Jerry Manuel ponders his future with Oliver Perez

- The way Omar was talking today, Oliver Perez is probably not getting set down tomorrow. It will mean a tremendous change of heart from the right if he was planning on taking the demotion.

- Minaya acted dumb when asked about the disabled list option.

- Matthews was DFAed today because the first number of his batting average was less than the first number of on the amount of money the Mets owed him.

- Perez will eventually be moved. It will be a matter of time OR an injury will occur and the Mets will be forced to use him in an emergency. But if that was the case, he would probably have been used already.

- The general consensus among the reporters in the Box is that this is more Ollie than Boras.

 

Add to that news that Manny/Boras have turned down the Dodgers latest proposal of 1 yr/$25 mil deal which means the Manny to the Mets talk will never die as you have figure that Boras had to talk  Manny with Omar. He had to right? RIGHT?

 

More Mets news today as the off season levee has broken. It looks like the deal with Citigroup for the new Pleasure Palace is under fire and Citi Group may look to void the deal due to pressure from Congress. Is the karma changing in Flushing? Will we see the ball park named after Gil Hodges or will it keep the Shea name atop the façade?

 

Mike Silva has a great post on New York Baseball Digest on how the Mets strive to be good and not great and as I commented on Mike’s post as long as the Skill Sets strive to be just good me and the rest of the Mets bloggers will continue to fight them to strive to be great. That doesn’t mean to spend like our neighbors in the Bronx but to have a plan stick to it and make any necessary move to attain greatness. Signing Manny would work well to achieve that goal. The Skill Sets remind me of the landlords I deal with who get violations on their buildings and cry to the court that they have no money to make the necessary repairs to meet the city code. Usually these buildings have address on Park Ave and Central Park West and are worth umpteen millions of dollars and just like with the Skill Sets I give them a big yawn when they cry to me about how hungry they are when they have not just loves of bread under their arms but the whole damn bakery.

 

Joel Sherman in his HARDBALL blog talks up Ty Wiggington who makes so much sense for the Mets it’s guaranteed the Mets won’t sign him.

 

Excuse me now while I pry my eyes out with a fork. 

 

 

 

So there was J-Man looking more CEO than Gangsta’ last night on Daily News Live when the first question asked of him was “Wadda bout Manny, would you have a problem managing him”? and the Mets Warlord pulled no punches:

 

“I don’t think so.  I don’t have a problem with people that produce in the form and fashion that Manny Ramirez produces.  We shouldn’t spend that much time in the locker room anyway, our job is to be on the field – and Manny Ramirez has proven that he is probably one of the best right-handed hitters of our generation.  To have a shot at managing him would be exciting for me.  I’ve had Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, tremendous right-handed hitters.  I would love to have the opportunity to watch Manny hit every day.”

 

I really feel that there are discussions between the Mets Gang of Four (Omar, John Rico, Tony B and Sandy Johnson) on the Manny situation going on, maybe it’s just wishful thinking or maybe it’s the Omar modus operendi of laying in the weeds to swoop in. As we approach February, the Dodgers offer of 2yr/$45 mil is still on the table with Manny/Boras still holding out for 4-5 yrs for $100-$125mil. No one is paying that for Manny. But why can’t the Mets stoke this negotiation with a 2yr/$50 with an attainable third year option? Worse case scenario, Manny/Boras turn it down Best case, they accept and we get Manny or they turn it down but you send the message to your fan base that you are willing to go the extra mile to sign an impact player like Manny.

 

Believe me it’s not like I want the Mets to throw money away . I wouldn’t even think of signing Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn for anything more than a 1yr ML vet minimum same with Ollie Perez (3yr) and Ben Sheets (2 yr), I’d love to sign either guy but not at their price but Manny is a living breathing Hall of Fame player who has played on nothing but winning teams plus he brings a real swagger to the team and brings respect to the Mets which this team has lost in the last two season.

 

In part two of Mike Steffano’s interview with Joe Janish of Mets Today, Joe sums up the biggest problem with the disconnect between the Mets fans and management:

 

  If you could change just one thing about how the Mets franchise is run, what would it be?

Easy. I’d make a commitment to building the franchise for the long-term, emulating the Braves and the Twins. I’m not on board with the idea that New York fans don’t have the patience for rebuilding — that’s nonsense. YANKEE fans may not have patience, but the large majority of loyal Mets fans would be fine with struggling for a few years IF they saw that there was a plan in place, and there was commitment to the plan. We toughed it through the early 1980s, and were rewarded with some of the most exciting seasons in the team’s history from 1984 to 1990 — with teams built around a core of players that we as fans could easily root for, and felt more attached to because of continuity and because we felt we “watched them grow up”.

 

Under my watch, the long-term plan would start at the very bottom of the organization, with the scouts and the low levels of the minors — where the focus would be on instilling fundamentals and developing consistent execution in all phases of the game. Teenage phenoms would not be rushed through the system because they have a great bat or a live fastball — they’d have to develop their entire game in a ball before moving up to the next level. That’s where the current regime frustrates me — they say they’re committed to a “win now” mentality, but then they stop short of acquiring the final pieces and start talking about the farm system. A lot of mixed signals.

 

I agree 1,000 % with Joe. If the front office said they were committed to building with youth especially young pitching and a defense over offense no one would be happier than me. I would be singing the praises of Omar and the Skill Sets. But as Joe says, the Mets tell us they are a “Now” team so if you are a “Now” team then sign the two “Now” guys that are out there Manny and Ben Sheets.  If you’re building a team for the future then give Randy Wolf and Jon Garland 1 yr deals and let Jon Niese, and Bobby Parnell work on their craft in Buffalo. Whatever, the Mets need to decide which direction you want to go and stick with it.

 

Frankie Maniscalco is getting ready to launch a Fantasy Baseball League over at NYBD.

With President Obama looking to close the Guantanamo Bay camp maybe the government could keep it open for a little while longer and give Kirk Radamski, Brain McNamee, Jay McGwire and Greg Anderson permanent housing there.

 

Speaking of Radamski, Doc Gooden vehemently denies the accusation that Radamski was his personal Wizzanator. On a lighter note, it seems Gooden is still glowing from the reception he received from Mets fans on the Last Day of Shea:

 

    “I want to set the record straight,” Gooden said. “When I went back to Shea last year it really hit me how much the fans care for me, it still gives me goose bumps. I want to do the right thing for them and my family. I love the fans and I appreciate how much they care for me.”

   

Welcome back Doc.