Mets Make More Noise Before Trade Deadline...Four Days...

Once again the Mets were idle at the deadline. No trades. Now, they will try and spin it that there are always players available once they pass through waivers, blah, blah, blah.

It's pretty sad that the Mets were in the news more this week for Omar's press conference than any deal the Mets made this afternoon.

Two thoughts come to mind:

1) Omar was not given the latitude by ownership to make any deals

2) Omar has delusions of grandeur of his minor league system. The Mets minor league system is not ranked high, and over the five years Omar has been in charge, who, other than Daniel Murphy, has made the starting roster?

Reyes and Wright were before Omar. Murphy is good, but as we are seeing, maybe not as good as advertised.

Nick Evans? Doesn't seem to be the type of player who will be more than a good fill-in bench player.

Fernando Martinez? I say he is of the Alex Escobar mold.

Their pitching might be more of an attraction. Niese looks like he's learned a lot in the last year and I believe Parnell will be fine. As for Brad Holt? I know what you know...only what the press writes.

I have a sneaky feeling this might have been Omar's last "Trade Deadline" with the NY Mets. Are the Mets better now than when he took over? Yes, slightly. But you look at how pay-roll has increased, their minor league system is still weak, and they have had three collapses between 2006 and 2008...Omar has to be accountable for some of that.

Carlos Beltran 2010 In Question??

According to Will Carroll - Baseball Prospectus - Under The Knife, Carlos Beltran will more than likely be needing microfracture surgery to his injured knee. If this is the case, there is a likelihood that Beltran will miss all of the 2010 season.

Microfracture surgery is a procedure where tiny fractures are created by the doctor in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a "super clot."*

The surgery lasts approximately 30 minutes, but results have been mixed. The question is, would Beltran be able to play CF if he has such a procedure?

We hope Will Carroll's prediction is wrong, but it is something the Mets will certainly need to look at with today's trading deadline ending at 4:00 PM.

Sources: Metsblog, * Microfracture Surgery - Wikipedia

Castillo's Hectic Day

Yesterday was a busy and eventful day for Mets second baseman Luis Castillo. Castillo's day started at 7:30 AM when he and his wife Angie went to the hospital. At 11:56 AM the Castillo's welcomed their second child into the world, a daughter they named Adonai, which is Hebrew for God.

The proud pappa said, "Mama did good. My baby's healthy, and that's good for me. That's what makes me happy."

Castillo then left his wife and newborn, and arrived in time to play in the second game of the Mets doubleheader. Luis' morning went better; the Mets lost the nightcap 4-2, and Castillo was 0-3 with a walk.

Upon leaving the park last night, Castillo said, "I feel great. And I'm ready for tomorrow."

Source: Michael Obernauer - NY Daily News

Latest On John Maine

John Maine had an appointment with Dr. James Andrews, and Dr. Andrews confirmed that Maine is suffering from "shoulder weakness", same as originally diagnosed by Mets doctors.

Maine is on his way back to Port St. Lucie, and there is a chance he might be able to pitch for the Mets before the end of the season. This of course is contingent on that there aren't any set-backs.

Source: Brian Costa - Newark Star Ledger via Twitter

On another note, Brian Schneider, who received a cortisone shot in his left knee on Wednesday, should be eligible to play tonight.

Omar Sorry, No Immanent Trades

Today Omar Minaya offered an apology to NY Daily News Mets beat writer, Adam Rubin. Minaya also offered an apology to the Wilpon's and the Mets organization. As everyone with a pulse knows, Minaya, during a press conference announcing the termination of Tony Bernazard, got way off the beat-and-trail, and accused Rubin of "lobbying" for a job in player development, and Omar had to figure if Rubin's findings were accurate, and had to "expedite" the process.

Never once did Minaya say Rubin's reports were inaccurate nor false, and Rubin, responded with disgust.

Minaya said he believes Rubin accepted the apology, but went no further.

Minaya said, "You guys know me. That's just not the way Omar Minaya is, that's not what I stand for, but the bottom line is I made a mistake. The bottom line is that you make a mistake, and I admit to making a mistake in bringing up the things that I did."

On the trade front, with the deadline at 4:00 PM tomorrow, Minaya offered, "I've been talking to teams, guys. I turned down a couple of trades yesterday. I mean, I talked to some teams and believe it or not we had some pretty big names that were presented. That being said, if you talk to general managers around the league, I've been calling around. We have some ideas."

The one thing that has been apparent this week: Minaya has no idea. I have a hard time believing the backlash from Monday's press conference won't effect possible trades the Mets will make.

Source: Brian Costa - The Star Ledger

Carlos Back In Two Or Three Weeks?

According to Carlos Beltran, "I say two weeks, 2-1/2, that's what I'm thinking right now based on the progress I'm seeing right now. But only time will tell me. This is what I have in mind and I am setting that goal. If I can't, I will continue to rehab until the point that I can be with the team again."

After a week of embarrassing new, this will hopefully be a ray of sunshine, although adding a Halladay would go a long way towards building on this “momentum” the Mets are “gaining” with four consecutive wins heading into tonight’s Day-Night double header against the Rockies.

Beltran, continuing on about his injured knee said, "I'm hitting. I'm throwing. But the big test will be running outside. I've been able to run in the pool since last week...but pretty soon I want to try to go out and run and after that will determine if I'm ready to play games or not."

"(Being) pain-free is not real right now. Coming back 100%, that's not going to happen (this year), but 80-85%, I'll take that. If I feel like I can manage myself like that, that's fine with me."

When speaking of how the Mets have handled his injury, the always-classy Beltran explained, "Honestly, I made all the decisions. When I was feeling the pain, I went to the doctor and asked for a cortisone shot because I wanted to stay with the team. With all those guys out, it was going to be difficult to have one more guy out.

"So I tried to play through it for a month. But I don't regret what I did. I did it for the team. I just wanted to do what's best for the team."

Beltran is pleased with how the Mets have played over the last four games, "… I feel happy that the team is playing great baseball right now. Everyone is going out there and competing and doing the best they can to keep the team in a good position."

I for one will be glad to see #15 patrolling CF again, but as he said, it will not be at 100%. Beltran at 80% - 85% is better than most.

Source: Peter Botte - NY Daily News

Phillies Bolsters Staff

This afternoon the Phillies landed LHSP Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for pitchers Jason Knapp and Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson.

Lee's record against the NL is a respectable 12-2 with a 3.18 ERA.

Lee, 30, is eligible for free agency after the 2010 season. He is earning $5.75 million this year, with a $9 million club option for 2010 that should be exercised.

Lee becomes the fourth left handed pitcher in the Phillies starting rotation, along with Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, and JA Happ.

Source: Danny Knobler- CBS Sportsline

Reeling While Winning

The Mets tonight defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-0. Mike "Big Pelf" Pelfrey pitched well and the Mets had some key hits.

Off the field, Jeff Wilpon, a day late and a dollar short, offered an apology to NY Daily News writer and Surfing The Mets Blogger, Adam Rubin.

As reported (Omar Drops Bomb...Twice) yesterday, Omar Minaya was way out of hand in putting Mr. Rubin on the spot. Mr. Rubin said he asked how one would go about getting a job in MLB, but never asked to be hired or looked for employment with the Mets.

Omar was very wrong, in a Tony Bernazard sort of way, yesterday, and although I have , for the most part, supported Minaya, he should have been terminated by the Wilpon's prior to tonights game.

Whether Rubin searched for a job with the Mets or not, Omar, as a Mets high ranking employee, should have handled yesterday's press conference with professionalism and class. He did neither. Omar has made the Mets better during his regime, but he can't make good on what he did so bad. The team, until recently has floundered, the Mets don't have a clue as to how to handle the injury situation, and to allow the Bernazard situation linger for a year, is all under his watch.

I, as a fan, was appalled at the lack of class and dignity, and how Omar acted despicably (I hadn't realized Rubin and I had used the same adjective until later), believe there must be a clean break

Right now, I don't know who can replace him, but John Hart is available. Personally I have always been a big fan of Joe McIlvaine. Neither will happen, and I am sad my team has returned to it's embarrassing image circa 1993, but changes are necessary. , First, the Wilpons should sell the team, but if not, they need to make huge changes from top to bottom. Is Jay Horwitz ready to retire?

To hear Wilpon's comments: Jeffy On Omar

Omar Drops Bomb...TWICE!

Omar Minaya just completed his press conference...Oh Boy!

First Bomb: As expected, and hoped for, Minaya and the Mets have dismissed Tony Bernazard as VP of Player Development.

Second Bomb: Omar called out Adam Rubin on many occasions, saying that he lobbied for a job in player development...HUH?

Whether Rubin "lobbied" for a position with the Mets or not, is irrelevant. The point is, Adam Rubin is the best source for Mets information. Secondly, his information was apparently pretty accurate since "Mr. B" is no longer with the club. Why in the world would Omar look to call out Rubin? Is it because Omar looked foolish in letting this irresponsible behavior to happen?

Another question is where does this put Rubin in regards to not only the Mets, but the NY Daily News?

Unfortunately, once Omar dropped the Rubin bomb, the rest of the press conference seemed uneventful.

Omar did explain that the "thorough investigation" was performed by human resources. HR then produced facts to Omar on Sunday, and Omar met with and terminated Bernazard this morning.

Omar said it was his recommendation to the Wilpon's to let Tony go this morning.

Omar said there were issues with Tony's interpersonal values, and the way he handled the staff interpersonally.

Minaya refused to go into details of the investigation. He would just say there were "multiple things" reported about interpersonal issues.

Minaya said that the public accounts as reported weren't "exactly how it happened" and "not exactly as reported."

The GM said he was surprised by "things" in the report.

Minaya admitted he wasn't aware of some of the issues until yesterday. He said he will try an fill the position from within. Thus far there is no replacement.

Minaya was satisfied with performance of his now former VP of Player Development.

Rubin was later reported to have said that he never lobbied with Omar about any job, but had spoken with Jeff Wilpon a question of "how would you get a job..." not that he was lobbying for a job.

What a despicable showing by the Mets GM today.

For the press conferences, click below:

Omar Fires Bernazard, Takes Shot At Rubin

Adam Rubin Responds To Omar

Decision Time

WFAN is reporting that Omar Minaya will address the media at 3:45 PM to discuss the fate of VP of Player Development, Tony Bernazard.

As has been widely reported, and by us Here, Bernazard has had his name in the press for such alleged antics as challenging the Binghamton AA team to a fight, undermining both Willie Randolph while he was manager, as well as vying for Omar's job, and getting into a "heated" argument with Francisco Rodriguez.

Hopefully with today's announement, which a decision is still not known, we will be able to put an end to this humiliating era in Mets history.

We here at 24 Hours... will provide audio if/once available.

On This Date In Mets History - July 27, 2009

On this date in Mets history:

1992 - Salty Parker died: Salty Parker managed the Mets for the last 11 games of the 1967 season, taking over for Wes Westrum. He was replaced as Manager by Gil Hodges in 1968. Parker had a record of 4-7 as Mets manager.

1975 - Cleon Jones was released by the Mets

1990 - Mets traded 1B Mike Marshall to the Boston Red Sox for Greg Hansell, Paul Williams, and Ed Perozo.

2001 - Mets traded #99 Turk Wendell and Dennis Cook to the Philadelphia Phillies for LHP Bruce Chen and Adam Walker.

Turk Wendell is my favorite Mets reliever of all time. He was such a character, who wouldn't think twice about dusting a player off. The fans grew to love his antics, whether it was slamming the rosin bag down before a pitch, jumping over the foul line, brushing his teeth in between innings, or having all of his contracts end with .99 (i.e. - $2,999,999.99).

2002 - Mets signed Carlos Gomez as a free agent. Gomez would later be the centerpiece in the Johan Santan trade (2008).

Sources: Baseball Almanac - Mets Managers, Ultimate Mets Database

What About The Mets? Baby Steps...

Although things are bleak, we as fans, along with the Mets as a team, must take 'Baby Steps', and with winning two of three against the surging Houston Astros this weekend, hopefully this will be a step in the right direction.

The Astros are only two games back in the NL Central, so we must take any bit of positive energy that we can.

The Mets return home to play the NL West second place Colorado Rockies (54-44). The four game series starts tonight with the Mets sending Oliver Perez to the mound. It will be interesting to see how Ollie fares. I expect a solid outing from our ADHD pitcher.

The Mets are at this' point, to quote the old addage, of 'taking one game at a time.' It is impossible to make up all this lost ground with one win. But, if the Mets can string 4 of 5, 8 of 10, 16 of 20...they will be able to make up ground.

Returning home, the Mets should blow the dust of 'The Curly Shuffle' and find their Mojo. To take a concept from Bill Murray in 'What About Bob?', Baby steps win tonight, baby steps win tomorrow...

Time For Omar To Take Control

With an incomprehensible number of injuries to key players, poor fundamental play, a complete lack of HR power, and more recently, the alleged reports of the most inappropriate behavior from their VP of Player Development - it is now time for Omar Minaya to step up and take control of HIS TEAM.

Listening to talk radio (ad nauseum) I've heard everything from Omar has done an outstanding, terrible, and average job as Mets GM. Omar has done some good things: Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Endy Chavez, John Maine, Johan Santana, and I believe JJ Putz will be a good acquisition.

He has also had some questionable moves also: trading Matt Lindstrom , Heath Bell , the Luis Castillo contract, etc.

Let's look at it this way: has Omar made this club better and more respectable? I have to give him an emphatic YES. That of course is not the case for this year with all the turmoil surrounding the Mets. When Omar took over, the Mets had Art Howe employed as manager of this team, the minor league system was worse than it is now, and the Mets had traded much heralded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano (although metsfan73 has always felt that was a Jeff Wilpon, Al Leiter, Tom Glavine, and John Franco trade than a Jim Duquette trade).

Back to the present: The Mets have been an absolute embarrassment this year, and the alleged antics of "Mr. B" is icing on the cake. The cherry on top is that it has been four days since the reports of Bernazard's challenging the Binghamton Mets to a fight and the verbal confrontation with Francisco Rodriguez on a team bus - with no clear cut decision forthcoming on the matter.

It is time Omar. You claimed you took this job at the end of the 2004 season because you were granted complete autonomy. Exert that autonomy Omar. Have a press conference and simply state that Tony Bernazard is a friend whom you care for, but his behavior has been both unprofessional and disrespectful, and no matter how he (Omar) feels personally, it is in the best interest of the Mets that Bernazard is removed from his position and as an employee of the Mets. Going forward, any other findings of any Mets employee acting in any manner that is detrimental to the Mets and Sterling Enterprises will be dealt with expeditiously and harshly.

That simple statement would show the fans and the press that as long as you are GM of the Mets, you are the one in charge. The Mets have already started to repeat that ugly and embarrassing era of the early to mid 1990's and the 2003/2004 seasons where not only their play, but the direction they were going in was humiliating.

It's time Omar! Put your foot down! This season is over, but you can start building for the future NOW. Show MLB, the Mets and their fans that you are in charge, and that you take this very seriously, and you are in the process of bringing the Mets back to respectability. You don't have to make a blockbuster trade. Maybe three or four small ones. There are so many holes to fill, it will be impossible to do it in one trade.

Fire "Mr. B". It has been widely reported that he has been vying for your job. Show that you will have none of this division on your watch. The time is now Omar. STEP UP AND TAKE YOUR TEAM BACK!

Hamptons homers , Santana doesn't Mets lost

Well the Mets had 13 hits last night in Houston but same ole song as they fall 5-4 to the Astros. The Mets know fall to 2-6 on a 10 game road trip. The Mets had a shot to tie late but Frenchy was gunned down at the plate.

Santana, who seems to have a penchant for letting the pitcher hit a home run, saw one clocked by Mike Hampton for a 2 run shot.

Wright came through with an early rbi and Murphy had a 2 out hit but that was the play frenchie was thrown out at the plate.

Mets will make a roster move today. Jon Neise will be brought up. We might see Beroa jettisoned or pitcher Tim Redding...Stay Tuned!

John Maine shut down

Maine will be getting a second opinion about his arm/shoulder with Dr Andrews. He is still experiencing soreness

He might be lost for the season .

Guess we cant trade him for Scott Kazmir.....well we did get Zambrano with a bum arm so there is hope...

Some Question The Rash Of Met Injuries

Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, JJ Putz, Carlos Delgado, John Maine, Billy Wagner…$58.35M in salary this season – all disabled.

What is the cause of all these injuries to just one team? Depends on whom you ask. Anthony McCarron - NY Daily News, documents that ‘one baseball person with ties to the Mets’ said, "There are a lot of people in the scouting world and the baseball world who wonder what is going on there. Anytime you have that kind of negative publicity about your medical staff, it's not a great reflection of your organization. It's more glaring because they're not playing well.

"Some people have raised their eyebrows."

A large part of the criticism is the manner in which the Mets have dealt with injuries to their players. They have made the wrong choice in whether to shut a player down, or to let him play through an injury. The same anonymous person said, "It's like getting evidence and then ignoring it. If there isn't any trust in that relationship - boy, oh, boy…”

We now all know about how poorly the Mets mishandled Ryan Church’s concussion last year, and this year, it appears that Carlos Beltran wasn’t pleased with the way his injury was handled, prompting Beltran to seek another opinion.

Other players are of a different opinion: JJ Putz said, "The only thing that was a little . . . the fact that they knew about it in May.” Putz continued, "But a lot of that has to do with me being competitive and wanting to be out there. Instead of saying 'Let's just fix it now,' I wanted to try to pitch through it. So I think the blame in that situation has to be on me."

Jose Reyes chimed in, "They did everything possible for me. I tried to play like that and that's when I made it worse. I made that decision because I felt I could help the team and that's when I made it worse."

Delgado, sounding like David Nuke LaLoosh Wright, said, "It is what it is. Injuries are part of the game. Injuries happen. That's as far as I'm taking it. I can't analyze what other people think, what other people feel or see happening. It's been a tough year and you have to deal with it." - another enlightening response from our former 1B.

Putz concluded by offering, "It would be one thing if we had six guys out with a hamstring problem. Then you could look into the conditioning program or something. But it's not just one injury. If you have six pitchers who need Tommy John surgery, then obviously something's wrong in the throwing program.

"I've never seen anything like this before, but the fact that the injuries are different from one another, I don't think you can point the finger at any one person and say, 'This is why this is happening.'"

I will conclude by saying this: the Mets have so mishandled their injuries dating back to, at least, 2005. Whether it was Tom Glavine, Carlos Beltran, and other’s, the Mets tend to leave it up to the player, instead of the advice of their medical staff, if a player should be shut down. Is it the medical staff? I don’t think so. I think it goes further than that. I believe it is the upper management, possibly ownership that is not heeding the advice of their medical staff. The Mets have changed trainers and their medical staff in the last few years, and this problem has been going on longer. The common denominators are upper management and ownership.

To quote the old Channel 11 Editorials, “What’s your opinion, we’d like to know?”

Tank Gets Tanked

On this date in Mets history, July 23, 2001, fan favorite Todd "Tank" Pratt was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Gary Bennett . In hindsight, the trade worked out a little better for the Cheesesteaks.

Tank was a character. He the one with the game ending 1999 NLDS HR against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the one who changed Robin Ventura's grand slam into a Grand Slam single, will be well remembered by Mets fans.

He was a nuts-n-bolts type of player. Was a manager of a Dominoes Pizza place before accepting a contract from the Mets, where his career turned around.

I remember a story about Pratt when the Mets were slumping, and returning by bus to their home, Shea Stadium, was silent. Todd Zeile yelled (sic) "Hey Tank, we can't come home without your cry..." to which Pratt responded (sic) "This might be a toilet, but this is our home..." his teammates on the bus went nuts. Apparently this was Tanks rallying cry when returning from the road.

Todd Pratt's career with the Mets lasted from 1997 - 2001, and like many back-up Mets catchers, he was an important cog behind the starting catcher, who frequently provided big hits and huge defensive plays.

Tank was a character who was loved by the fans. He was that bolt of energy that is so obviously missing from today's team. So on this day, eight years later, metsfan73 raises his glass to Tank Pratt for the enjoyment he gave me as a fan to watch someone who truly loved to play, and it showed in every aspect of his game.

Source: Ultimate Mets Database

Everyone besides Omar thinks the season is over.

Most fans do. The boys on the radio do. We at 24 hours think its hopeless. The SNY guys do there best to keep there mouth shut about it. Why is it that Omar still thinks there is a shot for a team that scores 1 run over 2 games against the 2nd worst team in baseball? The Mets right now are the worst team. They are impossible to watch.

Omar I am sure is just being a good solider. Wants fans to flock to the new park so they can see Wright strikeout, pop out, fly out with runners on. Or maybe Tatis foul out with 2 men on.

Check out this funny bit by Rob Neyer over at ESPN.com to get his take on the Mets and Omar

The Brawling Mr. B

As we have all heard and read, the much maligned VP of Player Development, Tony Bernazard, is once again in the middle of alleged inexcusable behavior.

It is being alleged that earlier this month Bernazard took off his shirt and challenged the AA Binghamton Mets to a fight. If true, the Mets cannot accept that sort of behavior from a VP of Player Development.

Another accusation is that there was a "heated exchange" between Mr. B and Francisco Rodriguez. When asked, K-Rod simply replied, "No comment. I have nothing to say."

Minaya, while questioned on this last night, had a press conference before the game. Minaya, undoubtedly in a precarious position himself, said he would make no comments, and they consider these charges seriously, and will investigate.

It must also be noted that these reports of Bernazard and his behaviour have been reported exclusively by the NY Daily News.

All I know, as being a fan, Bernazard has not done a good job with the minor league system. All one needs to do is look at AA Binghamton (37-58 ) is in last place, and AAA Buffalo has the worst record in the International League (34-58 ).

It's is time for Mr. B to take his act to another location. Too bad the GM job in Seattle (24 Hours...October 9, 2008, 24 Hours...October 23, 2009) didn't work out for him...and the Mets.

Source: Steve Popper / The Record (Hackensack N.J.) - via The Boston Herald

Adam La Roche traded to the RedSox

I wonder if the Mets were a bit closer in the playoff hunt. if they would have made this deal. The Pirates have traded there first baseman to the Red Sox as per Dejan Kovacevic

The Pirates received pitcher Hunter Strickland and shortstop Argenis Diaz.

Hey Omar quick question how many homers does our first baseman have?

Jerry Manuel out of excuses Omar no clue how many games the team is out.

Hey Omar can you pay attention here. We are 10 games out and 7+ out from the wild card. How can you not know that? Every fan goes to bed calculating ok if we win the next 3 and the Phillies lose…..

I feel bad for Jerry since the lineup has nothing. Hey Omar do us all a favor and pack it in. We don’t want to hear that your trying to improve the team. 1 move does not cut it. Yeah I know there is 10 days left before the deadline. We were hoping to keep it together until the All star break but we have not. No one is coming back soon so please just trade a pitcher like Parnell and get us a bat for this year and next.

Do something so at least during the last couple of months we don’t have to watch the Mets get shut out every other night.

Mets history 34 years ago today Joe Torre 4 double plays

July 21st 1975 I was listening to good ole Bob Murphy on the radio as the Mets played the Astros . Felix Milan was batting 2nd and Mets 3rd baseman was batting 3rd. Well Milan had 4 hits that night in the Mets 6-2 loss. While Joe Torre cleared Milan of the base paths all 4 times he was up by hitting into 4 double plays . 2 times Joe grounded to the shortstop , once to 2nd base and one a come backer to the pitcher Ken Forsch.

In an interview with Milan during a broadcast earlier this year he remembers Torre blaming him for the 4 double plays by not getting a double on a couple of those singles.

Check out the line score over at baseball reference http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197507210.shtml

Can you believe the time of the game was 1 hour and 59 minutes . Even with 8 runs scored and 23 hits between the 2 teams

Mets should take hitting lessons from Castillo and Pagan.

Now that the Halladay rumor is yesterdays news lets talk about something that relevant today. The fact that this team is not hitting. Here are some numbers not including last nights win over the last 30 days.

Wright is hitting .250 with 1 homer and 5 rbi’s. Cora is hitting .200 , Tatis .214, Santos .222, Murphy .205, Reed.167, Schneider .200.

What the Mets need to concentrate is learning again how to hit. I do not want to here the bs about there is no one to protect Wright. The fact they play in the vast expanse of Citi Field. There are small market teams out there that have players that do not have protection and still find away to get on base.

Thankfully fan bashing favorite Luis Castillo is hitting over .300 and Angel Pagan are hitting. Pagan hit a triple the other day and I almost shead a tear. I almost forgot what a triple was with this team. Now why can they hit for an average? Ok maybe these other guys maybe are not the hitters these 2 are but they should be hitting something more then .200.

Maybe the Mets need to start thinking of making a switch in the dugout with HOJO. There is not 1 guy who has blossomed under his reign.

Plus don’t you find it funny that Frenchie is taking lessons from Wright who again last night failed to drive in a run.

Talk Me In Off The Ledge!

It was reported last night by Jon Heyman - Sports Illustrated that Jeff Wilpon has assured both General Manager Omar Minaya and Manager Jerry Manuel their jobs are safe this year.


Minaya, who has a new three year contract that begins in 2010, and Manuel who is signed through 2010 are said to be "safe".

Not to go on a rant, but the Mets, once again, are at the airport when their train comes in. I'm not saying either man should be fired...nor be retained. What I am saying is this team is in dire need of a change.

Since the waning days of Bobby Valentine, the Mets have been a fundamentally poor baseball team, despite a competitive year in 2006. In that time, the Mets have had Steve Phillips, Jim Douquette, and Omar Minaya as General Manager. They have had Bobby Valentine, Art Howe, Willie Randolph, and Jerry Manuel as Manager. They have had countless player changes, but the results are the same.

Now, being somewhat of a statistics buff, and pretty good at "simple" math, when factoring this equation, the only common denominator is...THE WILPON's.

I don't want legions of our loyal readers to perceive I hate the Wilpon's, or that they are terrible people. I don't think that. I do believe that they run a poor business. I believe they spend too much time living in the Brooklyn Dodger past, and thus pay more tribute and attention to the National League club that formerly resided in Brooklyn. They don't respect the past of the franchise they own, and I for one as a fan am sick and tired of it.

I truly believe that Fred Wilpon is a good man. I believe he looks at his players as his surrogate children. That being said, I believe he doesn't have a clue as to what will make this team not only successful, but popular. Before this latest Manager/General Manager regime, Tom Glavine, Al Leiter and John Franco were allowed to be in Fred's ear too much, and I believe that is what promulgated the Scott Kazmir trade.

They spent a small fortune building Gil Hodges Memorial Park, but there is little tribute to our NL franchise that resides in Flushing. I have no problem with the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. I have a problem that there is more tribute paid to a man who never wore the Orange and Blue than there is to Tom Seaver, Tommie Agee, Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, and even Marv Throneberry.

Then there was the now famous incident with Dwight Gooden (24 Hours...April 20, 2009) signing a blank wall in the Ebbets Club (don't get me started!). It wasn't until a complete uproar that the ownership decided it was a good idea, and should be something the fans can embrace.

What about the Mets Hall Of Fame? Why is there no place for it in the new digs?

This brings me back to Fred and Jeff and the running of the team. The point is, neither has a clue. After all these years, they still don't understand not only how to run the team, but have no clue as to what it is like to be a Mets fan. They don't understand the people they are charging a kings ransom to watch a team play below .500 ball.

Now, the Wilpon's finances are their business, and their business only. They claim that the Bernard Madoff has not factored into the business of the Mets, but there isn't a person out there with a pulse that believes this. I believe that this is the reason why they didn't upgrade their offense more, and were able to pick up Gary Sheffield off the scrap heap for the $400,000 minimum, and why they are seriously looking at Julio Lugo. It is not our business to know their finances, but they should simply not answer the question than to distort the truth. This is going on the assumption that they have been fiscally hurt by the Ponzi scheme.

I also have a difficult time believing the Mets medical staff is as embarrassingly incompetent as what is being displayed. Could it possibly be that ownership is not heeding the advice of their doctors? After years of ineptness and after having changed medical institutions to tend to their players, again, the only common denominator...

It appears this season is a bust. Hey, it happens every few years...unfortunately much more frequently for us, the Mets, than many other teams. It's time for Jeff and Fred to seriously consider selling the team. I would love to see Nelson Doubleday back owning this team, but that ship has sailed.

The Mets need a change, and it might not necessarily be in player personnel or in management. They need a change in ownership!

Talk me in folks, I'm on the ledge!

Mets reject Roy Halladay deal?

Are the Mets buyers or sellers? Omar still considers the team buyers in the respect that he is still trying to improve the club. This is on the heels of the report by Jon Heyman that the Mets had rejected a deal that would bring Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay to New York in exchange for Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell and Ruben Tejada. First off is there any credibility to this? Also my question is this when was this proposed? I mean did this just happen in the last 2 days or 3 weeks ago when the Mets were 2 games out of first?

The Mets would have gotten Halladay through 2010 . A 1 -2 punch of Santana and Halladay would have not made much difference in 09 but next year when everyone healthy the Mets could have had 2 bonified #1's in there pitching rotation. Of course the Mets would have given up a lot to get him? Not really . Of course maybe it wouldnt leave the Mets with any trade chips besides the Big Pelf to get a slugger.

Mets bring up pitcher Sullivan. Sheff sits.

The Mets brought up Cory Sullivan to replace injured pitcher Fernando Nieve. Not sure why him over Nick Evans but the Mets bench is thin with Sheff just taking up space with his injured leg.



Tonights all mighty lineup against the Nationals who have lost 4 since the All Star break.

Pagan,Castillo,Murphy,Wright,Francoeur,Reed,Cora,Schneider,Hernandez

Mets are run like the folks who brought down Enron.

Ok maybe that is a little over the top but have you ever seen a company run the way the Mets are?

They have someone getting inured every week and nothing is done about it.
They leave people injured on the bench for days and nothing is done about it.
They have no soldiers to replace the injured and nothing is done about it.
They have no one who is willing to step up and get a big hit and nothing is done about.

The Mets are more likely to hit into a triple play then hit a home run and noting is done about it.

There is writing on the wall everywhere that screams changes need to be made and nothing is done about it. Oh your worried about tickets sales? That time is over with. People will go since they cant get anything for the tickets these days anyway.

Wow man what a company to work for. You basically just need to show up and collect a paycheck no matter how badly you perform at your job function. Hey Omar can I get a job with the Mets? A job where you don’t have to be responsible for your actions.

What is it going to take for this organization to WAKE UP!!

Free Falling

And Im free, free fallin

Yeah Im free, free fallin

~ Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers ~

No truer words have been written, especially when discussing this season and the NY Mets.

Once again, the offense was non-existent, another injury was incurred, and poor relief pitching, mainly by Tim "I'm Still With The Team Julio Lugo" Redding.

The Braves slapped the Mets silly yesterday, embarrassing them 7-1. It was a close game...for two innings. After that...

The trading deadline is 11 days away. Are the Mets going to be buyers or sellers? We all know one of two things will happen:

1. The Mets wil stand pat


2. The Mets will be buyers, because "we're still in it"

I don't believe the Mets will sell. This organization is beyond compare with delusions of grandeur. Their excuse will be that with all these injuries, "we're only nine games back." That's today. In another week, they could easily be 15 games back.

The Mets need to face facts. They don't have a clue as to when Beltran or Reyes will be back. DelGado will not play this year, or if he does, he will not play in a meaningful game.

Mets starting pitcher, Fernando Nieve left the game in the second inning with what is being diagnosed as a right quadriceps strain. I guess that will make it easier when Maine returns...

How do you feel? Should the Mets be sellers or buyers? Stand pat? Should they regroup for 2010?

Hey can I borrow $300.00? hang with the 69 Mets

The Mets will be having a charity event on Aug 22 as part of the 40 year anniversary celebration of the 1969 World Series champions. According to Adam Rubin we will see the likes of the usual cast of characters like Tom Seaver , Jerry Koosman, Ron Swoboda and also hall of famer Nolan Ryan. Ok can we have Ventura catch a pitch from Ryan? Ok sorry . I can never get that of my head the pummeling Ventura took from Ryan. Anyway it only cost $300 a ticket so if someone can lend me $300.00 that would be great.

Of course I was 3 years old during that great year and remember absolutely nothing but I do remember seeing films on it. Remember 8mm/16mm films? You know before VCR's. Ok please tell me you remember those.

The '69 team is cause for celebration. At least something 40 years later is worth celebrating. Ok so now I need to get that $300.00. Where is my Tim Redding rookie card....

Johan Santana and the Mets play small ball and win 5-1

I was surprised to see Santana on first and seeing Angel Pagan sacrifice him over to 2nd base after already having 2 hits in the game. I mean maybe he was trying for an infield hit but still Mets accomplished a lot on a night that Johan shut out the Braves for 7 innings.

The Mets even had a suicide squeeze in the 9th that was effective. For as day the Mets did there best to execute on the base paths and scored 5 whole runs. For a team that has averaged a little over 3 runs since June 1st thats an accomplishment.

Can everyone stop saying Pedro Feliciano has been lights out. Every time people start saying that he starts becoming like Bobby Parnell and does not get anyone out. The Mets used 4 pitchers in the bottom of the 8th inning to get 3 outs. I know K Rod usually never pitches in the 8th innings but when you need to use 4 pitchers I think that is a good time for K Rod to come in.

Mets might release Redding and sign Lugo. Does any of it matter?

Last night was fun. My brother, not much of a baseball fan was over and he jokingly said the Mets were down 3-0 right after the first pitch. Well he was not far from the truth since that was the score right after the first. Of course that would be ok to lose 3-0 but 11-0 on the day they retire Greg Maddux's number? After he says in his speech lets beat the Mets like old times. Nice! touch!

The NY Daily News mentions that the Mets might release Tim Redding and sign Julio Lugo who was released by the Red Sox. Oh boy . What a difference this will make. Here is an eye opener how about trading Mike Pelfrey. He might get us Tony Pena jr that was just released by the Royals. How about trading Gary Sheffield back to the Tigers for Dontrelle Willis?

Its over folks this team is a wreck. 2 games into the second half that had so much hope after there mini winning streak the team is done. Here is my list who needs to go.

Tony B the Mets Assistant to the GM who controls the minor leagues. Manuel was asked why he has only 4 players on the bench and going with 13 pitchers. Well because the Mets have a baren system. They have no one down there. Nobody!!! By Tony B go mess up somone elses organization.

The scouting department needs to go. They cant find one diamond in the rough? If teams say the Mets have nothing to trade then the scouts have to take some blame.

The medical staff or whoever creates this mantra of dont DL anybody for 7-10 days and let them sit on the bench before we do that. I mean come on if a guy is hurt DL him

I will give Jerry and Omar a pass right now because if all the boys were back and they were over .500 people woujld be ok with everything.

If the Mets want to shake things up they need to do more then get rid of Redding.

Bring Back Banner Day

The New York Mets abandoned many of their fun prmotional dates they used to have years ago. Some of the favorites were Old Timers Day, batting helmet day, and of course, Banner Day.


Jay Schreiber - NY Times - has an article in yesterday's NY Times, where he conducted his own Banner Day and had readers send in their "Banners". Many were good. Here are some of the better ones:

Thanks to Schreiber for a great article!

True Lies?

Yesterday, while filling in for Mike Francesa, Joe and Evan on WFAN interviewed Jerry Manuel in his weekly time slot.

A few things came out in the interview that I had a problem with:

On why Daniel Murphy doesn't play everyday and should he play everyday:

Jerry said Murphy is for all intents and purposes his everyday starting 1B. When followed up with why does he sit against lefties and sometimes after having a big game, Jerry responded by saying that Murphy is young, and has to adjust to a full season. He doesn't want him getting tired and wearing down. This is nonsense. Murphy is 23 years old. David Wright played everyday as a second year player...

About sitting against lefties, Manuel offered some interesting tid-bits. He said that Murphy goes well the opposite way, and he has hit well against lefties because they pitched him away, and he was able to hit the ball to LF. Now, lefty pitchers are starting to pitch him inside, and Murph has to learn to pull those pitches. Jerry admitted that Murphy is getting better at it. My follow-up would have been: how will he hit them better while sitting against lefties?

Jerry also said that he wants to keep his bench players active, so they aren't rusty when called upon. Again, Benigno and Roberts should have thrown in the question as to why Tatis is in the line-up most days, and is having a bad year.

When asked about the Mets injuries, and why they are so poor at discovering "big" injuries:

Manuel said he has never been in a situation like this, so he can't explain it. He also doesn't blame the medical staff. Joe and Evan should have asked (although it would never be answered) if it was an upper management ineptness...

Another interesting point was regarding whether there was a rift between Manuel and Church:

Jerry said he loves Ryan like a son (more like a bastard child in my opinion). Sometimes parents and kids have problems. He said he loves Ryan, his wife, and son. He also said the couple is expecting another child. He said that Atlanta will be good for Ryan because it is closer to his home. Jerry also mentioned that he has a bridge in his backyard that is for sale...real cheap.

To listen to the entire interview: Jerry Manuel On WFAN - July 16, 2009

Mets might be fresh but wind up with the same results.

In the pregame show on SNY, if you saw it, Jeremy Reed commented that everyone is fresh and ready to go and will be playing hard in the 2nd half of the 09 Mets season. Well they played hard and still lost. A couple of things that were positive did stand out.

The Mets finally just lost a game without beating themselves by sloppy play in the field. No missed pop ups. No throws over someone’s head . No throwing to the wrong base. It was nice to see if need to pull out something positive. Also Oliver Perez seemed to mature a little with his pitching. After giving back to back homers in the 2nd inning he didn’t get mad he got smart. He started using his breaking pitches a lot more and seem to keep the Braves off balance.

The Mets were down 2-0 and battled back. They still lack that big hit . I mean can David Wright just go back to old ways. No one wants a hitter batting 3rd with 5 dingers.

Bobby Parnell needs to stop relying on his fastball . I wish Bobbie Ojeda was a coach because he would beat that into Parnell's head. Guys in the majors can hit 95 mph fastballs especially Larry.

The Mets are now 7.5 games out. Omar said before the game that he spoke to 5 GM's about possible trades. It is getting to the point of why bother.

The latest injury update on F-Mart, John Maine and Carlos Beltran.

Ahh at least its news. It is not the most promising news but at least its something. According to Adams Rubins blog Fernando Martinez had surgery and will be out 6-8 weeks. He was being used in centerfield while Beltran has been on the DL. Beltran seems no closer to playing in games as of yet. The bruise has not gone done much. So doubtful we will see him at all this month.

John Maine pitched batting practice to Jose Reyes. Both could be back by the end of the month but as per the report from Omar, Reyes is not cutting on the bases.

My question is this. If all along we were told the Mets need to keep it afloat until the All-Star break, what will be the new mantra now? See you in ’10?

The Worst Insult Of All

Mike Silva - NY Baseball Digest has brought to light a theory, speculation if you will, that many have been rumbling about all season. The Mets will not be adding payroll to this years’ team. In fact, he goes as far as to say that the acquisition of Jeff Francoeur might very well to the only “significant” piece they will add.

Silva bases his beliefs on an article published in the NY Post (Bart Hubbuch) on July 14th, that suggests that the Wilpon’s might have lost as much as $700M to Bernard Madoff in his now notorious Ponzi scheme.

Legally and morally, the Wilpon’s conduct Sterling Enterprises and the New York Mets as separate businesses like they should, but having been burnt badly, and with the ongoing terrible economy, Fred and Jeff might be remiss to go spending oodles of dough. They have the highest payroll in the NL at $145M committed to players this year. Silva goes as far as to say, “Maybe just being shamed by a “good friend” is enough to disengage them from spending money, regardless of whether it’s the baseball team, or real estate.”

Silva states some of the well known ‘embarrassments’ the Mets have suffered: Mike Scioscia’s HR, the 'Worst Team Money Could Buy', Scott Kazmir, and the collapses – but for the Mets and their fans to accept that as of now there is no present and no future due to Madoff, that would be the “worst insult.”

Mets finally start second half in Atlanta tonight. No word on Reyes and Beltran

With the Mets finally getting the 2nd half started in Atlanta tonight we have to taper our enthusiasm since they still will not have Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran in the lineup.

Beltran has felt better but no word when he might get into rehab games. Reyes might be the closest to come back but no date has been set.

The Mets will send Oliver Perez to the mound against Derick Lowe tonight with Mike Pelfrey going friday and Johan on Saturday.

The Mets have 75 games left in the season . Papers have said the Mets need to go at a .640 clip to make it to 90 games. Dont see it. If the Mets can get some of these boys back sooner then later I see the Mets going 42-33 in there last 75. I don't see the Mets making the playoffs being 6 games over .500. Also watch the teams that make trades before the deadline. If a NL team gets Roy boy from Toronto and its not the Phillies, the Mets might be looking up to 2010 and not the NL Wild Card.

Check out our poll about how many wins these rag tag boys will get in the 2nd half.