All of NYC is wrapped up in the Jets run to the Super Bowl (47 % of all the television sets in the Metro NY area were tuned to the Jets-Chargers game Sunday, that’s about 10 mil TV’s WOW!!!) so Mets news is fighting for space in the NY sports media but there is a few items of interest:

If you listen to Pro Baseball Central last Thursday you heard the song Metropolitans that I played to start the show. It’s a punk/garage version of Meet The Mets and it should be the 8^th inning song played at $iti Field. But of course Mets management are tragically un-hip so it won’t happen, but it will be a staple of Pro Baseball Central. Check out the band who wrote and performs the song the 45 Adapters at their website and check out their new EP “Not One More Day”

The Mets are going to Louisiana to checkout the workout of Ben Sheets. There are about a dozen teams looking a Sheets but the Mets may have a bit of an inside track. Sheets’ named his son Seaver after Tom Terrific.

Art Shamsky’ new website is up and running and if you’re a long time Mets fan you’ll enjoy the features on the site.

I would love to have Eric Byrnes on the Mets. A guy off injury who plays balls to the wall type of game that the Mets sorely need and he’s a very good outfielder. But I doubt it will happen. Makes too much sense to sign him.

You may want to clip and save this article, if Jason Bay comes up with a bum knee this season.

Posted under Uncategorized

As you know I made reference to Joe Mc Donald proclaiming on PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL last Thursday that the Mets will be a 90+ win team in 2010. His reasoning was that Oliver Perez will revert to his Good Ollie personality. I did say, it was encouraging news that OP, under the urging of both Scott Boras and Carlos Beltran, has spent the off season in Arizona, training hard to lose both the stigma of bring mentality and physically inept to pitch in the big leagues.

I’ve been looking around at the team as it now is constructed and have tried to make the case for 90 wins. It all starts of course with the pitching staff:

#1 Santana 15-17 wins

#2 Pelf/Joel Piniero/Bronson Arroyo/Aaron Harang/Gil Meche 10-12 wins

#3 Pelf/OP/Maine/Doug Davis/Jon Garland 8-10 wins

#4 one of the above at #3  8-10 wins

#5 Maine/Neise/Neve/Holt/Stoner/(Gulp!) Smoltz 8-10 wins

That comes to 49-59 wins from your starting rotation

Now from the seven relievers you figure will be in the pen:

Frankie Rodz

Ryoto Igarashi

Bobby Parnell

Kelvin Escobar

Sean Green

Pedro Feliciano

Lefty to be named later

You figure you can and average of 4 wins from each. That’s an additional 28 wins, brining my projection to 77 to 87 wins.

Now say I leave the bullpen projection alone but I up the ante on the #2 pitcher to 12-14 wins and the #3 to 10-12 wins, that would put the team’ record between 81-91 wins. Of course all this is predicated on the Mets signing one of the remaining free agent pitchers, of which just Joel Piniero is desirable if he comes cheap or can trade for the one of the Arroyo/Harang/Meche troika.

So what do you think? Am I out of mind thinking there is a way the Mets could be a 90 win team and contend? Am I drinking the Omar/Jeffey Kool Aid? Has Joe Mac brainwashed me?  Or am I just tired of freezing my ass off this winter and dying for spring and summer and baseball season? Could be the cold has made me delirious.

Posted under Uncategorized

Sorry for the lateness of this post but I’m still trying to get over the shock of last nights Pro Baseball Central and Joe McDonald making his case for the Mets to win at least 90 games next year and at the least make the post season the NL Wild Card team. Yes I think we will start having a Breathalyzer on hand for the next show. Check out the podcast as it was quite entertaining if I say so myself.

John Sickles has published his top 20 Mets prospect list and his #1 is Jennry Mejia. No matter what stories you read about Mejia, they all confirm that Mejia could be a special pitcher and they all worry about the Mets rushing him. Hopefully the new brain trust in the organization can stop the practice of rush prospects through the system and just allow them to work their way up the organizational ladder.

So D-Wright will sit down with the Radio Bloviator next Wednesday. Instead of the Mets holding a Fan Fest so Mets fans can mingle with there team, we get a ride in the WFAN  Hot Air Balloon.    

On February 6^th, the NYC Chapter (known as the Casey Stengel Chapter) of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) will hold their annual meeting at the New York Public Library at 455 5 AVE at W 40 St 6^th floor. The event starts at 10AM and goes to 4PM all for a registration fee of $15. Check out the NYC SABR site and download the press release for more details and for a list of featured speakers and presenters.

Posted under Uncategorized

Tonight, tonight, tonight it’s PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL, our first show for the new year. Joe myself and Joe McDonald tonight at 9pmET on Blog Talk Radio as we discuss the Jason Bay signing, the Hall of Fame voting and what will be the next move made by the Mets front office. Our call in line will be open for business so call in and join in the conversation at (646) 595-4462. If you can’t join us live, you can listen to the podcast right  here at Kranepool Society, at our Pro Baseball Central site or at Blog talk Radio   

Posted under Uncategorized

Join Joe McDonald and Steve Keane  tonight at 9PM ET on Blog Talk Radio for another edition of PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL as we look at what has transpired at the MLB Winter Meetings in Indianapolis.

To join in the conversation you can reach us at (646) 595-4462.

If you can’t join us live, you can listen to the podcast at our PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL site or right here at Kranepool Society or on iTunes.

Posted under Uncategorized

Now that the site is up and running again and that fact that I’m jonesing for a  posting, lets call this a late night lighting round:

Once upon a time, Marco Scutaro was Mets bloggers favorite player, mostly due to his success in Triple A. I wish I had the posts I wrote from back then as I was calling for Scutaro to be brought up from Norfolk to play 2B for the Mets and when was called up, I thought I had some juice. It was my Big Balls moment.

But Scutaro played sparingly for two not very good Mets teams and it was about that time we were fed up with Robbie Alomar and felt Scutaro had the tools to takeover at 2B. But the Mets but him on waivers after the 2003 season and Billy Beane claimed him for the A’s and it set off a bit of a bloggers firestorm around these parts. Ahhhhhhhh good times!

Now Scutaro has signed with the Red Sox, a move made by” cut from the same Billy Beane cloth”, Theo Epstein  to play shortstop for the Old Town Team.  It’s good to see both me and Scutaro are still kicking around.

In another move to kick Omar Minaya in the nuts, the Mets have signed former Reds GM Wayne Kivsky to be an Asst’ GM. If you listened to our PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL show last week, Joe McDonald said he had info that the Mets have a plan in place if (when?) the Mets get off to a bad start, to ax Omar and J-Man and put a new GM and Mgr. in there place. Looks like the GM part of Plan B is in place.

First, Placido Polanco goes back to the Phuck-Phaces and now Chone Figgins signs with the Mariners. And Rogers Castillo sighs in relief.

The news I’ve been waiting to hear, the KC Royals are looking to move RHP Gil Meche and LF David DeJesus and both would look great on the Mets. Then I’d go trade for Aaron Harang and sign either Joel Pinerio or Jason Marquis to give myself a fighting chance to be a contender in 2010.

That’ it for now but I will leave you with something I posted on Facebook:

“Why do I have a feeling that the NY Mets will start the 2010 season like the NJ Nets? If there was a stock called “The Mets will suck in 2010″ I’d empty my bank account to buy it”

Posted under Uncategorized

 

 

I was one miserable little 11 year old back on the weekend of August 16^th 1969. I watched all the 20 something’s from my neighborhood pack up and head upstate NY for a music festival and knowing that there wasn’t a shot in hell I could ever go, pissed me off.

 

It was right around that time I was getting an appreciation for rock music. Sure I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan when I was six but that didn’t stir me like Woodstock. Right around this time FM radio with it’s free form rock play lists were on the scene and the days of listening to MusicRadio 77 WABC and Cousin Brucie and Top 40 hits, were replaced with Scott Muni and the Night Bird Allison Steele on WNEW-FM  playing full albums by the Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Doors.

 

After watching the footage from Max Yasgur’s farm I decided at 11 years old, no more hair cuts, no more listening to the man,  I was going to be the world’s youngest revolutionary. That lasted about three days when my father laid down the law and gave me a real good attitude adjustment.

 

So here it is 40 years later and I still listen to rock music, I still don’t take orders well and I always question authority. The biggest difference is I get what’s left of my hair buzzed every two weeks. Three out of four ain’t bad!

 

I wish Ed (Grey Goose) Coleman gave his Mets reports as well as he writes his blog on WFAN. This entry on Easy Ed going to Woodstock is a must read. 

 

The Mets did very well on this weekend back in ’69, sweeping the expansion San Diego Padres in back to back doubleheaders. Seaver, Koosman, Gary Gentry and Don Cardwell got the wins with Koos getting a complete game win and Ron Taylor collecting two saves and young Tug McGraw the other.

 

Last night on Pro Baseball Central we discussed whether Omar and Jerry Manuel will be back next year and the possibility of the Skill Sets selling a part of the team due to the Madoff fall out. Listen to podcast here by clicking out the icon on top or at our Pro Baseball Central site.

 

For more of the Skill Sets money woes, checkout the chat that Post beat man Bart Hubbuch conducted yesterday. Get ready for a payroll lower than $100 mil next season.

 

I can’t understand how Daniel Murphy went from a guy we all rooted for to someone folks are ready to kick to the curb. 

 

John Sickels has a late season update on the Mets top prospects. It seems any one who is worth anything in the system is Latin and 18 years old.

 

I still have a big problem with Michael Vick not just for the cruelty he committed on those dogs but also in my opinion before this I felt he was very overrated. I don’t get all the hoopla over where he will play and now that he is with the Iggels as a Giants fan am I supposed to be impressed? Well, I’m not.

 

I’m going to $iti Field tomorrow and I guess I’ll bring the camera to see the additions of Mets Memories that supposedly have been added and the Throwback’s the boys will be wearing. My question is, I’m guessing they will wear matching cream color pants but what about the caps? I will laugh my ass of if Charlie Samuels sends them out with the awful black/blue billed caps. If you’re going to Throwback, throwback all the way!

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

R.I.P. Les Paul

THE LEDGEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted under Uncategorized

The days watching baseball get tougher and tougher now that our Mets are non-entities but last night I watched what was one of the best baseball games I have seen in years.

 The Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox hooked up last night in a game that if it were a post season game would be an instant classic. King Felix Hernandez and Mark Buehrle worked fast, threw strikes and neither one gave an inch. King Felix was helped out by great defensive plays by Adrian Beltre and Ichiro and Buehrle had impeccable command, The game went 14 innings until Junior Griffey drove in the game winner with a single to right to give the M’s a 1-0 win.

 

So Carlos Delgado has pulled an oblique muscle as he tries to come back from hip surgery. Only the NY Mets could get a guy hurt rehabbing from an injury. Nah, nothing wrong with the team training staff <eyes pointed up to the sky>

 

I watched part of Petey’s return and it gave me a big YAWN!!!! I watched the Philly telecast and Tom McCarthy nearly pissed his pants going wild over Petey hitting 91 on the gun. He looked hittable and I’d bet by his third start he’ll get his tits lit.

 

By the way Mike Silva has video of the Shane Victordouchebag getting a beer bath from some fat slob in the Wrigley bleachers. Phillies fans are outraged by the Cub fans gross behavior. That’s like Hugh Hefner calling Dennis Hoff a pimp.

 

The Mets have decided to wear throwback uni’s this weekend but they will not not be “Mets Throwbacks” but more like the uniform worn by the 1905 World Champion New York Giants. The difference though will be a Mr. Met patch on the sleeve and the sleeve cuffs will be blue and orange. Next season the Skill Sets have planned to rename the team the Bridegrooms.

 

Check out Pro Baseball Central tonight at 9PM EDST as Joe McDonald and I talk about the mess that is the NY Mets and what the future of the franchise looks like you can join the conversation as well at (646) 595-4462. If you can’t join us live you can listen on the podcast right here at TEKS or on our Pro Baseball Central site.  

 

More than Beltran, or Delgado or anyone of the dozen players on the DL The player who is missed the most is Jose Reyes, not just for his bat and glove but for his energy. Love him or hate him you can not deney this lifeless bunch of Mets could use a does of Jose-Jose-Jose.

Posted under Uncategorized

 

On Pro Baseball Central tonight at 9PM EDST on Blog Talk Radio we will discuss the surging Mets and Johan Santana’s performance in Game 1 of the day/nighter plus we’ll keep an eye on Jon Niese in Game 2. We will tie up the loose ends on the Omar/Tony B fiasco and we will have as our guest Shannon Shark from The Mets Police. We’ ll cover those topics plus Mets uniforms, Old Timers Day and a day at $iti Field and you can join in the conversation as well at (646) 595-4462  

If you can’t join us live you can listen to the podcast at our Pro Central Baseball site or right here at TEKS.

Posted under Uncategorized

 

Tonight at 6:30PM EDST I will be a guest of Mike Silva’ on his New York Baseball Digest radio show on Blog Talk Radio and then later tonight at 9:30PM EDSTalso on Blog Talk Radio we will have our Pro Baseball Central show. I wonder what the subject matter will be?

We’d love your input on PBC so call in the show at (646) 595-4462

Posted under Uncategorized