Adam Rubin on ESPN NY has a fine column today that sums up the State of the  Mets organization and the non-moves at the trade deadline to a tee. Some excerpts that intrigued me are:

The reality is the Mets are not legitimately in a race right now. They entered Saturday trailing the division-leading Atlanta Braves by 7½ games and trailing the wild card-leading San Francisco Giants by 6½ games. Fifty-nine games remain on the schedule. Four teams, including the hard-charging Philadelphia Phillies, who acquired Roy Oswalt this week, are between the Mets and Giants.

Management can’t come out and say it but they know the Mets have no shot at the post season.  The Mets are what they are, a .500 team that plays like the best team in baseball at home but then plays like the Mets of 1962 on the road, hence the .500 record. Their play this season is a big improvement over last year’s crew who mailed in around this time last year at least this Mets team plays hard.

You can clumsily cite principal owner Fred Wilpon and his family supposedly being stingy for such a deal not materializing, but that would be misguided — even if ownership isn’t blameless. The bottom line is the payroll is still hovering around $130 million this season.

The better answer: If GM Omar Minaya had shown restraint in his other salary commitments — say, not giving Luis Castillo four years and $25 million or Oliver Perez three years and $36 million or guaranteeing seven years to Carlos Beltran — he likely would have had the flexibility to pull off an Oswalt-type trade now.

It’s far more about no discipline than no money.

That does not absolve the Wilpons.

Forget the Perez and Castillo contracts, the one deal Mets will be screaming about will be the Francisco Rodriguez deal, look it over if you dare but I must put a disclaimer that if you are pegnant suffer from high blood pressure or have a sleeping disorder, check with your doctor before viewing the details of K-Rod’s deal

Minaya’s stated plan when he took over as GM in September 2004 was to offset the draft picks forfeited for signing free agents by owning the international market. It sounded good, too. After all, how could a Dominican-born GM walk into any household in that country, throw around dollars and fail to persuade the teenager to sign with the Mets?

The problem? Ownership never threw around the money. After signing Martinez for $1.3 million in 2005, Minaya’s first full season as Mets GM, the organization did not have another seven-figure signing bonus for an international teenager until signing 16-year-old pitcher Juan Urbina, Ugueth’s son, last year.

The Mets knew Venezuelan Jesus Montero, who was coveted in trade proposals involving the Yankees in recent days, was a superior catching prospect to Francisco Peña, Tony’s son. Yet the Mets signed Peña in 2006 because he cost $750,000. The Yankees paid $2 million for Montero.

My question here is whose fault is it? Omar’s or the Skill Sets for the inability to not get any thing done in the International market? You would think having a Latino GM would place the Mets way ahead of other teams but as we learned when they were in pursuit of Carlos Delgado as a free agent, Scareface Bernazard was a little to “street” for Delgado so  I wonder how many more families were turnoff by the Mets resident hoodlum?

The Mets have not been blame-free in their draft conduct from an ownership perspective, either. With apologies to Chris Carter, the Mets essentially gave Billy Wagner  to the Red Sox last season for nothing, in essence to save $3.3 million (Wagner’s $2.3 million remaining salary and a $1 million buyout). As a result, when Wagner signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves last offseason, the Red Sox — not the Mets — got two first-round picks as compensation for losing Wagner, which they used on Ball State’s Kolbrin Vitek and Middle Tennessee State’s Bryce Brentz. (Remember those names a few years from now.

This is why Omar needs to be relived of his GM duties and the baseball ops needs a complete overhaul. Unlike any time in baseball, teams a coveting receiving draft picks for aging ball players. The new wave in baseball is to get younger and more athletic as the ban on PED’s is changing the game back to where pitching, defense and youth as the way to go. That’s not Omar’s bag, he’s still into old and ineffective which unfortunately describes Omar himself.

(Fred) Wilpon was sued Friday by the widow of a former employee of Wilpon-owned Sterling Equities. The federal suit alleges Wilpon bears fiduciary responsibility for investing his employees’ 401(k) funds in Bernard Madoff-operated funds. Sterling Equities called the suit baseless, but the potential liability — coupled with the Wilpon family’s own losses in the Ponzi scheme — has to create some hesitance to freely spend.

Yet even if the Madoff ordeal never occurred, it would be perfectly reasonable to expect the Mets to act conservatively from a financial perspective. Attendance is likely to plummet at Citi Field the rest of the season. A further erosion in the season-ticket base is expected heading into 2011.

You knew this was coming and the question is if Freddy Skill Sets loses this suit, which I believe is a class action suit among the Sterling Equities employees, and it cost him hundreds of million’s of dollars to pay, will he have to sell the Mets? I believe Freddy when he says he wants the Mets to be in his family for generations to come, but it may come to a head when he has to either sell or take on a partner. The Mara family owned the NY Football Giants on their own for years and years but when Tim Mara died his estate put his shares up for bid, that’s when the Tisch family got their half, so it’s possible the Skill Sets sell 49% of the team and keep the other 51 % controlling interest for as long as they can.

Yet even if the Madoff ordeal never occurred, it would be perfectly reasonable to expect the Mets to act conservatively from a financial perspective. Attendance is likely to plummet at Citi Field the rest of the season. A further erosion in the season-ticket base is expected heading into 2011.

The one MAJOR move the Skill Sets must make for next season is dropping the ridiculous pricing tiers that are an extreme point of contention with Mets fans. The whole Platinum, Gold, Silver, Value scale would work if the team was a contender every year and seats at Citi Field were in demand but the organization has none of these going for them. They tried going the corporate route and it hasn’t worked. Now they need to try and win back the fan base, the blue collar core who frequented Shea Stadium who stick by you through thick and thin. The Skill Sets have had their fling with the Metro area elite and must now realize it’s time to get the REAL Mets fan back to support the team.  The Mets fan has the upper hand here and now Freddy, Jeffey and Uncle Saul have to come to us with hat in hand, and ask for our hard earned dough. They have never gotten it though their thick skulls that Mets fans are not about the Championships (although we all want to win one or ten of them) but we’re all about playing hard and playing with pride. That’s the one saving grace with the 2010 Mets team they have that quality.

Next year the Skill Sets need to let fans pick their own ticket packages and also set aside seats in the promenade for 5 bucks a piece. They could also sell a “roaming ticket” no seat but you can walk around and stand in centerfield or down each base line sort of a standing room ticket, they need to be creative to win fans back in 2011, time to turn on the Skill Sets charm fella’s

Manager Jerry Manuel, asked if the inaction was a signal the front office was content with the team as presently constituted or if it was an indication the team is not really in the race, wisely did not want to touch the issue.

“That’s a tricky question,” Manuel said. “Trying to catch me, huh?”

Minaya did acknowledge the standings were a factor.

“That played something into it,” the GM said. “When you look at the standings, you just have to be careful.”

I can’t wait until October 4^th for the press conference announcing Wally Backman as the Mets manager for 2011

 

Join me tonight at 10PM ET for This Call To The Bullpen Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio. My guest is former Major Leaguer and current ESPN baseball analyst, Doug Glanville. Doug and I will be discussing his new book, THE GAME FROM WHERE I STAND: A Ballplayer’s Inside View (published by Henry Holt/Times Books) and we’ll also get Doug’ views and what’s happening today in MLB.

If you can’t join is live, you can listen to the podcast on the show page, or right here at Kranepool Society (scroll down to the lower left hand side bar) or download the show on iTunes.

Don’t forget to check out the THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN shop for t-shirts, mugs bags and many other items.

Join me tonight at 10PM ET for This Call To The Bullpen Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio. My guest is former Major Leaguer and current ESPN baseball analyst, Doug Glanville. Doug and I will be discussing his new book, THE GAME FROM WHERE I STAND: A Ballplayer’s Inside View (published by Henry Holt/Times Books) and we’ll also get Doug’ views and what’s happening today in MLB.

If you can’t join is live, you can listen to the podcast on the show page, or right here at Kranepool Society (scroll down to the lower left hand side bar) or download the show on iTunes.

Don’t forget to check out the THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN shop for t-shirts, mugs bags and many other items.

Well one thing the 2010 Mets aren’t lacking in is drama, with ex-Mets trying to school new Mets and the bullpen coach telling the Diva Closer to shut the fuck up and the manager’s job status as volatile as the Dow Jones this is becoming a lot of fun.

I remarked on Twitter last night that I wondered where R.A. Dickey leaves his shopping cart during games. Dickey looks like the guys you avoid at the supermarket who bring in cans and bottles for the nickel deposit. Dickey has been outstanding in these last two starts and a huge upgrade over the Ritalin Kid that’s for sure. Plus the Dickey jokes on Twitter never get old.

Speaking of Dickey, did you get a look at what has been reported as Evan Longoria’s manhood? If I were packing something like that it would be the picture on my drivers license. Most definitely NSFW

I saw the video of the squirrel that ran on the grass at Target Field during last nights Twins-Highlanders game. The squirrel really looked lost and confused as he ran around out of control to the point the game had to be held up. The squirrel, who was identified as Rocket J. Squirrel of Frost Bite Falls MN said he was looking for the Tony O’s Cuban Sandwich concession stand when he got disoriented, he claims with the ball park’ so new he was still trying to find his way around the place.

I am definitely getting myself an I LIKE IKE t-shirt

Nelson Figueroa is the first player in the history of professional sports to get screwed over by a team. Give it a break Nelly Figs will ya!

After the Mets defeated the Phuck Phaces last night I had the pleasure of talking to Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley a member of ESPN Sweet Zone blogs (as well as Baseball Prospectus Baseball Digest Daily and Heater Magazine) on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN show last night. You can check out the podcast right there a Kranepool Society (see the player on the lower left sidebar) or at my show page at Blog Talk Radio or downloaded it to your iPhone, iTouch, or iPod at iTunes.

Join me tonight at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on Blog Talk Radio. My guest will be Bill Baer of the Phillie site CrashBurn Alley which is a featured blog on ESPN SweetSpot as well as Baseball Prospectus, Baseball Daily Digest and HEATER Magazine.

We will discuss the Mets-Phillies seriesof course and other news and views around MLB.

Listen live tonight or listen to the podcast right here at Kranepool Society or at the show page on Blog Talk Radio or download the show from iTunes.    

Don’t forget tonight at 10PM ET I will be hosting THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on BLOG TALK RADIO. My guest will be Steve Slowinski of DRAYSBAY. Steve and I will talk about the Tampa Bay Rays and the AL East race. I’ll also recap the Mets-Dodgers doubleheader and also look at the upcoming weekend series between the Mets and Phillies in Philadelphia. If you can’t listen live, you can hear the replay right here at Kranepool Society (check out the lower left hand side bar) or at my show page on BLOG TALK RADIO.

The only thing missing from tonight’s twi-nighter at $iti Field is a Banner Day procession between games. With the way Mets management has all of a sudden become “fan-friendly” I’m surprised they haven’t green lighted that event already.

This is one of the perks of having a ton of tickets available for every game. It makes management humble. I know the word was there were a lot of fans at Sunday night’s game walking around the concourses and watching the game either under the stands or in McFaddens but the bottom line for the Mets, MLB and ESPN is empty seats are not very photogenic. Give the Mets credit, not only did they encourage the hardy fans who sat in the rain in the Promenade to move down and sit with the swells in high rent district (those of the silk stocking ilk who did show up Sunday must have been in the single digits) but all ticket holders for Sunday’s game were offered a freebie for another game. I’ll give the Skill Sets the benefit of the doubt here but something tells me that a call by MLB was placed to Freddy and Jeffey during the game to find as many seat fillers as they can to  make $iti Field look like the place to be on a rainy Sunday night.

The best part of Frenchy’s,  One on One with Pope Francesa on his daily snoozcast was D-Wright, Rod Barajas and Jason Bay screaming at Francouer during his interview. Pope Mikey I was not thrilled by this which is what made all the more fun to listen too. Also another awkward moment on the Francesa Time Warp Machine radio show (“Charlie un da car phone, whazz up” ) was another of those mind numbing Brad Benson car commercials where Benson talks about his “40 foot erection”.  It seems Benson, the one time NY Giants OL, bought one of the goal posts from Giants Stadium and had it “erected” it on his car dealership property. He asks everyone to come down to Brad Benson Hyundai to see his erection. As soon as the spot was done Francesa comes on and says “Steve Phillips will join us at 5:05” It made me wonder if Philips was bringing his erection along with him as well.

I wonder who Mother Nature was more sick of, home plate umpire Mike Esterbrook or the inane droning of Joe Morgan but whoever it was, Mets fans thank her for the heavy rain that ended last nights Mets game and Big Plef’ heavy lifting pitching performance with a rain shortened win over the struggling Braves. For the Mets it’s about time they got a positive break and lost in this awful game was the fact the Mets swept the Braves, which should be big time news around these parts.

Pelfrey was not as bad as his line indicates; he was mostly the victim of Esterbrook’s tight as a fly’s asshole strike zone. If the game was on SNY instead of the steady in decline WWL (ESPN’s 2010 NFL Draft wasn’t even public access quality) we would have gotten the overhead view of home plate to see just where Pelf was missing. On the ESPN telecast it looked to me he was hitting the corners consistently.  

Of his 106 pitches, Pelf threw 61 of them in the first two innings, from the third to fifth it took him only 45 pitches to get through those frames. The ability to locate his fastball low in the strike zone and mix in the slider as well has been key for Pelf in getting ground ball out after ground ball out.

I haven’t verified this yet, but the rumor is when the game was called last night, Jerry Manuel sent Fernando Nieve to the bullpen to throw a simulated game. J-Man said he wanted to keep Nieve “sharp”.

A tip of the solid blue Mets cap to Caryn Rose (a/k/a Metsgrrl) for not only going to the game last night but for letting us know though her Tweets on Twitter, that the game was well attended even though on TV it looked like there was a major evacuation in Flushing. Seems now that we have a new fancy pants ball park, there are plenty of places to get high and stay dry. Whereas Shea, during a game in the rain your choice was get wet sitting in your seat or get wet standing in the concourse. I give anyone who went to the game last night a ton of credit as it was so cold and misserable last night in NYC, that I broke down and put the heat back on last night.  

The Hollywood Bums come to town starting tonight and the very hittable Hiroki Kuroda will start the first game of the series tonight against Ollie Perez. This game has the potential for both teams to hit double digits.  The Dodgers are statistically the best team in the NL but fall to the bottom in just about every pitching category in the league. The Mets have smacked around Kuroda every time they’ve faced him (0-2 one no-decision 10.1IP 23H 10.45 ERA) Ollie Perez has been OK Ollie so far this season but lets hope the outstanding pitching the starters have shown this past week or so rubs off on OP.

I hope you can join me tomorrow night at 10PM ET for THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN on BLOG TALK RADIO. My guest will be Steve Slowinski of the DRAYSBAY site as we talk about the Tampa Bay Rays and their surge to the top on the AL East. I’ll have a recap of the Mets-Dodgers game as well and a look ahead to what is now a big weekend series with the Phillies. If you can’t join me live you can hear a replay of the show right here at Kranepool Society or at my show page on BLOG TALK RADIO.   

The NY Post is reporting that according to an ESPN Insider article the Phillies have an interest in Figueroa.

Not surprising is it? Figueroa has a history with the Phillies as he started 16 games for them back in 2001

Over the weekend while looking while watching the shingels of my roof fly through the air with the greatest of ease, I did a Q & A with the talented author of Crashburn Alley, Bill Baer (and Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Digest Daily and ESPN The Sweet Spot) on our beloved Metsies. Bill is hoping the Mets are fit to fight this season so as to keep the flames of this new found rivalry stoked. Be careful what you wish for Bill, be very careful