The Skill Sets are very tight lipped lately about the state of their finances and that of the whole franchise. They’ve gone from wanting to sell 25 % of the team to now going as high as 49 %. Steve Cohen it seems was approached by the Skill Sets last year prior to the Madoff shit hitting the fan and he turn his back on a mere quarter share of the club as it seems he wants to buy the club outright since he’s worth $8 Billion, I guess he thought he could pursued the Skill Sets to accept one of those billion’s plus a little pocket money for the right to be the sole owner of the NY Mets.

Now that the Skill Sets are holding on for dear life to retain ownership and to stay financially solvent the have upped the ante to 49 % of the club for a mere $200 mil and you get the right to sit on the board and have a vote on finances such as players salaries and contracts.

The fact that the Skill Sets have gone from 25% to 49% that they are looking to sell, leads me to believe that the debt on the club is enormous. If Cohen is the guy who gets to buy in I’m sure he is also getting the right to buy the majority share. This would come as great news to Mets fans except Cohen is being looked at by the Feds as part of an insider trading probe. Cohen has not been charges or accused of any wrongdoing in fact he has stated he would not only help any investigation but he’s pay for any cost needed to look at his hedge fund company.

The final say comes from Bid Selig who will have MLB lawyers do a though search and background check on Cohen. Selig has two causes in this sale, the health of the NY National League franchise and his close personal friendship with Freddy Skill Sets.

Hopefully everything works out with Cohen and he gets to spend his money as a partner and gets some much need money invested in this franchise. When you look at all the problems the Mets have it’s not pitching or hitting that are the fans biggest concern. What the majority of Mets fans worry about is the team not having money to compete on the big stage.

Posted under Uncategorized

The Mets bullpen situation is such that Sandy Alderson and his staff are trying to do some creative bookkeeping to by some time.

The Mets have asked Jason Isringhausen to stay an extra week in St Lonesome so to make sure his elbow is sound. The biggest fear the team has is keeping Izzy and he craps out in May. They have asked Blaine Boyer to accept a minor league deal when Boyer figures if he’s released he’d get a major league deal in a heartbeat.  The two moves come with the realization that Many Acosta and his 90+ fastball will be snatched up on wavers as well.  For a team that everyone feel s is a MLB bottom feeder, it seems there is some talent worth scheming for.

I’d like to see Izzy staying an extra week just to prove he can pitch without pain. The Mets want him on this team badly and if it weren’t for the pop he heard in his elbow a week ago, all this maneuvering wouldn’t be happening. Izzy is on the record as saying he will not take a minor league deal it’s big leagues or retirement for him . Boyer is interesting as he has also has an out in his deal with the Mets and they love his 90+ fastball that he gets down in the strike zone that converts to tons of ground ball outs.

I’d let Acosta go and hope Boyer agrees to a Minor League deal, if he doesn’t the you have no choice but to let him go as well and take a chance on Izzy even though you know he could be done by June.

One thing I better not see is Bobby Parnell getting optioned to Buffalo that would be a Minaya-like move.

Posted under Uncategorized

I will be a guest tonight on a 2011 MLB preview show on “What’s On Second:The Seamheads.com Radio Hour on Blog Talk Radio at 9PM ET

Posted under Uncategorized

Another day another story of the Skill Sets getting duped in another hocus-pocus financial scheme. The NY Times has a story on Freddy Skill Sets and Uncle Saul getting involved with a guy named Samuel Israel III in a hedge fund that went sour and ended costing Freddy and Saul $13 mil to get out of hot water. I swear, I my take a leave of absence from my job to write a screen play for a movie about the Skill Sets and their financial hanky panky.

Of course when you go public with news that part of your team is up for sale, you get every Tom, Dick and Civil Rights leader coming out of the woodwork saying they want in. They all want in at 20-25 % AND want a say in what goes on in the comings and goings of the team. Remember what I told you about the devil you know.

Oh yeah, as a real co-winky dink, MLB has award the 2013 All Star Game to the Mets.  The Used Car Salesman will help the Skill Sets by any means necessary as he faces a real shit storm here with the Mets taking on water and the battling McCourt’s  in LA tarnishing his two top NL franchises.

Posted under Uncategorized

I was fortunate to be one of the bloggers  invited  to attend the Mets Holiday Party  yesterday and it was quite the experience.

From the time I arrived at the frozen tundra of Flushing (it was a bit surreal as I was the only passenger getting off at the Citi Field-Willets Pt. stop on the 7 train and the wind was whipping and there was still wisps of snow on the platform. Then walking out of the station there was not a soul around the ball park.  It felt like the kind of dream I’ve had after one too many late night slices of pepperoni pizza before going to bed) and walked into the Seaver entrance of the ball park, I had a very awkward feeling. The guard at the door asked me if I was “media” or a guest.  I immediately turned into Ralph Kramden “Aaaaaa Humm-a-na-Hummm-a-ana, I don’t know” and with that I shoved a copy of the e mail of my invite at him. The guard made a call and told me to have a seat and when the check in begins, look for your name on the “media list”. Say that again but a bit slower? Sure enough on the “media list” we’re my name and my site along with other bloggers.  After checking in, I walked to the elevator with Sweeney Murti, the Highlander beat man for WFAN. When I asked what he was doing here ( like I’m now the keeper of who belongs and who doesn’t) he told me he was covering this for the MLB Network (oh ok permission to come on board the ship) Knowing that he has mentioned he’s a one time Phillies fan, I asked him about the Cliff Lee signing and if he was happy or sad since he covers the Highlanders. It was here where I realized how much difference there is between the MSM and bloggers, Murti told be it didn’t matter to him as he has not rooting interest either way.  It finally hit me, this is the man’s job. It doesn’t matter who wins or losses or who’s a nice guy or who’s a prick, he just covers the Highlanders as that’s his assignment. WFAN could tell him tomorrow that they are going to switch it up and have Ed Coleman cover the Highlanders and him cover the Mets and it would not phase Murti in the slightest.

There’s the difference, as a blogger I have an emotional attachment to the New York Mets.  There isn’t any objectivity here. There is anger some (most) times and sarcasm and general wise ass-ness here but it stays within the Mets fandom. We can call the owner names and curse the OP and Castillo contracts for burdening the organization but if someone outside the “family” says anything we get our backs up and we stick up for the team and the organization. Now the last few years, this has been quite difficult. So my trek to Flushing yesterday was as much a fact finding mission to see what this new regime will do to cleanse the sins of the past administration as it was to try to find out if the team is headed in the right direction.

As our little group of bloggers stood around basically trying to figure out where to stand, where to leave our coats, and where the bathrooms were, we were saved by Danielle Parillo of the Mets P.R. who gave us the itinerary for the day (and for that I am grateful, Danielle) we were led to the media area and split into three groups, print, TV and bloggers. Yes, we had our own section. After the GM, MGR and players were done with the first two groups they were led to the bloggers section.

Sandy Alderson was the first to meet with us, we introduced ourselves and shook hands with the GM and then began the Q & A.  It’s hard not to be impressed by Alderson. I perceive him as a man of cool and confidence, I don’t think much rattles this man. Each question was met with direct eye contact with the inquirer and there were no one or two word answers.  The main questions were of course about pitching , Alderson made it known that was his main concern as well. He is not going to sign a pitcher just because his name is familiar with fans; this front office will do its due diligence from scouting reports to in depth analytical study on pitchers to find the right fit. Alderson’ personality is the polar opposite of most Mets fans, he’s patient.

Terry Collins was next to talk to us and if anything the man is intense. It is going to be quite intriguing to see how his high energy” if you’re not part of the solution your part of the problem” style will play in the Mets clubhouse. I explained to him my biggest grip with the team and organization over the last few years  was the “woe is us” attitude from the ownership to the front office to manger, coaches and players where losing was accepted and injuries were used as a crutch. Collins let me know that this will not happen with this team, those days are over. He also said that this will be addressed on day one of spring training.  As with Alderson, the Ollie Castillo question came up and Collins gave the same answer as the GM that both these guys won’t stay on the roster if they cannot produce.  Collins also said that Ollie is on the list of starting pitchers come spring, so if anything the Ollie Castillo question will not be answered until the end of March. Patients Mets fans, patients.

Ike Davis was the first player to talk to us, when asked about Dave Hudgens the new hitting coach, Davis said he was thrilled as Hudgens is an “ASU (Arizona State University) guy and he also very happy that Ken Oberfell will be on the big league staff telling us that playing in Buffalo for Obie was the best baseball experience he’s had.

Carlos Beltran came by and the first impression I got meeting him in person for the first time, was how big he is. He’s very broad in the chest and shoulders so you can see where his gets his power from. He told us his knee feels great and that his has been working out and is ready for spring training. He said the Mets have told him that he is the centerfielder and that he is happy about that but if there is someone in the organization that the club feels is better suited for the position, he has no problem moving to right field. I get the sense that he wants to show he’s a team guy but I can tell he wants to show the skeptics he can still man the middle of the outfield. I asked him, since the knee is feeling better will we see the speed come back, he joked and said that at soon to be 34 years old he can’t run like when he was 24 and then asked me if I can still run when I was 24 (I was the oldest of the group) I laughed and said “I can’t run like I did when I was 44”, we laughed and Carlos said “I’m only kidding with you” like I’d take offense? We bonded Beltran and I get that contract extension ready Sandy!

Jason Bay says he is headache free and has no signs or symptoms from his concussion. He looks fit.  Last season is still gnawing on him and spring training can’t come soon enough to suit him. I asked him how do the players stay below the noise and by that  I mean the extensive media coverage, the talk radio loudmouths, the many bloggers and playing in a city where baseball season is 24/7/365. Bay said that playing in Boston helps with that but he said coming from Pittsburgh to Boston was a definite shock. He said that as professionals they can’t let the outside forces take away their focus.

After entertaining the kids by playing Santa Claus (Marty Noble who was attendance really should have donned that Santa suit he has the physic for the job) David Wright came over to us. I remarked to him “is there anything you won’t do for this organization”? He gave me that patented D-Wright smile and said he will do whatever it takes to help this organization. From talking to Wright, the impression I got was, he’s happy about the regime change. He didn’t say anything specific but the word he used a lot in our conversation was “discipline”.  This is something that Matt Cerrone spoke about on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN show last night, the players in the last few years have felt this sense of entitlement like they didn’t have to prove anything to anyone and that playing for the Mets was like a Supreme Court appointment. That is over and done.   When asked about meeting Sandy Alderson, Wright  again mentioned the discipline aspect of Alderson and how much he respected his baseball resume and just as important his dedicated service to the country. Wright told the group,he sees a lot of his father, a police officer, in Alderson.  Wright also spoke of Collins and again this is just me speculating, I don’t think David was a big fan of Jerry Manuel . Wright mentioned how Collins is a motivator and will instill (that word again ) discipline. My take is that the clubhouse has been dominated by a bunch of players who feel they are on scholarship when all they are, are walk-ons.  From listening to Wright it seems it the Mets were overdue for this change in management.

For more on the day at Citi Field with the Mets check out the great job that Rob Castellano of Amazin’ Avenue did in putting together a great video recap of the interviews.

Back when I started doing this blog eight years ago, I was envious of the bloggers at a now defunct site Elephants in Oakland who wrote about the Oakland A’s as they were given an audience with Billy Beane.  As we all know the A’s under Alderson and Beane were the most progressive of front offices. The same thing when Theo Epstein  took over the Red Sox and Paul DePodesta ran the Dodgers. Here I was as a Mets fan stuck with Joe McIllvaine a GM who much better fitted for a head scout or head of minor league development, Al “The Empty Suit” Harrazin, Steve “Lively Libido” Phillips, Jim “Never Had A Chance” Duquette and Omar “See Joe Mcillvaine Description” Minaya running my favorite team, turning a blind eye to present and future of baseball management.  When I knew that the Minaya regime was ready for over throw, the first name on my wish list was Sandy Alderson and ownership came to its senses and hired him and not only Alderson but his top lieutenants Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi. To the average everyday Mets fan, who gets his Mets news from fish wraps and entertainers on talk radio, they don’t get the excitement of this new regime that resonates from those of us who sit on our laptops all day wondering you will manger Appalachian League Kingsport Mets but in due time they will.  All the bitching and moaning about not signing a big ticket free agent is off base, this front office may be the best free agent signings in Mets history.

Posted under Uncategorized

Join me on Tuesday November 23^rd at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on BLOG TALK RADIO. My guest will be Doug Gladstone, author of the book “A Bitter Cup of Coffee, How MLB and The Players Association Threw 874 Retirees a Curve and former Mets outfielder George “The Stork” Theodore.

We will discuss MLB and the MLB Players Association not vesting players who played in the big leagues prior to 1980 to pension and medical benefits given to players now who play just one game in the big leagues. George Theodore is just one of those players affected by this injustice.

I’ll be discussing this issue with Doug and George and also talk to Theodore about his days with the NY Mets.

If you can’t join us live, you can always here the show on our show page on Blog Talk Radio or right here on Kranepool Society (lower right side bar) or download the show on iTunes.

Posted under Uncategorized

I feel bad for Texas Rangers 3^rd Base coach Dave Anderson who was called for touching a runner at third base to end yesterday’s Twins 6-5 win over the Rangers.

I had the same exact call called out on me this season while managing my 14-15 year old team. I had a runner at 2^nd 2 outs down 1 run as well but this was in the 4^th inning. The runner was my first baseman who at 14yrs old is about 2 inches taller than my 6 ft frame. The area around the third base coaches box (this is like the minors where the manager also coaches 3^rd base) does not have a lot of ground as you are up against a chain link fence in very tight foul territory.

We get a solid base hit to RF and I know my runner has very good speed and is tall so he has long strides so as soon as the ball goes over first base, my arm is moving like one of those wind turbines as I want the runner from 2^nd to score but I also keep an eye on my batter/runner to see if can get from 2^nd to 3^rd. My runner on 2^nd gets a great secondary lead and his charging like a linebacker to 3^rd. He then make an extreme wide turn where I have to make like the old linesman in the NHL before plexy glass was installed on the boards and I try to leap up on the fence but I wasn’t fast enough and we clip each other. Right away the field umpire calls out.

And of course I go ape shit. Now the two umpires know me and do a lot of my games so they know I don’t usually go all Billy Martin over calls but this one had me in a rage. The home plate ump grabs me and says “ Steve, calm down, calm down you know better than any one what the rule is” I sure do. Rule 7.09 (h) of the MLB rule book states:

It is interference by the runner when:

In the judgment of the umpire, the base coach at third base or first base, by touching or holding the runner physically assists him in returning to or leaving third base or first base

The key here is the judgment of the umpire and in my case and Rangers 3^rd base Coach Dave Anderson’ case we both got screwed by the umpire. In my case I was trying not to get run over by my runner and I made every attempt to get out his way. In Anderson’s case from the video it looked like he had his arms out to get out of the way of the runner, Michael Young but Angle Marquez in his (bad) judgment call Young out.

Twins TV voice John Gordon keeps saying over and over that “the rule is the rule” the rule is not set in stone it’s the umpires judgment and in my case and Dave Anderson case the umpires used bad judgment

Posted under Uncategorized

I had the pleasure last night to attend a presentation at Bloomberg headquarters  by Bloomberg Sports,  updating those of us in attendance, on the new features that have been added to their baseball analytical application and the unveiling of their Fantasy Football application. I came away quite impressed with both products.

Bloomberg Sports is really making a name for itself when it comes to statistical applications dealing with baseball and the football program, which is in pre-production, should be just as compelling to fantasy sports players, fans and media types alike.  

The first presentation of the evening was a detailed look at the analytical program that Bloomberg Sports has made available to all 30 MLB teams. Part of the presentation dealt with the batter/pitcher match up, where every pitch a pitcher has thrown to that batter is broken down to pitch type, pitch location, velocity, and the break of each pitch. There are pie charts that record what pitch type the pitcher has thrown in every conceivable count.   As an added bonus, you can click on each individual at bat in the batter/pitcher confrontation and see video of the at bat. The pitcher/batter used in last night’s demo was a Stephen Strasburg/Lastings Milledge matchup where ahead in the count to LMillz, Strasburg broke off a hellacious curve ball that Milledge’s initial reaction was the pitch was coming up and in or him and as he was bailing, the ball broke right over home plate for strike three. STUNNING!!!!!

For fans, Bloomberg uses the technology to help you win your fantasy league, in fact when you subscribe to the Bloomberg Sports application, you can sync your team into the app and have Bloomberg’s extensive stats and analysis show you the pluses and minuses of your team.

The Fantasy Football package will work the same but right now if you play Fantasy Football on NFL.com, the Bloomberg stat package will be included in the price of the game. If you wish to purchase the app separately (if you play on Yahoo or ESPN) it will cost you a very reasonable $7.95.

Both application are well worth it for fantasy players and non-fantasy players alike.

Posted under Uncategorized

Not much in the way of Mets news but I guess we’ve all seen that Don Wakamatsu has been fired as Mariners manager,(but still has his career in Rap to fall back on) and Jerry Manuel lives on as the lamest of lame duck skippers. I see where Manuel now wants to sit Carlos Beltran who is not very happy about it. I guess he can’t tell jokes and juggle like Jeff Francoeur who persuade Manuel to give him more playing time. Maybe learn guitar Carlos and then serenade the ’Gangsta’ .

I agree here with Mathew Cerrone, Beltran needs to play but he needs to bat lower in the order and maybe move over to RF for now and let Angel Pagan play CF.

A fan is suing the Mets, MLB, Luis Castillo and just about anyone else he can fit on a legal brief for Castillo’s bat breaking and entering the stands and hitting this guy in the kisser. Who knew balsa wood could be so dangerous.  I bet this guy was either on his cell phone waving to a camera or just not paying attention. Sorry no litigation money for you!

Yesterday the Y-D Red Sox exploded for 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning against the Orleans Firebirds in the first game of the best of three East Semi-Finals on the way to an un Cape League 23-10 win. Red Sox first baseman Jordan Ribera who has a thick lower torso that generates a big power swing, homered twice in the bottom of the first and just missed a third home run in the eighth inning. I’m trying to finagle my way over to Orleans for game two tonight at 7PM

Posted under Uncategorized

Have you ever daydreamed during a cold winter day while at work about your plans for the summer? Say take a trip to Europe or pack up the family and head to Disney World? Well, yesterday Freddy Skill Sets gave you on place you may want to cross off next summer’s destination, Citi Field.

Freddy Skill Sets has turned into a real recluse without the unkempt look . Yesterday up at Storrs CT where he was announcing that UCONN will now be the home of Huskies basketball and football (which means for the first time since it’s inception I’ll watch SNY in the winter) and when reporters questions him about his floundering baseball team, Freddy turned into a real Mr. Cranky Pants.  He lets the world know that Omar is safe and that his son Jeffey is doing a great job running the organization. Something tells me Ol’ Freddy was of his medication yesterday.  But I have to thank him because now I can think about  that trip I’ve wanted to make to California to go from San Francisco to LA next summer since there won’t be any reason to go to Citi Field next year.

The Cape Cod League playoffs start today and I’ll be at Yarmouth-Dennis (Y-D) for their game against the Harwich Mariners.  It’s best to get down to the field early and plant your chair in a good spot as the game tonight could draw a good 3,000 to 5,000 fans.

If MLB doesn’t do something to straighten out their umpires one of them is going to get the living shit beat out of them by a player, coach, manager or a fan running on the field. No joke here, I’m fucking serious.

Posted under Uncategorized