Last night I attended the media hour before the Thurman Munson Dinner to benefit AHRC of New York. Among the many guest invited to the event were Mets Daniel Murphy and R.A. Dickey and a surprise guest that I chatted with, former Met Carlos Delgado.

In talking to Murphy he has to be the most optimistic person of Irish ancestry I’ve ever met.  As you can hear in this clip, Murphy feels the Mets can contend in the NL East and beyond.  He also speaks of the work he has to do in order to play 2^nd base this season and the fact that he has been working out with the cooperation of the fine weather in his hometown of Jacksonville Florida .

After Murphy, R.A. Dickey was made available to us for a Q & A session and of course R.A. was in fine form with thoughtful answers about his climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, his hope that Johan Santana can come back and reclaim his spot as Ace of the pitching staff and his pragmatic view of the upcoming season for the Mets in a very tough NL East as you can here is this clip and this clip.

After talking to both Dickey and Murphy, I thought about all the angst and anger of Mets fans over this off season towards ownership of the team. I thought about all those who say they won’t come out to Citi Field as they feel it’s a show of support of the Wilpon’s.  To those fans I say, I feel sorry for you. While talking to Dickey and to Murphy , the thought came to me that I can’t wait for the season to begin because I can’t wait to root for both these guys as they are more than worthy of positive support.

Murph is the guy who blocks out the negativity. When the media scrum dispersed from the group Q & A, I was lucky enough to hang around and got to talk to him one on one (I turned off the recorder because I just wanted to have casual conversation) and one topic we discussed was the negativity of the organization from a segment of the media and the fan base and does that negativity ever creep into the clubhouse. He told me it doesn’t because the manager, who I believe Murph has tremendous respect for, would never allow it and he also felt that the guys in the clubhouse are united in such a way that “woes is us” would never make it past the outside clubhouse door.

From Dickey I get a guy who is very confident in his ability and seems to have grown as a big league pitcher but the days of struggle are always in the forefront of his mind. Where Murph seems to be the half full guy, I wouldn’t say that Dickey is a glass half empty guy but more of a realist who has been around a while and knows the score.

A pleasant surprise of the evening was running into Carlos Delgado who looks in great shape (dare I say The best shape of his life?) and was quite gracious in giving me a portions of his time to talk about the Mets of the present and his experience as a Met and playing in New York in this clip.

When I was done talking to Murphy and Dickey I went over to the refreshment table to grab a bottle of water, it was there I met up with legendary  St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca, who was on hand to present an award to Chris Mullin at the dinner. Again I didn’t have my recorder on as my conversation with the Coach was more a casual deal than an interview.  He told me about having dinner with John Franco on Monday night and how happy he was that the Mets will honor him on June 3 with induction into the Mets Hall of Fame. It was easy to see the love and pride Carnesecca has for Franco, the coach then asked me if I thought Franco would get into Cooperstown, I was as diplomatic as could be in saying it would be very tough. I went on to tell the coach about my wedding day and how happy I was there was a TV in the limousine, as I’m seen and heard in our wedding video wanting to watch St. Johns-Auburn second round NCAA Tournament game.  Carnesecca laughed and then said “Jesus, you remember that game”? He then asked me to sit down with him and talk about basketball. That was quite an honor.

Now that we have the holidays out of the way, we can now look forward to spring training for what should be quite the interesting Mets season.

Eric Simon of Amazin’ Avenue had an interesting post today on how bad will the Mets be in 2012? Of course the number one item on his list of things that will impact the season is the Skill Sets financial situation, something that will most likely overshadow what goes on, on the field but Simon also touches on the health and availability of Johan Santana, the hitting of Jason Bay and David Wright and where the offensive production lost from Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes will come from.

So my question to you my loyal readers, what is your expectation for the Mets this coming season? What is a realistic expectation of this team and what will be their standing in the NL East, a division that could be up for grabs if the reports of Prince Fielder signing with Washington are true. Can you see anything short of a last place finish in the division? Right now, I can’t.

Where do you see Johan Santana this season? For me, I’d be surprised if we see Santana pitch for the Mets before June.

What to do with David Wright? Wright is not a player, right now that could realistically bring back a treasure trove of young talent but what if he is invigorated by good health and more friendly dimensions of Citi Field and puts up a .300/.380/.500 line with 15-17 HR’s and 75-80 + RBI by the All-Star break, do you keep him and hope a new owner comes in with cash to re-sign him or is the lure of young robust baseball players to tempting to turn down in a trade?  I’m still undecided on this one but I am leaning towards a deal if the Mets get back a blue ribbon prospect or a young Major Leaguer under club control.

When I go to opening day at Citi Field, who else will be there? If you are a true blue Mets fan and having been going to Mets games your whole life I can’t see how now you decide to sit this season out. No one has a right to tell you how to spend your time or money but as Boggy said, “a hot dog at a ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz”. So true, I mean today when I left for work I had on a sweater, coat, scarf and wool hat. You know what? That sucks. I want to wear shorts and t-shirt and have a scorecard in my hand. I have made peace with myself that the Mets will not be very good this season to the point that 100 losses would not shock me. However, there is still a part of me that small sliver of Mets fan naivete` that still has me holding out hope that this season could be full of surprises and I want to be there to enjoy them.  I know all the die-hards will be out at Citi Field on Thursday April 5^th at 1:10PM, will you be there? If not tell me why not?

It’s funny the other teams I root for in other sports are playing at a level where they are contenders for championships in their respective leagues but it’s the Mets that are on my mind the most  and my biggest concern. Crazy shit eh?

Call me a cynic but I think the reason the Mets responded with a big win last night was they realized that Terry Collins has more job security than they do. Of all the players and coaches, Collins is the only one assured to be back in 2012. How often does that happen in pro sports? Not often.

So Carlos Beltran is recruiting Jose Reyes to the Giants? Does that fall under tampering? So if Reyes signs with the Giants, #BlameBeltran

Also according to the Phink Phrom Philly a/k/a Jayson Stark, Sandy Alderson will take a hard line stance with Reyes’ agent as he won’t be jerked around when it comes to talking contract. Makes me guess that Alderson has a deadline in place when he either signs Reyes or lets him and he won’t let himself or the Mets become a tool in a bidding war.

Are we in the mist of the resurrection of Jason Bay’s career? Besides his great catch last night, Bay has had a month we never thought we’d see from him as he has put up a line of .288/.370/.513. By the way, who said Canadians can’t jump?

BOOKMARK ALERT!!!! Taryn Cooper a/k/a COOP has a new website with the one of the great titles in the history of the internet A Gal For All Seasons.

I agree 100 % with Terry Collins that Luis Castillo should have gotten to camp early since his job is on the line. You would think a guy who the majority of Mets fans look at with distain and a big part of the failures of past management knowing that there are three guys lining up every morning in St Lonesome, auditioning for the manager to be the next Mets 2^nd base Idol. No matter which side of the Castillo fence you fall on, every Mets fan has to agree that at this stage of his baseball career, Castillo cannot just waltz into camp with a cavalier attitude that was tolerated in years past in this organization.  Whereas Castillo would have been met with and hug and a laugh by management in the past he will now be greeted with a “Where the fuck have you been”? It’s about time.

My doubts about Terry Collins are starting to lessen. When I met him at the Mets Christmas Party the first questioned I had for him was about getting this team to be more aggressive and passionate and to stop being patsies for the division. I told Collins in my opinion, every team in the NL East thinks of the Mets as a bunch of chumps, how do you change that mind set? Collins assured me that was one of the first things he wanted to change. He tried not to disparage his predecessor but he said he agreed with me about the team allowing the opposition to intimate them and it will be a big part of his job to change that immediately.  From reading John Harper’s story today, it looks like Collins has started his one for all all for one campaign:

Indeed, the new manager of the Mets thinks it’s important to instill some toughness, some brothers-in-arms spirit, in his ballclub. Remember the famous Chase Utley take-out slide of Ruben Tejada last September? The one the Mets took without retaliation?

Collins wouldn’t have stood for such a passive response.

“In Philly there would have been a fight,” he said Friday, “no doubt about it.”

Collins made it clear he wasn’t looking to criticize Jerry Manuel when I asked him Friday how he would have handled such a situation. In fact, he said a manager always walks a fine line on such matters, as not all players respond well to being put in a position where retaliation is expected.

“But there’s still an unwritten code about how to protect your teammates,” Collins said. “So I do believe in situations like that, there’s a right way to handle it.

“And that’s something that starts right here in spring training. That’s going to be part of my message on Monday when I speak to the team. We’re going to bring a team together and we’re going to watch each other’s backs.”

Most jobs are not that much different from sports teams when it comes to problem players/workers. There are always coaches/supervisors who feel they can take someone else’s problem or malcontent and turn them into a productive member of the organization.  But then there are exceptions and if this case with the Mets that exception is Oliver Perez.

In today’s NY Post, Kevin Kernan writes about OP not joining the early campers club in St Lonesome. So here we are on the eve of the official opening of camp and Oliver Perez is the lead in a Mets story and of course it’s of a negative nature. Everything  is of a negative nature when it comes to Perez.

It all started on July 30,2006. The Mets had just finished a sweep of the Atlanta Braves on the road to bring their record to 63-41 and a hard to believe 13 ½ game lead in the NL East. Mets management and fans had visions of the post season and of parades and tons of World Series memorabilia for us to waste our discretionary income on.  Man, we Mets fans were living the high baseball life until Duaner Sanchez decided he just HAD to have some rice and beans when he hit Miami, so he hopped in a cab with some friends and a drunk driver crashed into the cab and Dirty Duaner wrecked his shoulder and the Mets season. With the trade deadline that day, Omar Minaya in a state of panic dealt of productive Xavier Nady to the Pirates for Roberto Hernandez who would fill nicely in the bullpen. In order to get Hernandez though, the Mets had to take Perez as well.

Perez had his good moments like game 4 of the 2006 NLCS and was very good in 2007 but injuries and ineffectiveness took it’s toll on Perez’ velocity on his fastball and the bad Ollie from Pittsburgh came back to haunt the Mets.  The big debate after the 2008 season was should the Mets re-sign Perez or go for Derek Lowe.  Another deal gone wrong.

Perez, as well as Luis Castillo, are the remains of the failure of Omar Minaya. The more Mets fans see both these players the more they are reminded of the failures of the last administration.  If the Alderson regime is serious about a change in philosophy and in restoring responsibility and accountability back to the franchise, they need to give both Perez and Castillo their release. Both players are untradeable and there is no way in the world either player is making this team.

The organization is having a tough time business wise. Even without the Wilponzi scandal, the Mets would have a tough time selling tickets and finding people to believe the organization is moving forward.  The Mets can come up with exotic ticket plans but the bottom line is if you want the fans believe that winning is paramount and that is not business as usual when it comes to player development and competing for jobs, send them a sign, tell Ollie and Luis to stay home and let them know check is in the mail.

The NY Times has a couple of interesting items pertaining to the Wilponzi’s and Citi Field. The cost of a trial between Madoff victim trustee Irving Piccard and the Skill Sets could put the Freddy and Uncle Saul into financial ruin but so could an out of court settlement. Either way the Skill Sets are fucked it’s just a matter of which way will be less painful.

The Citi Field story is hilarious as the author thinks this would be a good time to drop the Citi name and the millions that come with it, and rename it Shea Stadium. A real nice thought but with the Skill sets hurtin’ for dough it will never ever happen. In fact don’t be surprised the Champions Club is not renamed the Medellin Club.

Back in December when I attended the Mets Holiday Party, I got to speak to David Wright. As I wrote back then, it seemed that Wright was happy for the change in leadership in the front office and the manager’s office.  He didn’t come out and say it but from the conversation you could tell there was no accountability in the clubhouse amongst the players and the manager, knowing he was out of a job mailed it in that last two months of the season. Wright even said that so far in his Mets career “I only have one NL East Championship and that is not enough” No one can question Wright’s work ethic on and off the field for the Mets and it seems like he is ready to be an ally to Terry Collins and sell his style and message. From reading stories today, Wright also seems to be ready to throw his veteran weight around in the clubhouse. Why not, the understated way of doing things hasn’t worked so with managerial backing, Wright may be ready to step up as the team’s vocal leader. That doesn’t mean being a “rah-rah “ guy it means getting guys to work harder and also take responsibility in the wins and losses and getting his teammates to sharpen their focus.  

Ed Marcus (a/k/a Rusty Jr) continues his series of the Top 50 Mets of All Time with Number 29 David Cone. The Cone for Ed Hern deal is one of the all-time steals in baseball history. Cone was a lighting rod on and off the field for the Mets as Ed points out in his piece.

The Mets have hired 48 year old Brad Andress as their new strength and conditioning coach. In reading Andress’ bio, it’s interesting to see that he assisted Clint Hurdle when he was with the Rockies in travel scheduling and administrative duties. I’d bet that Andress will do the same with the Mets since that was part of Charlie “Make Me An Offer” Samuels tasks when he wasn’t  pilfering the Mets clubhouse.   

I could definitely live with Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg of the Canarsie Sternberg’s buying the Mets. This is so good it will never happen. My biggest fear is that M. Donald Grant has some grandchildren running around from a love child he had with Joan Payson with a robust trust fund and ends up buying the Mets. (Tip of the Mets cap to Metsblog for the link to Cork Gaines story)

Join me tonight at 11PM ET as I host Baseball Bloggers Alliance- Baseball Talk on Blog Talk Radio. My guest will be Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley. Bill and I will discuss the Philadelphia Phillies off season and look at who will be the Phillies chief competition in the NL East.

We will also discuss the upcoming results of the Hall of Fame voting as we talk about who we voted and did not vote for in the latest BBA Hall of Fame Election.

If you can’t join is live, then check out the podcast on our show page on Blog Talk Radio.

Doesn’t 2006 seem like eon’s ago? Think about it, just four years ago the NY Mets were the NL East Champs and we Mets fans felt this was the beginning of a long prosperous run. Boy, were we wrong. Somehow, someway the organization has lost its focus and in turn has lost the trust of the fan base. As much as I enjoyed watching the Mets Hall of Fame induction ceremonies yesterday and the fact that the HOF and museum at Citi Field is exceptional and no one loves the history of this franchise more than I do, but it’s time to put that energy of bringing back the past, and move it towards building a solid organization for the future.

Quite frankly, I couldn’t care less who the next Mets HOF inductee will be and whose number could or should be retired or what kind of promotional days should be added to the schedule. I want the focus of ownership to be on building a minor league system that is the envy of baseball. I want the ownership to prove to me their not destitute by going over slot on draft picks they believe are worthy of such a contract. I want ownership to bring in the best and brightest executives in baseball to run this team and turn it into a perennial pennant contender. I want ownership to get rid of the deadwood on the roster.

I’ll be back at Citi Field a few more times this summer because I’m an addicted to the Mets and to baseball (Wednesday I went to Mets-Cards, Friday I was at SI Highlanders-Connecticut Tigers, tonight I’m going to Brooklyn Cyclones-Hudson Valley Renegades, Wednesday morning I leave for 10 days on Cape Cod just in time for the Cape Cod League Playoffs. If the Red Sox were home there would be a side trip to Boston for a game at Fenway as well oh yeah this on top of coaching baseball from the end of March to the end of July ) but guys like me are few and far between. It’s time for the Skill Sets to get their house in order and change the culture of this organization fast, this will be the most important off season in Flushing since the Wilpon/Doubleday ownership take over. The Skill Sets have to see a change of philosophy is needed. They can’t be that ignorant can they? Can they?

James Kannengieser at Amazin Avenue has his Five Ways to Improve The Mets and I’m sure we all agree on these each of them. What I can’t understand is this, when it comes to Toxic Ollie and The Late Luis Castillo what is the justification from ownership for not cutting both of them loose? Isn’t there anyone in these organizational meeting with a pair of balls to stand up and tell Jeffey Skill Sets it’s time to put the team ahead of the ledger sheet? Does Jeffey understand how much respect he would gain from the fan base if he came out and did a mass release of Perez, Castillo, Francoeur and Cora? Then tell the fans this is just the beginning of the organizational purge. Ah who am I kidding Jeffey Skill Sets is fucking gutless.

The Mets Police is now The A’s Police. Back in the mid 70’s when the Mets were awful, I was infatuated with the Cincinnati Reds Big Red Machine. I even subscribed the Reds Alert which was a weekly fan mag. So now through the great MLB Extra Innings package, I’ve been watching the Reds as they fight the Cardinals for the top spot in the NL Central. Maybe I’ll change this site into the Ed Armbrister Society. 

One the great mysteries of the 201 0season is the astonishing difference between the Mets playing at home and what happens to them away from Queens. At home the Mets are the best team in baseball winning 22 of 31 in the spacious confines on $iti Field but away from home they’re as homesick as a first time summer camper going 8-18. Just think, if the Mets went 12-14 on the road their record would be 34-23 and in first place in the NL East. If they went 14-12 on the road that would have put them at 36-21 and not only in first place in the NL East but the best record in the NL. Go figure?

Why is this? Well, last night I had the pleasure of joining Pat Nestor on NYB Blog Live on Blog Talk Radio and one of the subjects we discussed was why is it that the Mets are studs at home and duds on the road. Pat and I both felt that Mets batters when they go into places like Cincinnati or Philly see the smaller dimensions and feel they can get their swing on in those hitters ball parks, where as at home the batters have come to the realization that hitting to the gaps are the way to go so maybe it’s the radical change in hitting philosophy that hurts them on the road. Just a theory. 

While on the subject of radio, tomorrow night at 10PM ET on This Call To The Bullpen on Blog Talk Radio my guest will be Shannon Shark of The Mets Police. No black caps or jerseys allowed, proper Blue and Orange attire only.

You know worlds are colliding when I agree with Bill Madden who took Fredi Gonzalez to task for some curious in game managing yesterday and then pointing out that one time around the block with Hisanori Takahashi is good the second and third time not good at all, back to the pen with you Mr. T.

I have no idea who the Mets will draft tonight in the First-Year Player Draft but I just hope with the 7^th pick the club takes the best player available slotting, be damned. I’m just hoping the Skill Sets with the cozy friendship with the Used Car Salesman don’t have a deal in place where they do not go over slot in exchange for a sign off from the Commissioners Office on the Ollie Perez “injury” (ouch! Something in my eye) The consensus pick for the Mets by the way is Zack Cox a solid hitting infielder from Arkansas.

With all the talk about finding an 8^th inning reliever how about calling the Astros to deal Matt Lindstrom to the Mets?  Lindstrom’s been closing for the ‘Stros which is waste of his talent and that fastball/slider would be a fine compliment to Frankie Rodriguez and his 1,001 variations of pitches.

I spent the day at Coney Island yesterday eating food I have no business eating but the strangest sight of the day (and on Coney Island it takes a super human effort to be strange) were four people sitting next to us at Nathan’s (I need to know if they serve Nathan’s fries with cheese and bacon in heaven or hell so I know to either clean up my act if they’re served in heaven or continue my evil ways if they’re served in hell) were four the ugliest looking family of white trash decked out in Philadelphia Flyers garb. I wanted to ask them what the fuck they were doing here in Coney Island but I didn’t want to ruin my appetite.

What is it about a baseball that makes people lose their mind? I’ve been going to baseball games since I’m 6 years old and I have never caught a foul ball at a game, and I couldn’t care less if I ever did. Same thing with the stupid t-shirt toss, I have more t-shirts than an adult middle aged man should own so why would I risk breaking an arm or a leg for a t-shirt that reads Pepsi Party Patrol on it but people do.

Oh yeah, I want this with my Nathan’s Fries with cheese and bacon. I hope that goes on in hell too

A very busy Memorial Day weekend continues, first it was a trip to the Staten Island Homeport for Fleet Week and a visit on the battleships in port, then yesterday it was chillin’ and grillin’ in the backyard and today my family is honored to march in the Staten Island Memorial Day parade as both my kids will be flag bearers and then off to another barbeque. How can anyone like winter over summer ? I dread heading to work tomorrow for the fact I have to wear real pants and a shirt, I could be extremely happy spending the rest of my life in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops.

Take time out of your busy weekend to give a thought about the brave men and women of our military who have put their lives on the line for us and for our country and if there is a parade in your area today try to get out to it and show your support for those who have given the supreme sacrifice.

I’m not happy with just one win in Milwaukee this weekend, if this Mets team would have gone 11-12 on the road, to go with that great home record of 19-9 that’s 30-21 overall just a shade under .600 ball and in 1^st place in the NL East. Now it’s on to the 1^st place SD Padres and their top ranked pitching staff, 2 out of 3 here for the Mets would be sweet.

At some point Jeffey Skill Sets has to have a sit down with Ollie Perez and Scott Boras to get Perez to go to Buffalo. I’m sure Perez’ teammates are not happy by his selfishness and me attitude but when the team comes back home this weekend, just the sight of Perez at the ballpark will set off an ugly reaction by the fans. Jerry Manuel said in so many words that it would take a disastrous situation before he calls Perez on the bullpen phone so really Ollie man up and go to Buffalo.

Fernando Tatis was in the lineup for Ike Davis yesterday and batted clean up. That’s worse that the other Manuel line up staple of whoever plays 2^nd must bat 2^nd.  Do any of the other coaches go to Jerry and say enough is enough with these ridiculous lineup he puts together ?

If my vote means anything I vote YES on brining Dontrelle Willis to the Mets.

There is nothing sadder than seeing a house without an American flag outside of it especially on a holiday like Memorial Day.