Someone needs to get Howie Rose one of those Queens Real Estate handouts they have at the supermarket, as it might be easier to move back to the boro of his birth as none other than Mr. Islander, Chris Bota says the Skill Sets are ready to build an arena in the Iron Triangle and the Icelanders will move down the L I E and call it home:

  Jones Lang LaSalle, the project management company for the upcoming $500 million renovation of Madison Square Garden, has begun work on a feasibility study for an Islanders arena at Willets Point — the property surrounding Citi Field, the second-year home of the Mets.

“This is beyond the preliminary stage,” said the source. “You don’t bring in a big hitter like JLL unless you’re serious. This tells me the Islanders and Mets have made progress in a partnership to take the hockey team to Queens. If Charles Wang and Nassau can’t cut a deal, this will be a great option.”

It’s a bit puzzling why the Skill Sets would get involved in building an arena if they were not looking to either buy the Icelnaders from Charles Wang or just become a partner.  There is always the the idea of the Icelanders becoming much needed winter programing for SNY but I believe the team has a big time contract with MSG so that my or my not be tough to break.

I want to thank Jerry Manuel and David Wright for throwing me under the bus last night. Yesterday I posted on NYB Blogs telling Mets fans to relax and not give up on this team and especially on Wright who I defended big time. So how do they repay me?

Well J-Man had a managerial night that makes you wonder just how long he has as the leader of the Mets. It’s one thing to be hard headed and not see the experiment to bat Jose Reyes third in the lineup is an out and out failure, but then to have him bunt in the 9^th inning with Luis Castillo the go ahead run on 2^nd base was just stupid baseball. If you put Reyes in that spot in the order, you’re saying you have total faith in him as a hitter as the 3 hitter is usually the teams’ best hitter. So why would you make Reyes bunt in an obvious RBI situation. Reyes barely can bunt for a base hit never mind a sac bunt but also what message are you sending him? I’m batting you 3 but I don’t have faith in you to get a big hit, just move Castillo to third and let someone else get the job done.

Wright didn’t help me either with his two K’s, the biggest one in the 9th inning. Maybe I’m just not seeing or maybe I don’t want to see the decline in David Wright but when I look at his digits they are right there with all the league leaders but it just seems like the big spot is a tough spot for DW. I’m not jumping ship though, I’m still loyal to D-Wright      

Manuel said in his post game presser that he’s thinking of making some lineup changes, gee ya think Jerry? It seems the only one who favors Reyes in the 3 spot is Manuel. As Ralph Kiner said the other day, Reyes belongs as a leadoff man. When Gary Cohen asked who should bat third, Kiner replied “The Mets don’t have a 3 hitter” He’s 100 % right. The Mets 3 hitter is jogging in St Lonesome. They have a leadoff hitter but he bats third. If Manuel doesn’t bat Reyes leadoff tonight and bench Frenchy for The Animal then he’s just telling Mets fans and management he wants to be fired.   

I didn’t watch all of this game as I spent most of my evening watching the Boston Celtics send LeBron James and the Cavs packing (more on that in a minute) but couldn’t Manuel have given Johan Santana another inning of work? I know he batted second in the top of the 8th but he seemed to be pitching his best game of the season and was far from tired (just 98 pitches) and even though Fernando Nieve got a DP to get out the 8^th how many days can Manuel go to him or Feliciano or Takahashi? Those three have become everyday players.

I still stand by my the Mets are still in this stance but I’m starting to feel a shake up in the mangers office needs to be made. The Royals, who are going no where, fired Trey Hillman so you would think a team that is in a playoff hunt should be looking around as well. Something is missing here. When the team is 0-6 in rubber games of series and the same stale lineup gets trotted out there every day and the bullpen is getting run into the ground, maybe the Mets have reached that fork in the road and as Yogi said “when you get to the fork in the road, take it” It may be time to stick the fork in Jerry Manuel.

A big tip of my Celtics cap to Bill Simmons who started a Celtics Chant account on Twitter which got that “NEW YORK KNICKS” chant going at the TD Garden was the best fan participation since the days of the C’s fans telling the 76 ers in 1982 Conference Final to “Beat LA”. Get ready Knicks fans the LeBron era is coming.

To all the Celtic haters on Twitter who right after the C’s beat the Cavs were crowing that the Celtics will be buried by the Magic. First you all can kiss my green, white and 17 NBA Champiosnship banner ass. The Celtics have done what we all say can’t be done in sports, they turn the on switch on when the playoffs started and now are in full UBUNTU mode.

Metsradamus has what is now the Post of The Year dealing with that fell off the turnip truck turd, Cholly Manuel who has dragged the Mets into this sign stealing brouhaha with the Colorado Rockies, Metstradamus also reflects on the Skill Sets looking to by the Fishsticks and moved them to the brand new Chop Shop Arena. Not only does Metstradamus invoke the New York Amerks but when was the last time you heard about Newsy Lalonde?

So all of a sudden the Skill Sets are flush with cash that they can talk about buying the Fishsticks and build a new arena in Queens but the can’t release Oliver Perez and eat his deal.

shout out to The Ropolitans for this pic

Sorry for no posts this morning but it’s been a busy day. So busy that I forget all about the David Wright sit down with the Sports Bloviator. I caught the tail end of the sit down as I traveled back from Brooklyn and I guess you could say it was typical David Wright. All positives and nothing controversial.

It looks like it’s a foregone conclusion that Bengi Molina will be the Mets #1 catcher this coming season. Again this looks to be another move where Omar was told to sit in the corner as the way the Mets have made Molina sit and stew is very un-Mets like. Same with Carlos Delgado who I think the Mets brain trust only went to Puerto Rico to see just to get away from freezing cold weather in NYC. Think about it, if the Mets were strictly an Omar Minaya Production, Molina, Delgado and Joel Piniero would be celebrating their multi year deals by now. Looks like those days are over.

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Art Rust Jr. who was sportstalk radio in this town back in the 1980’s. Rust hosted a three hour call in show on WABC and unlike WFAN he actually talked ALL sports. In fact I had called in to his show because a young Mark Messier came on to talk hockey and agreed to take calls from fans. Rust was a great baseball historian and a huge Highlander fan but his real passion was for The Sweet Science and he had all the big time boxers on his show.  R.I.P. Arthur George.

For as bad as the NY Football Giants season has been, yesterday took some of the sting out of the painful failure, as team owner John Mara, stepped up big time by calling out his coaches and players for a lack of mental and physical toughness and lack of effort. WOW, how strong are those words? Sure the cynic in me says, “John Mara needs to sell his Private Seat Licenses, so this is all a business move” but the Mara family have owned this team since it’s inception in 1925 and Giants have been one of the top teams in the NFL this decade and watching and listening to him he looked legitimately pissed off. 

The way John Mara handled the day after the season is the way an owner of a team that not only disappoints but embarrasses themselves by quitting, and make no mistake the NY Football Giants quit, should. He stood up like a man and articulated that, yes his team suffered injuries but they were not an excuse for not showing up the last half of the season. He acted swiftly by axing way over his head offensive coordinator Bill Sheridan and put every player and coach on notice that if you don’t or  you can’t give him what he wants, then he will go out and find personnel that will. As a Giants fan, I appreciate Mara’s words and action very much.

Contrast John Mara’s words and actions to the stumbling, fumbling, mumble-oid of an owner like Jeffey Skill Sets who acted mealy mouthed and clueless in his season post-mortem of the season to forget. There is a reason why the Mets brand is laughed at through out baseball and it starts at the top.

Speaking of our favorite baseball team, I brought out my pinstripe uni top for toady’s Bay Day celebration. In fact my co-workers have wished me happy Bay Day when I reported for duty. I’ve become a charity case, as even the Highlander fans have stop teasing me and feel sorry for me. I hate being a charity case or a baby face, I’d rather be a heel.

There are rumors that the Mets could trade Rogers Castillo for Mike Lowell. What would the Bosox want with Rogers Castillo when they have Dustin Pedroia and Marco Scutaro? Lowell would be a nice fit for the Mets, as he’s a respected vet with 2 World Series rings ( as you know I’m a major proponent of bringing in winners to this team)  I just wonder if he can play some 1^st base and spell David Wright sat 3^rd base.

From reading some of the stories, if Carlos Delgado can stand up straight, the Mets would love to bring him back for a 1 year incentive laden deal. That’s why it seems the Mike Lowell talk is interesting as a platoon of Lowell/ Delgado could be what the Mets are looking at for 1^st base in 2010.

The details of the Jason Bay contract are as follows:

$8.5 mil bonus and $6.5 mil salary for 2010

$16mil for the next 3 years + 4^th yr option

Full No Trade Clause.

Not a killer contract, now the question is this. I have a MILLEDGE 44 pro uni top. Do I go and have the MILLEDGE taken off and add BAY? Your thoughts please?

Waiting on the Bay presser. I’ll be commenting on Twitter during the presser.

 

The thought of free-agent left fielder Matt Holliday signing with the Mets is good for a chuckle. Some who know Holliday say he would prefer not to play in New York. Also, his power to right-center makes him a poor fit for Citi Field. The Mets would not be so desperate to upgrade in left if Fernando Martinez had justified talk that he might be a left-handed Manny Ramirez …

 

Hey Ken , who’s Holiday’s agent ? Scott Bora$ right? Bora$ will have Holiday sign with the Tehran Burkamakers if the price is right. Who’s your source on this one, the same source who told you that no way C.C. Sabathia would never come to New York, Money talks, and bullshit is employed by FOX, dickhead.

 

Dierkes also puts Randy Wolf and Brad Penny in Mets Blue and Orange. Wolf I can see but Brad Penny? Unless it’s to work as a bouncer at the Acela Club I don’t see it.

Big tip of the Mets cap tap to long time Kranepool Society reader Nik for the Manny pic.

So what does this mean for the Mets, Brooklyn Cyclones and SNY all of which fall under the Sterling Equities corporate umbrella? Does it mean that the Skill Sets have to bring in a partner a la Nellie D or worse put the team up for sale? How much does this effect the payroll and the pursuit of other free agents?

This looks to become a huge story  as it would be a shocker if the Skill Sets had to sell even a 50 % share of the club and they just might if they have to make up for their loses.