Well, well, well it seems like someone other than a  paying customer, has finally had enough of the slackers that makeup the 2010 Mets:

The day after Jerry Manuel called the Mets’ offense “pathetic,” hitting coach Howard Johnson  convened a meeting before Friday’s game and harshly criticized his hitters for their recent performances and pregame card-playing, team sources told the Daily News.

“It was really in your face, and some guys didn’t like that, but it needed to be said,” one player said.

Wait, when did Rickey Henderson get back to town? CARD PLAYING!!!!! So I guess this team is looking toward making the World Series of Poker instead of baseball’s Fall Classic.

The first thought that popped in my head was, someone (Jeffey) whispered in HoJo’s ear that he will be back next year as part of Wally Backman’ staff so we need you to fire the first salvo of the soon to be Under New Manager Mets. Then I saw that HoJo was not too happy that Manuel called the offense “pathetic” and in turn threw HoJo under the bus, so The HoJo strikes back by calling out the players and in turn showing up Manuel by doing the mangers works by shaking up his players.

Look if the clubhouse is going to blow like a powder keg it might as well happen in Pittsburgh where the Mets are on the verge of an almost impossible three game road series sweep today.

After the Hojo Blow-Blow, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Jerry Manuel Mets Era is in the home stretch and that thought will be cemented when Backman and his Brooklyn Cyclones show up at Citi Field for Celebrate the 2010 NY-Penn League Championship Day next month and Backman joining the Skill Sets, Uncle Saul and Dave the Shyster in the Skill Sets Suite.

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.

 

So the Skill Sets have sent out invoices to their loyal season ticket holders and some of these customers it seemed got bigger decreases in the invoice than others. If you’re a fat cat who buys tickets in the Metropolitan section you get a bigger break than the guy who buys tickets in the Promenade. It seems the less you know or care about the Mets, the better the Mets organization takes care of you.  Oh yeah, the Skill Sets need a partial payment by December 4^th so they can pay Bobby Bonillia’ his yearly stipend from his buyout.

 

 

I’m a fan of Carlos Beltran as he is a great player and is a very charitable man, but as a GM he leaves a lot to be desired. Beltran stated yesterday he’d love for the Mets to bring back Carlos Delgado for next season. I’m glad Beltran is so fond of Delgado, but the next time I see Delgado at a Mets game it should be for Old Timers Day.

 

Who wouldn’t want a stud pitcher like Roy Halladay? But does it make sense for the Mets to get involved in a trade for the Blue Jay ace? Word is the Highlanders and BOSOX are ready to talk turkey with the Jay-Birds but who knows how much of this is fact or bullshit and if the Mets were to get involved do the Mets have the pieces to make it happen? It seems the Jay want quality over quantity so if you’re the Mets do you have anything that the Jays would want? If you take Vernon Wells of their hands you could get Halladay for nothing but do who wants to saddle themselves with $98.5 mil in contract? As you can see I have a lot of questions but no answers.

 

I saw this last night on via Twitter on the Tirico Suave site and like I said there, this is Gold PURE GOLD. Mike Francesa never looked so hip!

 

I saw a bunch of guys stand around Port Richmond Ave on Staten Island this morning looking for day labor work and I swear one of them was Lou Dobbs.

 

Seems that Chuckie Gruden could be the next head football coach at Norte Dame. I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Charlie Weis is the lamest of ducks at ND and the list of names will be filled with names like Chuckie, Urban Myer, and Skip Holtz to name three but the bottom line is Weis has not only been a coaching disaster but a prick as well. The funny thing about Weis and Eric Manasshole in Cleveland is they want to be like Billy B up in Foxboro but they forget if you want to be a first class asshole you better be a successful first class asshole.

 

I am so happy I didn’t waste a minute of my time watching the pre game show, it’s bad enough I turn the game on at 6PM to get more Bob Costas than my daily requirement of self-important blow hards. Someday a head of a TV network will realize what a waste of money these pre game shows are in this day and age of instant information just like FOX figured out the money they save on Aqua Net for Jeanie Zelasko could be put to better use like getting Doofus Joe Buck a personality.

 

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around and the game looking like a Steelers lock, and the continued parade of commercial after commercial just killing the flow of the game I was ready to call Michael Phelps to come over with his Aqua Lung Bong. How about poor old Flipper getting outed while going one toke over the line? My God what’s’ next? Sully doing an “8-ball”?

 

Hey Rodney Harrison, I just spoke to David Tyree; he sends his regards and wants to know how his ass tastes.

 

WOHA! When did Brenda Warner get the Hollywood makeover? Da-am-n!!!!

 

Besides the Steelers and the Rooney family last night’s biggest winners were Al Michaels and John Madden, especially Madden who was totally on his game last night and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band who made me for the first time ever watching Super Bowls wanting halftime to last longer.

 

Rumors are running rampant through the ‘net that Scott Boras is in NYC to meet with the Omar about OP and Manny. There is no substance to these rumors but it looks like OP names on a contract is a foregone conclusion and with Manny still out there, there is still a scintilla of hope that maybe a package deal of OP/Manny could come to fruition. But don’t hold your breath.

 

Outstanding find by UGOT2B-LIEVE is this video of Bobby Valentine telling a wonderful story on his mustache in the dugout appearance. This is classic.

 

More video wonderment this one from Michael Leggett of the great Random Fandom Red Sox NYC site as he took video this past weekend of the rubble that is Shea Stadium. With all the pics and video of the rubble left of Shea I find myself in a quandary. I loved Shea and even at “Fitty” years old whenever I’d go to Shea no matter the opponent I had the same enthusiasm as I had as a six year old, in 1964, the first time I walked into Shea. I have tons of memories in there not just of games and events I’ve seen there but with the people I went those games and events with. Some are gone some are older and the first time I went to Shea with my son and daughter was very emotional for me and now that they are full fledged Mets fan I’m just glad they were able to experience Shea Stadium. But then there are the days I went to Shea where the sewers were backing up and the corridors were so jammed you couldn’t walk and the lines for the bathrooms made you miss the action on the field and the pipes leaking from the mezzanine to the lodge section with a liquid substance that wasn’t water and the cramp seats and I say yeah it’s time for a new place. The one big problem I have with $iti Field is its’ name and the corporate greed that goes with it and my biggest fear that the true Mets fan will be kept out of the place in favor of the stuffed shirts who are there for “the event” and have not put their heart and soul into the team like you and me. If all my Upper Deck brethren get into to $iti then it will be a success if the it becomes just a place for the know nothing corporate hacks then it will be the end of the Mets as we know them. I fear this because the Skill Sets have no feel for their fan base, because if they did I’d be wearing a RAMIREZ 24 jersey today.

 

This has nothing to do with the Mets or baseball but I got a kick out it. Kulas Korner is a great hockey site and they have a video up of yesterdays Bruins-Canadians game where Alex Henry of the Habs and Shawn Thornton of the Bruins went toe to toe in a slobberknocker . B’s play by play man Jack Edwards goes off on Henry who is what we used to call back in the 70’s a Goon, very funny stuff but not as funny as the awful looking throwbacks the Habs wore yesterday that reminded me of a barber pole.

 

Happy Birthday Leo “Bananas” Foster