we saw with his race comments and ripping SNY coverage sent a message to his team that he was losing it.

So Mets fans instead of ripping Tony Bernazard you should be praising him for being adamant in his stance that a managerial change had to be made. Omar wanted to be more patient but it looks as if Jeffey Skill Set was siding with TB but Full Autonomy Omar wanted to keep his guy Randolph as he felt is was his failure that Randolph wasn’t working out but TB prevailed and that makes me think that’s why the Randolph axing was handled so badly.

When the off season comes at what point do the Mets drop out of the Oliver Perez Sweepstakes?  Does OP let that dictator of an agent Scott Boras sell his service to the highest bidder or does OP uses his brains and works out a deal with the Mets and stays where he’s comfortable? Remember OP was a throw in the Roberto Hernandez deal and was a mess when he arrived in NY. But with extensive work by Rick Peterson, Dan Warthen and Randy Neiman Perez has emerged as a top line starter. Sure he is still an enigma especially when he gives up walks after walk but still LHP like OP are a valuable commodity. So if you’re the Mets what is your first offer? He’s not getting Ace money or even #2 starter money so I’d start off with a 3yr/$36mil which of course Boras will be insulted by. My counter would be still 3 yrs but sweeten up the money to $37.5 mil with incentives that boost it over $40mil. Now Boras will want at least 5 yrs I figure but I don’t see the Mets going for 5 yrs with OP but then again he is only 27 years old but 5 yrs to a pitcher who is not a 1 or a 2 is tough pill to swallow. So how about a 4 year deal for $40mil with incentives that could bring the deal to $50mil total with a mutual option for a fifth year. If OP produces in those four years he could again be a free agent at the age of 31 and if he doesn’t produce, well at least he’ll have a very nice nest egg to fall back on.

Check out Mike Silva’s NY Baseball Digest not just for his great interviews and all around insight on baseball but he has a great piece on the Ford C Frick Award and is looking to get out the vote for our own Gary Cohen.

The Brooklyn Cyclones are taking a page out of the parent club’s book as they are making a surge to the NY-Penn League playoffs.

Where O’ where has Aaron Heilman gone? O’ where O’ where can he be?  Right now the pecking order of the pen in the late innings is the hybrid Felicano/Smith, Brian Stokes as the set up and Luis Ayala as the closer. Billy Wags could be back next week and if healthy goes back to closer and that drops each releiver down a peg.    

Now that’s the way to spend a day off as the Mets gain an other half a game on the Phlacid Phillies as the Aramis Ramirez launched a Grand Slam off Chad Durbin (“CLANK” go the cups of Old Style) to defeat Albino Manuel’s squad 6-4 and now the statically good Phillies bullpen is showing some cracks and Good Ol’ Cholly’s managerial moves are being question by the those famous front runners in the Philly and the press.

Seems like Gary Cohen wasn‘t the only one wondering why JC Romano was not in the game to face Carlos Del-GOD-o, JC is stilling wondering as well.  

David Lennon has a piece on the new “Steady As She Goes” attitude in the Mets clubhouse. Lennon shows that as we Mets fans clutched our chest in horror over Tuesday’s awful defeat, the Mets players took it in stride and that Warlord Jerry has loosen the reins of the clubhouse and is treating his men like men. No one will come out and say that the fact that Willie Randolph choked the life out of the team last season during the “collapse” and J-Man is more perceptive of what makes his team click.

First the NYPD roughed up a guy at Highlander Stadium for having the audacity to want to take a leak during the phony patriotism part of the 7^th inning the other night, now we have to female Red Sox fans who it is reported were tossed from the Steinbrenner Slum for rooting too much for the Sawx. As we see in this clip, the first female was escorted down the upper deck stairs without incident, but her accompilis makes a very big mistake, fucking with an NYPD officer, not just any NYPD officer but a very large and very angry female cop.  The female cop is also African-American and one thing I love about African American women is when they get mad and do that finger thing, where they pull back their arm and point that finger to say “don’t you fuck with me” it’s something a white woman could never pull off. Same as a white guy trying to wear a red suit, we just can’t pull that fashion statement off. Meanwhile it took three cops to subdue the Amazon Blonde and all three officers had ample waist lines as well, that’s a lot of heft by the authorities so advantage Angry White Chick.

I guess for most of Metsfandom the turning point of last nights game was Carlos Delgado lost in the lights game winning single that scored a head first diving David Wright to give the Mets a come from behind win. But for me the turning point was the top of the 7th inning and the show of cajones by Petey. After giving up a first pitch home run to Yunel Escobar, the next five innings Petey was in control making pitch after pitch in the strike zone with marksman persicion. But then in the 6th, he got in trouble and let three runs score for the Braves to take a 4-3 lead. But Petey came out for the 7^th and this is where his cajones came into play. You can work on mechanics and arm slots and pitch selection but either you‘ve got balls or you don’t and what we know about Petey is he’s got platinum nuts. He got the Braves three up three down and the Mets in the bottom of the inning tied the score on Nick Evans double and Carlos Delgado infield single and some help from a suddenly inept Atlanta defense. At 100 pitches Petey should have been done as he did his job but he came out for the 8^th inning and after a lead off single was done for the night as Pedro Feliciano and Luis Ayala providing solid relief work. But as I say that top of 7 stands out to me as Petey being Petey and that should make all fans smile today.

Great move by SNY to put a camera in the tunnel leading to the Mets clubhouse. Just watching Fernando Tatis jump up and down like a kid greeting his teammates as they were coming off the field lends you to believe that there something special happening here. That and the site of Mets players led by Johan Santana wearing inside out rally caps shows that the fun is back in Flushing.

I love Tom Seaver like he was a member of my family but I really don’t need to hear him in the booth with Gary, Keith and Ron during a game while we are in a pennant run. If SNY wants to do an hour long interview with The Franchise I’d watched until my eye balls bled but while there is a game going on I don’t need to any convoluted bullshit in the booth .I also can do without Seaver belittling the Mets pitchers for not kissing his ring when he was talking to them about pitching, maybe if you came around more often Tom, they’d listen more closely. SNY mane up for though when they sent Mex and Darling to seats behind home plate for up close and personal analysis.

I kind of feel sad for Gimp Castillo as the Mets are hoping they can stash him away for  more 12 more days when the rosters can be expanded as J-Man really wants no part of him on the team. Even when he does come back it looks like just cameo appearances for Gimp.

Ryan Church on the other hand will be welcome back tonight with open arms and will most likely platoon (though not a strict platoon) with Fernando Tatis and the Gold Dust Twins keep their gig in LF.

I just knew that MLB and ESPN would do this to us. They have switched the September 7 Mets-Phillies game to 8:05PM Great. The next day is the first full day of school for my kids and its Johan Santana Bobble head Day (Night?) and it was supposed to be a Dyna-Mets Dash day. So thank you Skill Sets, Used Car Salesman, and the assholes in Bristol CT for fucking up a nice Sunday afternoon for me and other Mets fans.  

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh vacation time, it’s wonderful. Before I leave for Cape Cod and a trip to Boston and Fenway Park I will be in attendance at Shea for tonight’s game as the turnaround season rolls on. No post tomorrow as it’s a long travel day but I hope to post Monday my “Fitty’ Birthday” by the way , so before I get some last minute stuff done and head to Shea a few thoughts:

Two of the biggest players of this turnaround have been Carlos Delgado and Mike Pelfrey and not surprisingly both players have been helped by the change in manager and pitching coach. Delgado seemed to hate being at the ball park when Willie Randolph was in charge as it seems Randolph’s reign in the clubhouse was a tension convention but for some reason the main streamers give us just bits and pieces of  life in Mets clubhouse under Willie. I guess theiy will let us know when their books come out. Rick Peterson told Mike Pelfrey to never throw a curveball again. Dean of School Dan Werthen worked with Pelfery on his breaking ball to go with his 90+ heater to make him a complete pitcher. No bracelets, no gem stones just good common sense.

I can’t figure out Dirty Duaner. He gets ahead of batters and can’t finish them off. Is it bad luck or poor performance?

Brandon Knight, the definition of a journeyman, makes his Mets debut tonight as a stand in for Petey. Knight has had a great year in NOLA and was ready to join Davey Johnson and Team USA in Beijing but on the insistence of Dan Werthen he was summoned for this spot start.

Looks like the Highlanders stole Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Bucs but I’m not worried about that as with all the rumors and names out there the guy I hope we land is Casey Blake. Blake has descent power and can player OF, 3B, and 1st  his one draw back is striking out a lot but we can live with that as Blake is the righty bat the Mets need.

Manny isn’t happy in Boston. The Red Sox front office, owners, players and fans are not happy with Manny.  I think you know where I’m going here, If I’m Omar I have to make a call in fact if Omar wants to give me Theo Epstein’s number and I’ll meet him for lunch when I get  into town.