For the first time in as long as I can remember, watching the Mets play is not Plan A of my summer existence.  Livan Hernandez is pitching tonight?  Maybe “Wipeout” is on.  Oliver Perez going against the Nationals?  Let’s go rent “Watchmen” from that dollar machine at the supermarket instead.  Injuries are clearly the main culprit this season.  However, watching players like Omir Santos, Jeff Francoeur, and Livan is frustrating, considering the thought process behind their significant playing time.  It took a torn quadriceps from Fernando Nieve for Jon Niese to finally get the call from AAA.  That he has been in the minor leagues since mid-May is indefensible.  In sorry times like this, one option is to call up minor leaguers to see what they can do. [...]

MMO – This Is Your Brain On Mets Baseball

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about the latest Mets follies, but maybe these will make you laugh. They say it’s the best medicine you know.  This first image was taken out of yesterday’s paper and proves that if nothing else, God still loves the Mets. Maybe if we pray hard enough, he’ll send us four starting pitchers, three power hitters, two gold gloves, and VP of Player Development in a pear tree. (Hat tip to Gregg Hopps) [...]

NY Sports Day – With Bernazard The Wilpons Are No Better Than Dolan

Have I missed something? When did James L. Dolan purchase the Mets?   Ok, the MSG Boss hasn’t reached out into Queens, but with the way the Mets are acting these days with their front office, you might think Isiah Thomas is running the team.  Sure, Thomas is safely away from New York starting his gig as coach of Florida International, but Mets VP of player development Tony Bernazard has become the New Isiah with his antics over the past few weeks.  Let’s review: Bernazard proceeded to berate a low level Mets employee because a scout dared to sit in his seat. He then challenged a bunch of Double-A players to a fight in Binghamton taking off his shirt because they weren’t playing up to his standards. [...]

Mack’s Mets – Enough With The B-Met Drama

In one way or another, I’ve been on the same side of the media fence for over 30 years. I’ve watched us turn the news industry into a travelling circus, based solely on getting ratings, rather than content. I was associated for a couple of years with the man that created CNBC and, I always remembered his words to the original people that were behind the desks there: “if we tell someone to buy Cisco in the first quarter hour, find someone to say you should sell Cisco< and put them on the 3rd quarter hour.” It’s all theatre now.

Promote the Curse – Remember, You Help Pay Tony Bernazard’s Salary

Or you, and all the rest of us, contribute anyway. We contribute each time we buy a David Wright t-shirt or switch on SNY. We contribute by supporting this team.
Of everything else that’s happened this season, the news that the Mets have a senior management member who would whip off his shirt and challenge our Double-A team to a fight is easily the most infuriating thing I’ve read about this organization.

It was revealed a few hours ago that the Mets were offered Cy Young winner Roy Halladay for a collection of Bobby Parnell, Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese, and Ruben Tejada and Omar Minaya rejected the trade.  Many seem to see this as a way of giving up, and it could appear that way.  But let’s take a look at what we’re doing, not what we’re giving up, and what Omar must be thinking in rejecting the trade.

Always Amazin’ – It’ll All Be Over Soon

It’s a shame that I went on vacation when I did.  When the only headlines involves the Mets anxiously waiting for the impending free agency of Red Sox SS Julio Lugo, it’s safe to describe the baseball’s weekend activity as quiet. But I inadvertently missed what presumably was the last gasp of the Mets’ 2009 season.My dad frequently argues that he won’t give a team the time of day unless their games back are within the number of weeks left in the season. The rationale, he explains, revolves around the idea that a competitive team should be capable of making up at least 1 game per week. You might get a Cinderella run like the 2007 Colorado Rockies once in a while, but “keeping the pace” is the most important thing.

SI.com - Phillies won’t give up Drabek for Halladay; Cliff Lee on the block?

The latest word from a source familiar with Philadelphia’s thinking is that the front-running Phillies have decided they will not include top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek in a four-player package for superstar pitcher Roy Halladay, perhaps raising the chances that Halladay will be dealt elsewhere or maybe even stay with the Jays. The Phillies are believed to have told Toronto of their Drabek decision, but if they haven’t yet they will inform the Jays very soon.

Sports Radio NY – Stuck in the Middle

The Wilpons have apparently given Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel a vote of confidence and told them they won’t be fired this season. It’s not the “dreaded vote of confidence” when one gets fired a week later, but the “we owe these guys too much money to fire them” vote of confidence. I wish I had that kind of job security. “The last three years have been a complete disaster around here, and you’re a big reason why – here’s a three-year extension and don’t worry about getting fired.” So now that we know Minaya and Manuel willl be around to see this nightmare of a season through, what should the Mets do at the trade deadline? Buyers or sellers?

Greeneville Sun - Mets Complete Sweep

With several canines roaming around the ball park with their masters in tow during “Bark in the Park” night, the Greeneville Astros absorbed their sixth straight setback and were swept for the second straight series as the Kingsport Mets took a 4-1 win.  For a game that started out with so much promise when Greeneville lead-off man Jose Altuve, the smallest man on the Astros’ roster, unloaded with a solo homer over the scoreboard in left field, Kingsport’s pitching held Greeneville to one more hit the rest of the game.

In 2009, the South Atlantic League has been a hotbed of talented young arms as I have had the opportunity to see a number of former high round picks, talented international prospects, and of course, the Sand Gnats staff which consists of arguably half of the Mets best young arms in Jeurys Familia, Robert Carson, and Kyle Allen.  As a former college catcher who took great pride in managing a pitching staff, I can’t help but wonder why the Mets haven’t left their talented arms in more experienced hands like the Greenville Drive (Red Sox), or Hickory Crawdads (Rangers) who also have talented staffs.[...]

MMO – MetsMerized Player Of The Week! 7/12-7/19

Most people won’t be paying attention to the Mets blogosphere anymore, and I can understand why. But that doesn’t mean the bloggers are going to stop blogging! The “Fan Confidence Rating” on Metsblog continues to amaze me by staying above 0%. Really. Because I’ve been reading a lot about giving it in and sadly, it does make sense. I don’t want this season to be a total loss, and I don’t think it is or will be. Rebuilding is for teams that are just bad. We’re just injury plagued. However, this team, as with many others in the past, [...]

The ‘Ropolitans – The next 14

The Mets have 14 very important games coming up. If the season outcome hasn’t already solidified, it will be soon.  The Mets kick off in Washington tonight for a three game series, then on to Houston for three more.  They return home next Monday for four games against Colorado and four more against Arizona.  Those 14 games, coming against the good and the bad of the National League, will be the the true sign of the Mets season.  If the Mets can make some sort of run here, they might just have a shot.  If they flounder like they have been for all of June and July, then the nail is officially in the coffin.

NY Baseball Digest – Mets, Even As Sellers, Not in Great Position

The Houston Astros were dead and buried back in 1990. During the month of August they made a trade which seemed innocuous at the time. The Boston Red Sox, in need of a right handed reliever, traded a rookie named Jeff Bagwell to Houston for Larry Andersen, Houston’s top flight right handed set up man. The Sox made the playoffs only to be swept by Oakland. Bagwell, unknown in the pre-internet dark days, went on to a Hall of Fame caliber career with the Astros.  The Mets are in a position where they will be sellers come July 31st. Can they find their version of Jeff Bagwell?

Mack’s Mets -  Q&A With Mack

Mack, great post this morning. Living in Boston I am surrounded by Red Sox minor league teams that are not only good, but loaded with prospects. I go to the see the Binghamton Mets and and Buffalo when they make to Pawtucket and Manchester NH. I have to tell you, I noticed the sever lack of talent on both teams. Omar has a few stars in the minor leagues, and a few stars on the majorleague roster. But the depth of the system severly lacks. That has to be a reflection on him. Lets hope Adam Rubin’s post about a shake up of the mets roster and front office is correct[...]

At one time or another, almost all of us do or say something we were trying hard not to. For most, it is a minor embarrassment or an awkward moment. For a professional athlete, it can mean the end of a career.  Tom House, a former major league pitcher and now the pitching coach at Southern California, calls it the Creature. Golfers call it the yips.  By whatever name, it once attacked Yankees second baseman Chuck[...]

Metsblog - Opinion: Time Not On Mets Side

As much as I want to stay positive and believe that the Mets can turn this thing around, I just feel that this season will end the same way it has 45 other times for them- without a championship.  Just saying the word “championship” makes it seem so far-fetched after how this team has been performing this year.  Yes, the injuries are the biggest reason for this, but I feel that if the Wilpons and Omar Minaya continue to wait for the cavalry to return, this season will become a lost cause.

Mack’s Mets – Prospect Update: 2010 Crop, Over The Hill Gang – Last Chance Larry’s

The 2010 Crop: Fernando Martinez – OF – AAA – Omar Minaya informed the press on July 16 that Martinez went under the knife during the all-star break, and will be lost for 6-8 weeks. Frankly, with the way the season is going, I hope they just leave him alone and send him off in a timely manner to Hawaii for a few weeks of winter ball. There sure seems to be a good chance this kid won’t be ready for CitiField next April.

MMO – Mets Literally Add Insult To Injury

For the first time in six years, the Mets began the second half of the season with a loss, falling a season-low 7 1/2 games behind the division leading Phillies. As if that wasn’t enough, last night the Mets were handed their second straight loss after the break, their eighth shutout of the season, and their fourth shutout in the last nine games. Oh, did I mention that they broke their own season-low record from just one night earlier, falling 8 1/2 games behind Philadelphia? Let me spell it out for you …  E L E V E N – N O T H I N G !!  It doesn’t end there. While the Mets may insist it’s just leg cramps with Gary Sheffield, we all know what’s coming. A 15-day stint (if not longer) on the DL, with no one, absolutely no one in the minor leagues, to replace him on the roster.

Robert Carson (5 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K) - After receiving some serious publicity by tossing a 3 hit, 9 inning shutout versus the Lexington Legends, prospect junkies are clamoring for whatever information they can find on the young lefty. On the evening I watched him pitch, he threw against Tim Beckham and the Sally League Tampa Bay Rays affiliate.

MMO – Will The Mets Party Like It’s 1987?

Much has been made about the 2009 Mets resembling the 1987 team because of the injuries.  The difference is that this year’s injuries have mainly cost the Mets their offensive spark plugs while the 1987 team lost their starting pitchers to various injuries.  I have done extensive research on the 1987 team and I will try to show why the current team is not dead yet.  For those of you who already know the ending to the saga of the 1987 season, please don’t spoil it for our younger readers.  I’m trying to give them a little bit of hope here.

Around the Majors – End of Francoeur Era A Good Thing For Braves

Frank Wren pulled one over on Omar Minaya last Friday by trading Jeff Francoeur for Ryan Church. As a Braves fan I’ve been waiting on Atlanta to trade Francoeur, send him down or make him a fourth or fifth outfielder. Best-case scenerio, I thought, they would trade him for something. Braves fans got the best-case scenario.  It’s not that I took pleasure in Francoeur’s fall from grace or hope that he continues to be as bad as he was for Atlanta. The Atlanta native seems like a nice enough guy, and I don’t believe he was loafing or being lazy.

Amazin Avenue – Schneider On Fire – Enjoy It While It Lasts

From the time he came off the DL in late May through the All Star Break, Brian Schneider hit .258/.351/.500 in 74 plate appearances.  Small sample size, but this is a respectable line at any position, and outstanding for a catcher.  Also, all 3 of his home runs were hit at Citi Field.  This hot streak has helped compensate for a brutal first 2 weeks of the season that saw him post an OPS of .440 over 25 plate appearances.

Newsday – “We didn’t actually beat ourselves”

Wow. Talk about setting the bar low. That’s what Jerry Manuel had to say after the Mets fell to the Braves, 5-3, last night at Turner Field. Translation: Look Ma, no errors! Give it up to the Mets, folks. They threw to the right base, ran out every batted ball and didn’t wear their caps backward on the field. Well, that and $6.50 will get you a Shack Burger at Citi Field if there isn’t a W at the end of the day.

1. Omar Minaya, Mets: The Mets never could have conceived a first half this horrendous. Not with an NL-high $140-million payroll, five megastars and sky-high expectations. But while Minaya may not be blameless, and the team has looked sloppy in the field and on the base paths, the main issue is all the injuries. When all the aches and pains are added up, the Mets have a spent a baseball-high $15 million[...]

The ‘Ropolitans – Pedro to Play Phor Philly

Pedro Martinez and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a one-year deal, worth $1 million. There is also a chance for Pedro to earn up to $1.5 million in incentives. After signing the contract, Martinez was placed on the Phillies 15-day DL with a mild shoulder strain. This is to allow him to rehab in the minor leagues before making his first start in the majors. I wrote this the other day and I still stand[...]

Daily News – Newest Mets slugger Jeff Francoeur talks about first trip back to Atlanta

After the Mets put the finishing touches on their 9-7 win over the Reds on Sunday to close out the season’s first half, most everyone in the clubhouse headed home for a little family time.

Three Mets – David Wright, Frankie Rodriguez and Johan Santana – headed to St. Louis to partake in the National League’s latest loss in the All-Star Game, while others like Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado, headed to Florida to continue rehab assignments that the Mets hope will bring them north some day soon.[...]

Always Amazin – Freddie Might Need All the Coupons He Can Get

Let’s preface this by saying it’s speculation. Larry King didn’t present the Wilpons’ bank statement to the writer not offered definitive proof that the Wilpons lost $700 million.

That being said, Wilpon and King are reportedly close friends from the ol’ neighborhood. Wilpon allegedly introduced King to Madoff. I imagine the two discuss finances. And I imagine Larry King might have an idea of what Wilpon’s losses might actually look like, even if Freddie will never publicly admit them (nor should he).

MMO – The Timing Is Right For A Comeback

By August 12, a little less than one month from today, we’ll have a good idea whether the Mets will still be hunt for post season play, or if the 2009 Met season will end in disappointment (like the past three years).

Thursday the Mets begin their first road trip of the second half with four games down in Atlanta. The Braves and Mets are always a good match-up. This series we have the Jeff Francoeur storyline to watch. Will Francoeur, returning to Atlanta as the opposition ( a Met no less), try to show the Braves they were wrong to trade him?

As most of you know, when this team starts getting me down, I go old school. I take my laptop out to the porch  with my radio tuned in to WFAN in an effort to remember why I love this game so much. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching the game on TV, but my father, a baseball purist, loved to listen to the game on WFAN when I was growing up, so in a way, it’s paying homage to the man who made me love this game and this team. So here I sit, listening to Evan Roberts on the radio (my baseball personality crush) and taking a second to remember what I love about the Mets. For me, there is nothing more pure than listening to the game on the radio. Even going to game is modernized now, with all of the big screens and sing alongs.

Amazin Avenue – Braves Fans React To Church-For-Francoeur

The Ryan Church-Jeff Francoeur trade is incredibly foolish, and no amount of “upside”, “great throwing arm”, and “he plays 162 games” can change that.  Our multiple trade threads are saturated with confusion and justifiable anger directed at the Mets front office.  On the other side of the Mason-Dixon Line, our friends at Talking Chop have trade threads generally filled with relief and utter jubilation.  Here are some of my favorite comments from their threads, which demonstrate just how thrilled Braves fans are to be rid of Failcoeur:

Daily News – One and done: Evans sent down

Nick Evans could only stave off demotion for one day. He’s in the lineup at first base on Saturday for Triple-A Buffalo against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Evans had been told he was headed to the minors before Friday’s Mets-Reds game, but the trade of Ryan Church, and Jeff Francoeur not yet in town, prompted the extra day’s stay.

MMO – Please Give Me 10 Minutes in the Dugout!

JMAN’s post-game last night–not so good. Very Randolph-esque now. Lots of mumblin’, lots of hoping, lots of “it’s not so good; we have to try to turn it around” crap! Fans, I’m thinkin’ it’s high time for a little fire and brimstone. Whadda ya say? No one would seriously argue that a bit of the rant and rave would make matters worse, right? Here’s an appeal to the Wilpons or Minaya: Fly me to Queens and give me ten minutes in the dugout w/ my beloved and pathetic Mets.

The Star Ledger – New York Mets party like it’s 1992 (hint: that’s not good)

In case you missed it — maybe you did something mentally healthy Friday night, as opposed to watching them — the Mets were shut out for the third time in five games against Cincinnati. That is the first time the Mets have had a stretch like that since July 25-29, 1992. I know how much nostalgia that 72-90 season evokes among Mets fans, so here is a look back at the lineup that broke out of that funk with a whopping 3-0 win over the Cubs on Aug. 1, 1992.

I thought I would do something special in honor of Fathers Day and take a look at all those fathers and sons that have played in the Major League’s and see if I could field a decent team. I think I did pretty good, and I was surprised to see how common it really was for fathers and sons to play in a game.

Here you go…

Dom D’s Mets Fan Blog – Exploring The Lack of Trade Options For The Mets

With Carlos Beltran headed for an MRI tomorrow and still no sign of Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Oliver Perez I think now is an appropriate time to discuss trading for someone who could provide some steady offense, especially if Beltran hits the DL. The problem for the Mets is they have very few trade chips to work with. Their top organizational prospect, Fernando Martinez was recently called up and didn’t perform the way they would have liked. While he still has tremendous upside, the lack of success certainly didn’t help his stock.

The Star Ledger – New York Mets pitcher Fernando Nieve will remain in the rotation, Mets manager Jerry Manuel says

Mets manager Jerry Manuel plans to keep Fernando Nieve in the starting rotation, even with injured pitchers John Maine and Oliver Perez scheduled to return in the near future, Manuel said Sunday before the start of the final game of the Mets series with Tampa Bay.  Both Maine and Perez will pitch for Single-A Port St. Lucie on Monday. Each will start a game of a doubleheader against Port Charlotte — one game is a resumption of a suspended game earlier this year. But if Nieve continues to pitch well, Maine or Perez (or both) will join the Mets bullpen.

Amazin Avenue - Pedro Feliciano Wants a Vacation

Location: Mets clubhouse, June 21st, 11:00 AM
Situation: Pedro Feliciano sitting in his chair, 20 lbs. of ice on his arm, contemplating how to get some days off

This is ridiculous. I’ve pitched in 5 games in a row now. Some guy in the stands yelled to me that I’m on track to pitch in 96 games this season. I don’t want my arm to fall off, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do? Think Pedro, think.

:::Jerry Manuel walks by:::

Jerry: “Pedro, you will be pitching today.”
Pedro: “But what if it’s a blowout? We’ve got Switzer and Taka-”
Jerry: “You will be pitching today. It is written. See you in the 7th inning.”

Amazin Avenue -