Seeing that Johan Santana spots an 8.03 ERA in the first inning of his starts, maybe on his days to pitch, the strategy should be reversed, have the closer pitch the first inning then let Santana work innings 2-8.

R.I.P. Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish

Congratulations to Wally Backman (future manager of the NY Mets) and his Brooklyn Cyclones on clinching the McNamara Division of the NY-PENN League.

Why do I have a feeling my football season is going to suck as bad as my baseball season.

Go get em Rapid Robert, at 91 Bob Feller is still tough as nails get well soon

That’s about it, Mets blogging ain’t as much fun as it used to be

For your listening pleasure, The Soft Parade

If there is anyone in the Mets front office who feels Luis Castillo should remain a Met, their opinion had to have changed after last night. I don’t care if you are a relative of Castillo’, his actions after driving in Ike Davis for a come from behind walk off win proves he hates being here as much as Mets fans hate that he’s here. Talk about irreconcilable differences, there is no reason to put Castillo or Mets fans through this loveless marriage anymore. Let’s do it for the kids. By the way check out Greg Prince’ post on last night’s game at FFIF and tell me you don’t feel like crying. Misery in Winning, that’s Mets Baseball.

Is Wayne Hagin kidding with his gushing praise of Jeff Francoeur ? After Francoeur knocked in David Wright with a Sac Fly in the 2^nd inning, Hagin went Radio Ga-Ga over Frenchy. I’d have given Howie Rose $100 bucks if he slapped Hagin in the head after his ridiculous remarks.

A must read for all Mets fans is Adam Rubin’ 3 part expose of the failings of the Mets under the Skill Sets/Minaya regime.  From reading this series I take it that Jerry Manuel will be fired as soon as the team is mathematically eliminated from contention (even though we all know the season is over NOW)  Minaya will either be caned or reassigned and I’m leaning towards reassignment. John Ricco will be the GM and Wally Backman the manager. The organization will find a way to either deal off Oliver Perez and Luis Casitllo or just release them and that money ($18 mil) will the equivalent of a free agent signing. The organization will make Backman the focal point of the team in order to sell tickets. Will it work? We won’t know until this time next year.

In  Rubin’ report he mentions how little money the Mets have spent on draft picks and in the International market for free agents. I had the pleasure of speaking with Wilbur Miller, a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and a fan poster on Bucs Dugout about the recent leaks of the financial statements of the Pittsburgh Pirates on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Radio Show last night and one of the items we talked about was the Pirates under the ownership of Bob Nutting and Frank Coonley have spent $23 mil in 2008 and $21.2 mil in 2007 on player development.  The Mets in turn have spent a mere $14 mil the last three seasons on player development. That’s $4mil less than the money they will pay Perez and Castillo combined next season.  After listening to my interview with Miller you tell me who is more optimistic Miller the Bucs fan or me the Mets fan?

Sorry for the late post but I was conferring with my attorneys, to see is we Mets fans can file a grievance against the MLBPA for filing a grievance against the Mets in the Mets v. K-Rod case.

I did not watch any of the Mets-Astros game last night and I’m glad I didn’t as it seems the play of the field made people wretch.

Rod Barajas will be activated some time today and word is Josh Thole’s spot is safe. So the Mets will go with 3 players out of 25 who play catcher. Then they have a pitcher who may as well sit in the bullpen in a Snuggie with a bowl of pop corn as he never gets to see the light of the pitchers mound. Now you know why the Mets organization is baseball’s equivalent of the person coming out of the bathroom with toilet paper sticking out the back of their pants.

I  have my doubts about people like Tony Dungy, who is one of  these holier

 than thou types, than I do about a guy like Rex Ryan. In fact, I would trust Rex Ryan more than I would Dungy. 

Matthew Cerrone thinks Bobby Parnell should be the Mets closer now and next year in the event that Francisco Rodriguez is gone from the team. Hard to argue that point in fact I’ve been saying for awhile the most overrated position in sports is the closer, with the exception of Mariano Rivera.

If you haven’t heard my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN show with Howard Megdal, it’s well worth your while, also don’t forget to vote of Howard for Mets GM right here.

Alex Belth has touched on a great subject at his Bronx Banter site, film crews in NYC. Where my office is located downtown we have crews for the now off the air Ugly Betty, Law and Order, and Rescue Me. There is nothing funnier than a crew trying to shoot a scene and telling pedestrians to please wait before crossing a street and having New Yorkers telling to go fuck themselves and keep walking.    

Now that the Mets are done for the year, are you following any other team that’s on the march to the post season? I always have a soft spot for the Giants so I like to watch their run (even though they’ve dropped 4 of 5 to the Padres and Phillies, two teams that if they needed to beat) for the NL West or Wild Card and the watching the White Sox-Twins series has been a thrill. So tell me is their a team your following or are you just waiting for football season?

Don’t forget to check out my NO PSL REQUIRED Fantasy Football League as there are some spots remaining.

Think about this for a minute, the Mets have lost their closer for the remainder of the season and maybe part of next season and instead of panic and angst, Mets fan are celebrating like the team just won the NL Pennant. Francisco Rodriguez has torn ligaments in his right thumb, HOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any other season the scramble would be on to find someone to pitch the 9^th inning, instead Mets fans are full of optimism that the team will void Rodriguez contract. Fans don’t even care if they can legally do this it’s more like the want to see Rodriguez suffer and maybe that the great legal mind of David Howard can take on the MLBPA and win, what could be the most important contest the Mets have been involved in two years. 

Speaking for myself, I don’t care if the Mets have to pay K-Rod the rest of this year and next, although I’d think if the Mets could win a case against Rodriguez a ticker tape parade down Roosevelt Ave would be appropriate, I just want to see the front office show some fight and send a message that they actually give a shit about the team and are tired of being portrayed as bungling douche bags.

Maybe the tide is turning in Flushing, as the Mets not only signed their number one pick RHP Matt Harvey but they went over slot price as well.

As another Mets season goes down the shitter, what better time to worry about next years contract right? That’s what’s on the mind of Pedro Feliciano. Daily Pedro will be a free agent after this season and is looking to re-up with the Mets and raise up his salary from this years $2.9 mil. I’m sure Feliciano will be looking for a healthy bump in pay and years but at what point do the Mets say farewell as the price in both cash and time becomes prohibited? A LOOGY on a mediocre team is a luxury you don’t really need so it’s more the Mets missed the boat at the trading deadline by not dealing Feliciano. I’m pretty sure you can find a Quadruple A or league average player to play the LOOGY role for a fraction of the price of Daily Pedro.

Tired of railing against this organization, who again screwed over the Mets fans by playing last night’s game in the rain, which made the field conditions so dicey that even Joe Morgan could see it was stupid to play with puddles (which I named Lake Wilpon) in the infield. How about poor ol’ Luis Castillo? He thinks Jerry Manuel put him in the lineup last night to boost the offense, when in reality management forced Manuel to put Gimp in the game hoping he’d break an ankle on that marsh of an infield.

Joe DeMayo put on his investigative fedora and found out that word on the street is the Mets will sign Matt Harvey, Greg Peavey and Drew Martinez. It may take a lot of these to get the deals done though.

Why wouldn’t the Mets pick up Jose Reyes option for 2011? You’re not going to trade him off this season as his trade value is not very strong and you have no one to replace him at short stop. The guy that has me concerned is David Wright, whose roller-coaster season is the ultimate head scratcher.  When Wright is on, there aren’t many better than him in baseball but when he falls into these awful funks at the plate as he is now, (how far outside of home plate can you stand that you’re not out of the batter’s box?) and you fuse that with the general malaise over this team, it makes for a toxic stew that pushes the fan base over the edge. Part of Wright’s problem, in my view, is he tries to hard. It seems he takes it like if he doesn’t do it, no one else will. What he lacks is a mentor, and I’ve mentioned this numerous times, Wright still misses Cliff Floyd terribly. Wright needs a veteran player who has been around the block a time or two who he can talk to and who can be honest with him when he fucks up. HoJo is the favorite uncle who takes Wright to Nathan’s and a ride on the Cyclone and gets him a candy apple for the ride home. Maybe David needs some tough love to straighten himself out. I’d love to get inside his head for a moment to find out how he really feels about the direction of this organization and if he wants to be a long term member of the Mets family.

As a Mets fan and as someone who has watched him beat the Mets ass for years, I should hate Chipper Jones and not give a shit if he comes back from knee surgery. But I can’t. I admire the shit out of him as he took everything the Mets fans threw at him and gave it back. With a smile. He kicked our ass for years, but I still have to tip my Mets cap at him if this is Larry’s Last Stand.

At some point doesn’t professional pride resonate with Perez, where he sees that going to Buffalo and then heading to St. Lonesome in the winter to work on being a pitcher, instead of the thrower he has become? Then again you would have to have a little bit going on between your ears and OP seems to be lacking in that, so he is relegated to the Mets version of the NYC Board of Education’s “rubber room” where they send teacher’s who can no longer handle a classroom and pay them full salary and benefits while they figure out what to do with them.

If I were the manager of the Mets, I would take all of Perez’ belongings from his locker and leave them in the janitor’s closet and give the locker to Pat Misch. How is OP not embarrassed by the fact, the club never even gave it a thought of giving him the ball today against the Phillies ? Ollie Perez, have you no shame?

For the first time in his Mets career, Luis Castillo and Mets fans are on the same page, yes Luis, you got to go! What other team has players begging for their release or trade and are STILL ALLOWED TO PLAY!!!!!! Castillo and Francoeur want to leave, so why haven’t they been granted their wish?

It’s not often these days we hear from Omar Minaya, and when we do, we realize why he shouldn’t speak in public. When asked what Frankie Rodriguez said to him about the incident with his babies moma’s daddy, Omar the Orator said:

“He said he feels really bad he let the organization down. He let himself down and his teammates down,” Minaya said. “To me, that’s an apology. Did he use that word? I will not tell you that, but I will tell you that he does not feel good.”

Omar, what the fuck are you talking about? Did he apologize or not? And did you, as the GM of the team, tell him he had better apologize to his teammates especially to those teammate whose wives and children were in that room to witness what happened? I would hope that Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, who both said their wives and kids were there at the time all hell broke lose, would confront him on what happened. Prove me wrong Mets players, I say no one has the balls to call out K-Rod on this.

I hope Pat Misch pitches a great game today as he has earned the right for this start and anything that puts it up Mets management’s ass is fine with me.

This is what is has come down to for me. Mets management has taken a forty six year Mets fan and has me rooting for the organization to fall flat on it’s face. I want Ollie Perez to pitch and get shelled. I want Jeff Francoeur to play every day and strike out four times a game. I want Jerry Manuel to keep lifting starting pitchers for an ineffective bullpen. I want David Wright to go to ownership and ask them “where are we going as an organization so I know if I should play out my contract and go elsewhere”. I want some other financial shyster to come along and steal the rest of the Skill Sets money so they are forced to sell the team (You suck Bernie Madoff why couldn’t wipe out the Wilpon’s I would have spoken up for you at your parole hearing if you did ) I want to burn this fucker to the ground and start over. I so fucking sick and tired and being so fucking sick and tired about this disaster of an organization.

Oh in case you haven’t picked up on it, I’m back from vacation.

In a telephone interview, Fletcher indicated she would monitor Francoeur’s playing time over the next week, interested in whether or not manager Jerry Manuel follows through on his amended plan to let Francoeur face right-handed pitchers, a group he historically struggles against and is hitting just .217 against this season.

“Talk to me is just that: It’s talk,” Fletcher said. “What matters is what happens and is he in right field every day. And that’s what we’re watching.”

How does Mets management put up this bullshit? Who the fuck is Jeff Francoeur and Ms. Molly Fletcher to tell the Mets who to play and when they play? The Skill Sets cannot be this yellow bellied that they that take this from some agent not named Scott Boras? I hate to tell you this Mets fans but shit like this would never ever fly in the South Bronx. Could you imagine a player as sucky as Frenchy sending his female agent in to the Bronx Robber Baron with demands such as these?

A must read for you today is Greg Prince’ piece on his Faith and Fear in Flushing site where he lays it all out about this season and about who we, as Mets fans are.   Remember Mets fans, “we’ve got no place else to go” Classic Greg, Classic!

I’m in the middle of Red Sox Nation here on Cape Cod as many Bostonians are here on vacation. They are all hopped up for the four game series this weekend with the Highlanders which as a Mets fan puts me at a big disadvantage. Just a about every  reastaurant here shows Red Sox games on tv and I mean from big formal places to the fish joints on the side of the road the “Sawx” are a way of life out here. I’ve been wearing my Mr. Cap and I get some looks, some head shakes and some “we’re sorry’s” as well. I’m thinking of sitting outside a store on Main St in Hyannis with a cardboard sign that says METS FAN PLEASE HELP with my Mr. Met cap on the ground and see how much money I can make.

I spent last night on Coney Island watching Wallyball and had the good fortune to meet up with Coop and Corey at the game. We were all excited over our beautiful Ike Davis bobble heads, well not exactly bobble heads more like bobble torso.

Greg Vaughn was also at MCU Park last night to see his son Corey play centerfield for the Cyclones and he was very cordial and accommodating to the fans signing autographs.

The Cyclones lost 3-2 to the Hudson Valley Renegades but they still hold a 7 ½ game lead over HV in the McNamara Division and an overall 30-14 record, the best in the NY-PENN League.

WallyBall in Queens in 2011 is gaining steam

While I was getting my Ike Davis bobble head looks Luis Castillo was playing bobble ball last night. The Mets are 7 ½ games back of the Bravos and 6 games ahead of the last place Washington Nationals.

Now the Skill Sets are looking to enter the world of the Squared Circle? It might be a good thing for Mets fans if Jeffey Skill Sets sees himself as a Vince McMahon wannabe. I’d love to see Jeffey get on a segment of Pipers Pit.

MLB Umpires fuck up again this time with the Infield Fly Rule. The beat goes on , the beat goes on.

The Howard Megdal for GM has reached the WWL and in his column has some great ideas as usual but where Howard and I differ is in dealing for Prince Fielder, who I believe is in the Guinness Book of Records as the World’s Fattest Vegan (Prince must be drenching his veggies in vats of Ranch dressing) at the expense of Ike Davis. NO NO 1,000 TIMES NO!!!!! By the way Howard Megdal will be my guest on my THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN Radio Show on August 17^th at 10PM ET. And speaking of THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN, there will be no new show this week or next as I will be on Cape Cod enjoying the beach and trying not to become shark bait. You can listen to previous shows on the show page on Blog Talk Radio or download the shows on iTunes. Don’t forget to vist the THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN store at Cafe Press. Yeah that’s right I’m like a Hunts Point Ho’ on the stroll

This season marks the 30^th anniversary of the Mets Hall of Fame. During the thirty years, the Mets have only inducted 25, including this week’s foursome, into the Hall. The most recent ceremony took place in 2002, when outfielder Tommy Agee was added. The group of four inducted on Sunday was the largest contingent added in an individual season.

A plaque of each of the newest members was added to the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum, located in the Rotunda area of Citi Field. The plaques were unveiled during the ceremony, and fans were able to view them during the regularly scheduled game that afternoon. The Mets museum was opened this April in another action designed to recognize the history of the organization and salute its past heroes.

The ceremony was ably emceed by the radio voice of the Mets, Howie Rose. He began his introductions by stating, “We honor four truly iconic figures in the history of the New York Mets, men who played pivotal roles in the Mets second world championship in 1986.”

Rose introduced each who came onto the field from the outfield to receive his plaque from a previous member of the Mets HOF. A short film of the highlight of each recipient’s experiences with the Mets was shown, and then each responded with a short acceptance speech.

Although his name may be the least familiar to current Mets fans, Frank Cashen is the most responsible of the four honored guests for the success of the Mets in the 1980′s. Cashen was hired as general manager in 1980 by the team’s new owner, Nelson Doubleday.

Cashen brought success to the Mets as he previously did as an executive of the Baltimore Orioles from 1965-1975. The other three inductees were brought to the Mets through Cashen’s efforts. Godden and Strawberry were drafted by the club and Johnson was hired as manager in 1984. Cashen also obtained catcher Gary Carter, first baseman Keith Hernandez, third baseman Ray Knight and pitcher Ron Darling, all instrumental in the Mets achieving a World Series championship.

The Mets next won a division title in 1988, were competitive for several seasons, but did not become a dynasty. Cashen summarized the success of the team during his decade as general manager in a press conference at Citi Field on Saturday, “We drew three million people before anybody on the East Coast did it, did it twice. We had a great run. I appreciate it, and I appreciate going into the Mets Hall of Fame with all these distinguished gentlemen.”

After receiving his plaque from Rusty Staub, Cashen thanked all who helped him with emphasis on his wife, “The real Hall of Famer is my wife, Jean. She was the Most Valuable Player in my house.”  The 88 year-old and his wife are the parents of seven children and nine grandchildren.

Distinguished was not a word often, if ever, used to describe the 1986 Mets. The team was ranked 13^th in a poll published by SI.com on Saturday of the most hated individual teams. The unpopularity reflected on many factors including the club’s success and arrogance on the field.

Davey Johnson, who Cashen knew as an outstanding second baseman in Baltimore was hired as manager in 1984. Johnson, who remained as Mets skipper throughout the decade, compiled the most wins, 595, as a manager of the team. Of 1986, he said, “I thought we really had a perfect team. We had big egos, big personalities on this ballclub, but they all loved to play baseball.” One of the 1986 Mets, Gary Carter, presented his plaque to him.

The two players enshrined, Gooden and Strawberry, have always been linked. Both began their careers in the majors with the Mets in the early 1980′s after being drafted by the organization; each earned the Rookie of the Year award in his first season in the bigs with the Mets; both showed outstanding talent on the field, and appeared to be sure bets to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame when their playing careers ended; both played with the Yankees successfully later in their careers; both were embroiled in controversies involving substance abuse and marital difficulties. Finally, both entered the Mets Hall of Fame together on Sunday.

Each of the two Mets stars spoke glowingly of entering the Mets HOF on Sunday. Strawberry dismissed the disappointment of many fans of his for  never having lived up to his initial expectations as a player and not being elected into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, “We’re going into the Mets Hall of Fame, and that’s what’s important. That’s all I really care about.”

Gooden, who later played on four other teams, admitted, “When I played on other clubs, I always called the Mets first and tried to come back here.” Gooden expressed his gratitude to the fans, “It wouldn’t have been possible without all of you [fans].”

The first Hall of Fame Achievement Award was presented to Bob Mandt. The recipient has worked for the Mets since 1962 in a variety of positions.

On a day the four men were honored for their contributions to the Mats 1985 championship, the 2010 Mets players showed how much improvement would be needed to reach that pinnacle. In describing the 14-1 drubbing by the Arizona Diamondbacks, manager Jerry Manuel remarked, “We didn’t pitch; we didn’t hit; we didn’t catch the ball.” That has been the story during too many games during the 2010 season.