Well the honeymoon between me and the Mets have hit its first rocky spot.  I don’t know whose ideas this was but it was beyond bad.  Instead of making lame video’s mocking BREAKING NEWS on SNY (please Kevin Burkhardt, tell me there was a rifle pointed at you as the reason you agreed to do this commercial) how about lowering the price of tickets and making some different ticket packages with decent discounts as a way to sell tickets. Oh even better , show a video of construction workers taking out the seats behind the plate that no one sits in and replacing them with a nice hard plastic seat, the kind YOUR REAL FAN BASE likes to park it’s ass in.

2yrs/$8mil for Pedro Feliciano? Congrats to you Perpetual Pedro for committing that heist.  Pee Wee Cashman has been exposed so far this off season, proving his can only strength as a GM is throwing stupid money at players. If I’m Andy Petitte, I ask for $30 Mil and a private plane that brings me home after my start and back again a day before my next one , odds are Pee Wee will give in.

I can’t believe I didn’t mention this week that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally got two things right. First, they finally voted Darlene Love into the Hall, an honor that was waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy overdue, then they denied Bon Jovi induction honors. That dreck that Bon Jovi spews is NOT Rock and Roll.

R.I.P. Don Van Vilet a/k/a Captain Beefheart

Let’s hope that Ollie Perez keeps up his sucky ways and gets his overdue release.

Can we please close the chapter of the Omar Minaya era. There is no need to give him a job in the organization just cut the check. The new administration talks about not being hamstrung in releasing people who are owed money, so prove it Omar, OP and Castillo need to go.

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From the looks of things, Sandy Alderson and his staff seem anxious to get to Orlando and baseball’s Winter Meetings but  he won’t be bringing home any high end gifts to Mets fans. There will be no diamond studded Mickey Mouse watches coming our way, maybe a sweatshirt or t-shirt or two, nothing extravagant but more sensible.

No doubt the Mets will float the names Beltran, Reyes and Rodriquez during the cocktail parties and lobby loitering they will be doing so who knows, maybe the foundation for a blockbuster will be laid down but it seems like the Mets will wait until all the big pieces land before looking at the C and D list of free agents.

I like the honesty of Sandy Alderson when he states the fact that this team as is will be “competitive” and refrains from blowing smoke up the fan base’ ass that this team is a pennant contender. If that bothers you then you as a Mets fan need to grow up and realize the days of hearing fairy tales from the GM’s office are over.  I like the fact that this front office doesn’t listen to the fan base when it comes to personnel decisions. That was the big failure of the last regime, they tried too hard to keeps us happy, well fuck our happiness, just give me competence and a couple of nice t-shirts.

Alderson will meet with Omar Minaya to see where his standing is in the organization. I’ve almost forgotten that Minaya was not fired but re-assigned in his job duties but it he has options and quite frankly I think this sit down is more of how to pay Omar a buyout than a job offer.

Unless some GM loses his mind or gets a serious load on and makes an offer to Alderson for Ollie Perez, it looks as though OP will make it to St. Lonesome so the GM can observe him in order to make a decision to keep him or dump him. I guess Alderson’ thinks is I’m going to have to pay this scrub anyway  might as well see if he has any redeeming features  before  I decide his fate.

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Before we get on to anything here today, I must convey my most heartfelt condolence to Sandy Alderson and his family on the passing of his father John, who was killed by a car Saturday night in St. Petersburg while crossing a street. From all the stories I’ve read John Alderson was a ‘young” 87 years old and to be taken from his family like this is a tragedy.  

I guess Clint Hurdle went for the sure thing instead of playing the longshot by taking the Pirates job. Or maybe Hurdle knows something we don’t on who the next Mets manager will be. By the way, if Wally Backman was such a slam dunk as a major league manager how come no other major league team looking for a manager requested Backman come in for an interview? I’m just asking?

(UPDATE: Now I see why Hurdle took the Bucs job and I think you’ll agree with me I hope he’s a success in the Steel City)

So it looks like a two man race between Terry Collins and Bob Melvin and I agree neither guy stirs my passions but I’m willing to let this play out and see if it works. It also looks as if Chip Hale and Tim Teufel  could get coaching spots with the Mets with Backman taking over the helm at Bingo or Buffalo.

Can we just trade F-Mart for a bunch of bats, uniforms and helmets that seem to have gone missing the last few years in Flushing? The one time phenom  was to start yesterday in a Dominican League game but missed his start due to car troubles. No bullshit. CAR TROUBLES!!!! After the news got out about this the team and F-Mart tried to cover his ass by saying there was a miscommunication about his reporting date. Yeah right. I guess Omar Minaya has found a job in the DR running a team as this kind of cover up stinks of the Omar regime.

Speaking of Charlie Samuels, as bad as it is for him to get fired by the Mets and to be looking at criminal charges being filed against him, the worst part could be if convicted and sentenced to do time, Charlie would have to wear orange every day. Maybe Samuels could share a cell with Bernie Madoff in the Crimes Against The Skill Sets wing of prison

Adam Rubin has a long Q & A with David Wright getting his take on the past and present of the club.

I wish the Mets had a guy like Amare Stoudemire the last few years who would call out his underachieving teammates like Amare did last night. Could be Stoudemire is pissed that LeBron and D-Wade picked Chris Bosh over him to a BFF?

NON-METS: I see where the Fishsticks have fired coach Scott Gordon as the team is doing a swirlie of their season with a 10 game losing streak. Gordon should be relieved to be relieved of his coaching duties. Isn’t it time Gary Betmann and the hierarchy of the NHL seriously think about contracting the Icelanders and a few other teams from the league? The Icelanders play in a dump of an arena (the place is filthy and many of the seats are broken and ripped) and only sell tickets when the regal Rangers come to Uniondale. Take the Isles, Blue Jackets, Panthers, Coyotes, Lighting, Predators and Thrashers and either contract them or merge them a la the Minnesota North Stars/Cleveland Barrons in 1978 and make two teams and put one in Winnipeg and the other in Quebec City.

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SNY is announcing that Paul DePodesta (DePo) has joined the New York Mets front office as Vice President of Player Development and Amature Scouting .

Seriously Mets fans did you ever think we’d see the day when out beloved baseball team would enter (GULP!) the 21st Century. Yeah, Omar Minaya is going to stay on in the organization HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!  

So what do we call this new SUPERGROUP of baseball minds running the Mets ? The Traveling Alderson’s ? Those Crooked Skill Sets? How about the JUSTICE LEAGUE of FLUSHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Mike Francesa just shat his pants!

So does this mean Terry Collins will be the Mgr.

I ain’t bored anymore folks!

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Take out that Mets jacket.  Bend the brim of your Mets cap. Start putting some cash away to buy tickets to the 2011 season, my fellow Mets fans  WE ARE BACK!!!!!!!!

Our suffering summer has been replaced by a spectacular autumn. This has been the best October the Mets have had in 24 years.  First the Highlanders and Phuck Phaces went down in flames.  Then the cretins of the Mall of the South Bronx have been exposed by Mrs. Cliff Lee who was subjected to taunts, thrown objects and general fan disobedience to the point that Pee Wee Cashman better rethink putting all his eggs in a Cliff Lee free agent basket. Then the news today that CC Sabathia’s knees have given up holding up all that girth to the point his meniscus ripped, you had to wonder if the baseball gods decided that we Mets fans have had enough penance and are now due a reward.

The adults of the Skill Sets family have taken to bring back credibility, accountability and authority by naming Sandy Alderson as the new GM of the New York Mets. The pride in Flushing has returned.

Maybe I’m going a bit overboard on the Alderson hiring but I can’t hide my giddiness. Sandy Alderson was the name that first popped into my head when it was a fait accompli that Omar Minaya was done as the baseball boss. It just made so much sense to hire Alderson, the man had everything that was needed to bring back the respect this organization has lacked for years.

There is a segment of Mets fans who wanted the young hipster type of GM and I’d have had no problem with that but in Alderson you get the Mr. Myiagi of baseball execs. Alderson was baseball analytical before baseball analytical was cool. Billy Beane, Theo Epstein and Paul DePodesta (a name to keep an eye on Mets fans as he could be brought in to the Alderson Cabinet) all learned the trade from Alderson.

This hiring also sends word to fan base that the days of Little Jeffey meddling in adult decisions are over. A man of Alderson’ resume and stature in baseball did not take this job to have a no nothing like Jeffey lurk over his shoulder. This is Freddy and Uncle Saul putting Jeffey in the time out chair.

It looks as if Friday will be the day that Alderson will enjoy his day in the sun at Citi Field for his inaugural presser and I can’t wait to hear what his plan of attack is. It’s nice to have a guy in charge that has a plan, we haven’t had that around here since the days of Frank Cashen.

The biggest decision Alderson will have will be to name a manager. A majority of Mets fans want Wally Backman to get the job and I would count myself as a Backman supporter.  From reading this post from Mike Silva’ NY Baseball Digest, Backman could be exactly the guy Alderson is looking for. Backman has no problem being a manager that carries out the organizational orders from the GM. From reading the quotes in Silva’s post, Backman to me, looks like a strong choice for manager.

That discussion will be now on the front burner and I have a ton of faith that whoever Alderson picks he will do his due diligence on that choice. It’s so nice to have someone in charge that makes me feel optimistic that the Mets will be back as one the best teams in baseball.

By Friday the weather in NYC will be what it should be; autumnal so it would be nice is all Mets fans wear their Mets jackets or sweatshirts to celebrate the new day dawning in Flushing as the Alderson Era begins.

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We Mets fans are a very impatient bunch, there are some in the fan base that want the GM job announced and the man for the job to get on with bringing us a championship caliber baseball team NOW!!!!!

I have news for y’all, no matter who gets the job, it’s going to take awhile before we see the seeds of a plan bloom.

The best thing about these interviews/auditions is it will bring a new voice from outside the organization who has no personal ties to anyone from executive to players.  I’ve always felt one of Omar Minaya’s biggest flaws was employing friends (Tony Bernazard) and being pals with players (Alex Cora). The Mets need a guy to come in and tear down that awful wallpaper and toss at the comfortable but falling apart reclining chair and not have a bit of guilt or emotion in doing so.

I will side with the nervous Nellies in our Metsfandom who feel if Sandy Alderson is THE guy for the job and the Skill Sets feel he is THE guy, then hire him. I feel  it’s Alderson’s job, he wants the job, he has the track record to do the job, so give him the damn job already. The only reason I think the Mets are going with more interviews is to find a scouting and player development director as well.

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Join me tonight at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Radio Show on BLOG TALK RADIO. My guest will be Matt Pignataro of 7 Train To Shea. Matt and I will go over the fallout from the dissmissals of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel and give our opinions on the course ownership needs to take to get the Mets back on the winning track.

If you can’t join us live, you can listen to the podcast here at Kranepool Society (lower left side bar)  or at the show page on BLOGTALK RADIO and as a downloaded podcast on iTunes

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So the inevitable happened this afternoon at $iti Field when Freddy and Jeffey Skill Sets put the fan base out of it’s misery by firing Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel. First off, can the MSM put the violins away and give Mets fans a break about the termination of both of these men?  I’ve never seen the media make a fuss over auto workers or teachers losing their jobs like they are about Minaya and Manuel. Minaya is leaving with a $2.5 mil golden parachute and by the way, it looks like Minaya is totally gone from the organization as he stated in his only as Omar can way, that he was offered a position in the org but turned it down as he feels a new GM should pick his own front office. He didn’t rule out a return to the Mets in some capacity but he is free to find employment elsewhere.

Minaya will find a job as a scout or player development person and by the way, I have never seen a guy so happy to get the ax like Minaya, he kept making the goofy grin after answering questions that quite frankly has me wondering if he is either relieved to the get the hell out Flushing or he’s an idiot.

Manuel will be fine as well, he will get a coaching job at a nice Christian school where he can play his Gandhi act with some Evangelical baseball players and they all go out and win one for the Baby Jesus.

With all the tweets I’ve seen on Twitter about telling fans to remember that “these are two good men who lost their jobs” and yada, yada, yada. Spare me the nice guy bullshit.  I’m sick and tired of the lets’ play nice mentality of this organization. Enough of Jeffey and Freddy,  who spewed the same old line of horseshit about how they love this franchise and how Freddy Skill Sets hurts after every defeat, wah, wah, wah cry me a fucking river. I’m sick and tired of talk, as the old saying goes ,if bullshit was electricity, the Mets would be a fucking powerhouse.  Give me a guy like Bill Belichick who is hated by the media because he’s a world class prick, but he is a championship winning world class prick.

Jeffey, Freddy, Uncle Saul and Dave the Shyster, you have no idea how much pain me and my brothers and sisters in Mets fandom feel.  You don’t wear Mets caps or Mets jerseys or jackets and have people say “you’re brave to wear that” I’m not brave you asshole, I’m loyal.  No matter how bad this team is and how badly the $iti Field personnel treat me and the constant urge to stalk Jeffey Skill Sets just to smack the shit out of him, I stick with this team though thick and thin and as a guy rooting for the Mets for 46 years there’s been a whole lot of thin but I still buy tickets, I still wear my Mets regalia with pride and I still stick up for this team when it’s attack by other fans.  I can bitch and moan about this team and organization every day at this site but I still count the days until spring training and the day tickets go on sale and make sure I secure my tickets for opening day. All I ask in return is for the ownership to make an effort to bring in a front office and players who have as much pride in the New York Mets as this fan base does.

I hope the Skill Sets were sincere in the message they portrayed today, that they want a solid GM who is progressive in his approach to building a baseball team. Minaya is a dinosaur whose way of running a baseball team is way in the past; it’s time to get this organization into the 21^st century and use statistics along with scouting to build a solid organization. No more throwing money at players where you’re the only bidder in the auction. No more throwing millions at 30+ year old players who are as washed up as hypodermic needles on the Coney Island sand, no more turning the other cheek , time to step up for your teammates. The next 3-4 weeks may be the most critical in the history of the Mets franchise, let’s just hope we are not here this time three years from now regurgitating all this “we want to win” mantra. Please Skill Sets I’m begging you ,hire a Baseball Czar and let the man/woman whomever, run the baseball ops as they see fit.  Actions speak louder than words Freddy prove me wrong about you and your dopey son, please prove me wrong.

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Getting around the five boros on a sunny day is tough enough but when there is a storm with torrential rain and high winds well it was not fit for man or beast.

I’m off to $iti Field today for the final time this year as part of Pitch For A Good Cause outing. Maybe I’ll get to sign the retirement card for Jerry Manuel and enjoy your new position in the firm card for Omar Minaya .

More later and if your at the event today come by and say hi as this event will be part fundraiser part Irish wake.

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A few nuggets as I pray my roof doesn’t leak tonight, it may be a long, long night on Staten Island:

ITEM: OMAR MINAYA WILL BE FIRED ON MONDAY

Says who? Says Matt Pignataro of 7 Train To Shea that’s who. Matt’s source tell him that Minaya will be relived of his GM duties and WIL NOT be reassigned in the organization. It’s the only move to make. Just pay him and wish him well we’ve got rebuilding to do around here. By the way, Matt will be my guest this Tuesday night Oct 5^th at 10PM ET on THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on BLOG TALK RADIO.

ITEM: WHO STAYS WHO GOES ?

Adam Rubin on ESPNNewYork has a Take ‘Em or Trash ‘Em poll on the website. Some of the more interesting results are 58 % of the voters say to Trash Carlos Beltran. I’m sure the organization would love to move him but how much of his contract would the Mets eat to get Beltran out of town? It will be tough enough to move Beltran due to his salary but now with this lastest flare up with his knee, it could be near impossible. I love how the Mets and Beltran are talking up the fact that the MRI on his knee show that it’s just inflammation and that his knee has healed nicely since the surgery. It seems to me the only thing Mets management and Beltran agree on is they both hate each others guts.

97% say Trash Luis Castillo, my question is who are the 3 % who voted to keep him? Same with the 2% out of 100 % who say keep Oliver Perez.

93 % say David Wright needs t stay and 77 % think Jason Bay will rebound in 2011. The voters also overwhelmingly want The Skill Sets, Omar, and Manuel out of here with a huge negative vote. Oh boy is this going to be one helluva winter!

ITEM: TIKI BARBER NEEDS TO BE PUNCHED IN THE FACE

Yeah I know it’s not Mets related but this bugs the living shit out of me. I despise Tiki Barber, always have while he played for the G-Men as he always came off as a selfish “Me-First” prick and I do not feel he belongs in the NY Giants Ring of Honor. Seems Barber could not take the high road when promoting the unveiling on Sunday night of the Ring of Honor as Big Mouth Tiki trashed Coach Tom Coughlin saying he was losing the team and that Coughlin has to treat people with more respect. A guy who cheated on his pregnant wife giving advise on treating people with respect, WOW what an A-1 scumbag.

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