Sorry DC

Unfortunately looks like Valentine won't be our man in 2010... There's always next next season I guess.

Bunch of interesting Mets stuff from the Post

Jason Marquis wants to come to the Mets.

Murphy seems to be turning the corner and adjusting to the pitchers' adjustments.

Jay Greenberg says the Mets need to think pitching before hitting this offseason, and that any homerun hitter will likely be overpayed and underproduce at CitiField.

In the "day late and a dollar short" category, Omar says he's willing to trade his "core players."

Mean Green Machine

The Jet D has yielded no touchdowns through two games, and are playing with an aggressive posture I haven't seen since the sack exchange. Bart Scott seems to be the vocal leader of this emerging force:

"I know everyone was thinking, 'OK, two minutes, Brady time. March down the field, tie the game, go for two and win the game,' " linebacker Bart Scott said. "No, I'm not used to that. I've never been a part of that. Maybe people expected that time would run out [on the Patriots]. No, maybe we'll stop them four times and then it's time to warm up the [bleeping] bus."

Food For Thought

From MLB Trade Rumors:

Offseason Outlook: New York Mets
By Tim Dierkes [September 17 at 11:00pm CST]
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Mets. Their commitments for 2010:

C - Omir Santos - $400K
C - Josh Thole - $400K
1B - Daniel Murphy - $401K
2B - Luis Castillo - $6MM
SS - Jose Reyes - $9MM
3B - David Wright - $10MM
IF - Anderson Hernandez - $400K
LF - Angel Pagan - $575K+
CF - Carlos Beltran - $18.5MM
RF - Jeff Francoeur - $3.375MM+
OF - Cory Sullivan - $600K+
OF - Jeremy Reed - $925K+
1B/LF - Nick Evans - $403K or OF - Fernando Martinez - $400K

SP - Johan Santana - $21MM
SP - John Maine - $2.6MM+
SP - Mike Pelfrey - $1.3125MM
SP - Oliver Perez - $12MM
SP - Jon Niese - $400K

Other candidates: Fernando Nieve - $414K, Tim Redding - $2.25MM+

RP - Francisco Rodriguez - $11.5MM
RP - Pedro Feliciano - $1.6125MM+
RP - Sean Green - $471K+
RP - Pat Misch - $402K
RP - Bobby Parnell - $400K
RP - Brian Stokes - $410K
RP - Carlos Muniz - $402K

Other commitments: J.J. Putz - $1MM buyout

Non-tender candidates: Redding, Maine, Nelson Figueroa

That puts the Mets at about $105MM, plus arbitration raises to Pagan, Francoeur, Sullivan, Reed, Maine, Feliciano, Green, and Redding (some of whom will likely be non-tendered). The Mets are in the $110MM ballpark after entering the '09 season with a $149.4MM payroll. Omar Minaya should have $35-40MM to patch his team's many holes.

The Mets have a strong core of superstars, and their collective health almost has to improve in 2010. I don't see the logic behind trading Reyes, Wright, Beltran, or Santana.

The Mets need a catcher, first baseman, and corner outfielder. They may be competing with the Braves for certain first base and left field candidates. But the Mets also need at least one solid starting pitcher as well as bullpen help.

The catching market is weak, but pairing someone like Gregg Zaun with Thole makes sense. First base presents more options. Who's a bigger health risk - Carlos Delgado at 38 or Nick Johnson at 31? Johnson's .428 OBP is hard to ignore.

The market is flush with left fielders. With so many needs, I have a hard time seeing Minaya take a run at Manny Ramirez, Matt Holliday, or Jason Bay. Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu, and Jermaine Dye are more reasonable targets. With Castillo, Johnson, Wright, Beltran, and Abreu, the Mets would potentially have five .400 OBP players. Zaun (assuming the Rays let him go), Johnson, and Abreu could be signed for less than $25MM in 2010 salaries.

With the remaining money I'd attempt to lure Randy Wolf from the West Coast while also pursuing Erik Bedard, Brad Penny, Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, or Ben Sheets for a one-year deal. Admittedly there wouldn't be much left to spend on relievers, but decent arms can be found for a million or two.

Certainly the Mets could use top free agents like Holliday and John Lackey. However, the available money would be better used to acquire four or five sensible free agents. Let's hear your recommendations in the comments.

Catch the Latest Craze

It's MetsSloppily, courtesy of WSJ. Good stuff.

Scott Kazmir dealt

A few random thoughts:

1) The Rays made a deal here that could never have been done in New York. From MLBtraderumors:

Rob Neyer at ESPN says the Rays' rotation shuffle from Kazmir to Wade Davis cuts their playoff chances from 10 percent to 8 percent and opines, "Giving up two percent in exchange for three talented young players ... well, on paper that's a move you'd be thrilled to make, every day of the week."

Think New York fans would have accepted the logic of trading a front line starter, not getting a big-ready player in return, while you were still in the hunt for the postseason? The downside to a two-team city is the competition to win "now" prevents this kind of long-term thinnking.

2) It takes some of the sting out of giving Kazmir away that the Rays are willing to give up on him already. Of course, if we'd have had him in '06-08, who knows where that would have landed us.

3) In unrelated news, I've been trying to figure out what team to root for the rest of the way that still has meaningful baseball to be played. Truth be told, it could easily be the Jankees, b/c I have lots of respect for the core of their team: Jeter, Posada, Mo, Tex, CC-- all guys who are great and play the game the right way. And I always liked Girardi from his playing days to his Marlins days. However, they are the Jankees, have the biggest d-bag of them all (A-Rod) vaccuuming up cash, the Steinbrenners, and one of the most obnoxious fan bases of all time. That's enough, on it's face, to prevent me from actually pulling for them, despite the fact they have some good guys.

The BlowSox? Can't do it to SHK. He's got to live with their s.

Cardinals and Cubbies would always be good options. But nothing compelling there. Sweet Lou is great, but Soriano? The Cards are easy to root for, but there's just no juice there for me right now.

But then I came across this last issue of SI. It had an in-depth on Lincecum and Cain. And how a team with two great pitchers, both completely different characters, has a shot at the playoffs despite one of the worst lineups ever. An all-pitching team, right up my alley. Oh, and they just happen to also be my legacy team. The team I should've been rooting for my whole life. If only.

So I'll root for the long shot Giants the rest of the way. And try to forget that it would put a smile on Russo's face. My Grandmother would've approved, anyway.

Odds

What do you suppose Vegas would have put the odds at to start the season that ALL of the following Mets players would be on the DL at the same time for extended periods this season?

Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Johan Santana, J.J. Putz, John Maine, and Oliver Perez?

As you all know I'm not a fan of Omar's and I think he blew his shot to help us by not making big trades of our core in the offseason. That said, this injury list is completely incomprehensible to me. It just defies logic.

Mets for sale?

If only this theory turns out to be true...

Shocking

Have you heard the "good news?" The inept Mets ownership that is the Wilpons declared that Omar will be back next year, and therefore so will Jerry.

And therefore this fan will not.

Mr. Blutarski and the Mets

0.0

which is the Mets chance of making the playoffs, according to AccuScore.

Parnell gives me something to get excited about...

From MLB.com:

In his second Major League start, Parnell tossed six shutout innings, allowing just three hits while walking none and striking out seven in the Mets' 3-0 win over the Giants at Citi Field.

Parnell (3-4), who threw 68 pitches in 2 1/3 innings in his first start in San Diego last Saturday, was far more economical and effective this time. He scattered those three hits, not allowing a runner to reach scoring position. Although manager Jerry Manuel said before the game that he wanted to see more offspeed pitches from his starter, Parnell threw mostly fastballs. He mixed in his slider rarely but successfully, getting three of his seven strikeouts on the pitch.

Cora: David is the Wright kind of leader

From the Post:

"It's very easy for us as ballplayers to deviate from our plan, our preparation, and he doesn't do that. And he's showing everybody around here that, hey, for whatever is going on around us, we've still got to show up and do our thing because there's always a chance. And I think showing guys like that, he's showing a lot of leadership."

I can't say it's the strongest statement in the world, but I certainly agree with the sentiment. Wright is the kind of guy you build a club around.

Just one more week...

...until the NFL preseason starts and I can put yet another miserable Mutts season behind me.

And so the cycle continues.

The 80's Are Back, Baby!

How do you not love a pitcher that looks like this:



And it's even better when he gives up a slam to Pagan...

Did anyone else catch Omar's "apology" to Rubin?

It was a fiasco almost on par with the original press conference. It was like a bad Rickey Henderson imitation. "That's not Omar Minaya." "You guys know Omar Minaya."

This guy's personal credibility is completely blown up. Once the trading deadline passes, would it be that much of a surprise to see him canned in August or Sept.?

WTF?

If this rumor is true, and we passed on opportunity for Kazmir as well as possibly Crawford, then I just don't get how Wilpons' keep Omar.

The Rays have shopped Kazmir around a bit, even calling the Mets, who expressed initial interest but nothing more. Tampa is trying to see if they could trade Kazmir, Carlos Pena and in the right blockbuster even Carl Crawford to free up dollars to make a bigger trade. The Rays are most focused on seeing if they can add Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez in one trade, though they continue to call on Halladay, as well.

That's about right

This headline says it all.

Minaya Calls Out Daily News Reporter; Mets' Season Descends Further Into Farce

It's time for the Minaya era to come to an end. The guy is unable to assemble and maintain a winning management team. His handling of the Randolph firing was atrocious; his behavior at the Bernazard firing press conference was bizarre at best; and his lack of explanation as to the poor medical/strength conditioning staff is unacceptable.

The Mets continue to be nothing more than the punchline to a bad joke. It is time for a new direction.

Hey Fredo,

Looks like some fans agree with you that change in ownership is not impossible. A protest on Wilpon's lawn is apparently scheduled this week according to Post.

Stay classy, tony b

Beetz beat me to the post..

What a d-bag tony B is. So much for player development. Why doesn't tony b challenge himself to actually doing something useful for a change?

OK, I think I'm onto something big here

We all know the Mets farm system is pretty dry. Binghamton and Buffalo seem to get blitzed by the opposition every day. Blue chip prospects are few and far between.

And our major leaguers aren't exactly tearing it up either. If we want to be "sellers" at the trade deadline, there's not much talent to be moved, at least not talent that is likely to spend more time on the diamond than in the trainer's room.

But the Mets do have one asset that should be marketable:

Former players.

Why not trade the rights to our former greats' careers for the current players we're so dearly lacking?

Now I know what you're thinking: "why would the Rockies want to trade good young talent for Tom Seaver? The guy's a senior citizen and probably couldn't have maintained an ERA under 3.00 at Coors Field, even in his playing days. After all, there's no GRAVITY in that park."

But that's not the point.

Rockies fans have no history. They've been a franchise since the '90s. That's embarrasing. They should just be embarrased. People born around the same time as their franchise think that Miley Ray Cyrus is a vocal phenomenon. Most people born in the '90s are still tring to pretend they're drinking age (or else just realize no one would buy it). That's no baseball franchise. Maybe it could pass for respectable in the Arena Football League.

These people need to buy some baseball cred. They keep their baseballs in a humidor, for Pete's sake.

That's where we come in. Now, I don't suppose they'll send us Helton in this deal, but why not Jeff Francis? I mean, Colorado's in the hunt for the Wild Card, and Francis hasn't pitched all season. They don't NEED him.

But look behind curtain #2, Colorado. 311 wins. 3,640 Ks. 3 NL Cy Youngs. Yeah, like you'll EVER have a pitcher come close to any of those numbers in your lunar colisseum.

This is a win-win for everybody. The Mets get a good young pitcher to help us next year, when we might have a chance. All we have to do is peel that ole #41 jersey off the wall, box it and ship it. The Rox get a legitimate pitching star. Decades of baseball history. A piece of a World Series championship. And some really intimidating stats for their franchise records.

And maybe if the Rox front office is feeling generous, they'll let us keep his name in the back of the yearbook somewhere.

Think about it, Rockies, just think about it.

What an Ass-Clown!

Just when you think you've heard it all...

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9834420/Houshmandzadeh:-'I'm-not-playing-Madden-no-more'?GT1=39002

Hard to believe he actually makes Ocho Cinco look like a mature adult.

LIARS!!!

Apparently the rumored Halladay trade was a hoax.

And it is believed that Omar would have pulled the trigger if the deal was offered.

Jays' officials are saying that the Ments are not serious contenders for Halladay.

So, Plan B, then?

Shed payroll. Sign Bedard as FA. Trade for Crawford.

???

Would'ja?

http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman/status/2747001347

Personally, I'm kinda torn...

But leaning toward no. The slim pickings in this year's FA class is really making me ponder the possibility though.

A reply to SHK

So, the fork now comes out clean. But what do we do next? The postseason is totally out of the question for this year. But I personally think that the Mets have a small window of opportunity to turn this franchise around quickly, meaning we could get back in the hunt in 1-3 years. It requires several things to happen in short order:

1. Clean house in upper mgt. Yes, it's clearly come to this. Take advantage of the current situation to get rid of not only of Omar, but his deputies as well. Here's looking at you, Tony B.

2. Fire Jerry. Pretty much speaks for itself. I was amazed listening to FAN today. Almost every caller was like, "why is this guy such a clown?" "How can you start your press conference laughing and chuckling when you lose 11-0?" "What's with all the exaggerated pauses when he talks? Can he not think, or does he think it makes him look pensive?"

Couldn't have seen that one coming.

Anyway, getting rid of the manager who throws his players, particularly the vulnerable ones, into the line of fire to preserve his own rep, will be essential if we want to succeed at the next point:

3. Rebuild our key marketable players. Getting Beltran and Delgado on track would actually help our W/L ratio. Alas, that ship has sailed. Ain't gonna happen. So let's focus on the next most importnat thing: building up the value of the players who are most important to our future (and, as a corollary, have the most trade value b/c they are under organization control, relatively cheap, and potentially have several good years in front of them). So what does this mean?

-Get Pelfrey on track. Great stuff. Flashes of excellence. Clearly still gets rattled. Pelf is a guy who needs a manager that he knows is in his corner. A LaRussa/Duncan type of coaching combination would be so great for Pelf.

-Rebuild Murphy's value. This kid is clearly capable of so much more than he's doing. Part of it, of course, is the player's doing. He's got to adjust to the pitchers who have adjusted to him by busting him inside off the plate. But part of it is clearly the way the organization has misued him. Forced him out of position. Started sitting him when he was hitting nearly .300. When he gets hot and his a 3 hit day, bank on Jerry sitting him the next game. Expect the manager to talk the press, and not the player, about what his expectations are for the player. Well, at this point, Murphy needs to be playing every day until he makes his adjustments. He eventually will. This kid will put together a .330 month at some point this season, or at worst, the first half of next year, and his trade value as a cheap, young stick, who's finally found a position, will be largely restored. And hopefully we keep him, because I love the kid. But I'd rather be faced with the dilemma of keeping a rising young star or trading a valuable chip than where we are with Murph right now.

-Get Reyes healthy and productive. This is an obvious no-brainer. If Reyes comes back in early to mid August and hits over .300 the rest of the way, stealing bases, you'll have a guy that can bring back a good price in the offseason. If he doesn't get back till mid Sept., or is scuffling and running gingerly, we'll be going into 2010 with Reyes at SS and our collective breaths held.

-Get a good look at that AA catching prospect in Sept.

-Get Maine healthy and pitching.

-As a total bonus, I would hope we can get Beltran going. I personally think he's going to be a chronic injury problem for the rest of his career, whether that's one year or five. But if he were to come back and get healthy, maybe we could unload him in the offseason for something of value. It hurts me to say it, b/c Beltran is truly a unique player in MLB. Not saying he's a top 5 player like he's paid, but he's a unique combination of abilities that will be difficult to replicate

4. Clear the deck of dead payroll

-Unload Perez at the deadline to some sucker who will eat his $12M thinking it will get them across the finish line this year. After all, as Omar can remind other GMs, Perez defied his previous performance with a solid posteason in '06. He rises to the occasion, right?

-Unload Castillo is anyone will take him. Two more years of this? No thank you. But he is hitting decently this year, so maybe someone in the hunt with an injury 'll take a flyer on him.

-Let Delgado walk at the end of the year.

If we can get all these things done, we might be in a position to sign some FAs in the offseason, and make some trades to change the character of the team, as well as address some needs.

Put a fork in 'em

Looks like F-mart and b-tran are going to be useless for most of this season if not all of it. F-mart requires surgery and will be out for minimum 6 weeks, and beltran has shown no signs of progress in his knee and might also require surgery.

Omar, this season is over. Unfortunately, our chances to get any useful value for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes are quite possibly also over. I really don't know what moves you make now. By not breaking up the core during the offseason, when their trade value was high (especially red-hot Delgado), you have really painted this team into a corner. Our trade options are now limited at best, unless some team is willing to roll the dice on the upside of Beltran, Reyes or Delgado after they return. This team is now not only in a very bad position for '09, but also 2010 IMO.

Any deals we make are now going to be from a position of weakness, and we will almost certainly give up too much. Our best case is to dump salary and pick up FAs.

Wagner on his Mets return

Here's the article Beetz was referring to (I think), from Mark Hale at the Post.

Many curious quotes in this article. He's basically saying that he's willing to do anything the Mets ask b/c Wilpon's writing his checks, but that he (1) doesn't think the Mets will ask him to do much, b/c he won't be that durable; and (2) he doesn't really want to play for this team other than the fact that he feels he owes it to the owner.

Point 2 is what really interests me. It begs the question. Did he not care for his teammates? His manager? His GM? The fans?

Do the Wright Thing

D. Wright continues to show his commitment to the Mets by claiming he'd love to be a Met for life. For F's sake Omar, get the man some on-field help that won't be riding the injured list all the time.

F-Mart

Apparently F-Mart's trip to the DL is unfortunately anything but rare:

One thing Martinez has to prove, however, is that he can stay healthy. He has been on the disabled list in each of his four pro seasons, hurting his development and the chance to evaluate his skills.

Let the Trading Begin!

Ryan Church for Jeff Francour.

I'd say we got the better end of the deal here but by no means is this a landslide. Frenchie has an amazing arm, excellent glove and is considered to have plus power. The guy never walks though but at this point I would like to see someone swing a bat.

I was a Church fan from the day we got him and I wish him the best in Atlanta (except when they play us). The guy got a raw deal here and was never allowed to get comfortable.

Hey Omar,

Let's ride this baby into the ground. All the way to last place. Yes we can!