Daniel Shoptaw, the Prime Minister of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance and the operator of the Cardinals blog C70 At The Bat, does a series on his site, Playing Pepper where he interviews bloggers from other teams sites to get the lowdown on their season. Now up on C70 At The Bat are the New York Mets and yours truly is a contributor.

Where did this Albert Puljos trade to the Phillies for Ryan Howard come from? Ruben Armaro is calling bullshit and I’m sure Cards GM John Mozeliak said the same thing because it really makes no sense. But I did learn something from this rumor, if you really need page views just pull something ridiculous out of your ass like Buster Olney did by reporting this.

First camp cuts are out and Josh Thole will be sent to minor league camp. No surprise there.

Okay Rielle Hunter thanks for the dirt now go away and take your pictures with you, you’re extremely unattractive.

I see the point that Alex Cora is a smart player and is looked up to in the Mets clubhouse and I appreciate that but as long as he plays no more than two games a week, his short comings will come through. Just let Ruben Tejda play everyday until Jose Reyes comes back.

Maybe Fernando Martinez has turned the corner from prospect/suspect to solid major leaguer but he hasn’t played or stayed healthy enough to be the everyday CF’er until Carlos Beltran comes back. I could be persuaded though is Angle Pagan continues with his brain farts on the field.

The voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame has nothing on the shit heads who vote for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here are some of the names who are NOT in the Rock and Roll HOF:

Joe Cocker (did they send him a Letter?)

Alice Cooper (unconscionable)

Deep Purple (ever hear of Richie Blackmore ? )

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (I nearly cried over this one come here Joanie I’ll give ya a hug)

King Crimson (Robert Fripp? Adrian Belew? Hello?)

Mott The Hoople (something against Young Dudes ?)

Motorhead (It’s Lemmy for God sake)

New York Dolls (THIS IS A NATIONAL FUCKING DISGRACE!!!!)

Warren Zevon (no wonder the HOF is Cleveland bunch of losers!!!)

Check out the New York Mets 2010 Annual from Maple Street Press, on your newsstand today. The Annual is chock full of articles on past, present and the future of the Mets by all of your favorite writers along with detailed stats a scouting reports.

Don’t miss the article on Mets Bloggers (World Wide Mets) by Jason Fry because well….yeah I’m in the article .

Join us tonight for another episode of PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL at 9PM ET on BlogTalk Radio. Our guest will be Matthew Silverman, co-editor of the book THE MIRACLE HAS LANDED: The Amazin’ Story of How the 1969 Mets Shocked the World (Maple Street Press in association with SABR) a very detailed chronicle of the 1969 World Champion New York Mets.  

If you can’t join us live you can here the podcast here at the Kranepool Society or on BlogTalk Radio and our PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL site.

So Jason Marquis signed with the Washington Nats for 2yrs/$15 mil. It seems the Mets were adamant about Marquis signing for minimum of 5 yrs/$40 mil.

Of course if the Mets signed Marquis for the same deal it would have been very nice but let’s not make him out to be Don Drysdale, okay, he’s a plow horse who takes the ball every 5^th day and most days keeps his team in games.

The big problem for the Mets if John Harpers’ info is correct, the team has placed a priority on adding offense first then seeing how much is left in the bank account to go for pitching. If that’s the case, this Mets team is destined for doom.

Does it really pay to get mad anymore? I have no idea what the Mets plan is this off-season and I’m at the point that I couldn’t give a shit if Jason Bay signs here or not. In fact, my mindset for this coming season is of a late 70’s type mode. I see myself going to as many games as I can at $iti Field because for all the screaming, cursing and acting like baby bullshit I do here, I’m still a die hard Mets fan. I’ll be there (hopefully) on Opening Day and for a lot of other days/nights at $iti Field. So the Mets don’t have to do anything to appease me because even if they were still playing in our beloved Shea with it’s leaky toilets and broken seats, I’d still be there bitching and moaning but with cash and credit card in hand, wearing a Mets jersey, Mets cap, Mets socks (yeah that’s right I have about 5 pair of Mets socks) and standing and applauding when Alex Anthony says “And here they are your 2010 New York Mets”.  You say I’m a jerk and ass whatever but the bottom line is I love the Mets it’s the owner whose guts I hate.  Even Jimmy (Welcome to my Garden Party) Dolan laughs at Jeffey Skill Sets.

Seems Ken Davidoff agrees with me about Johnny Damon and it seems that Davidoff and I are the only ones’ who think it’s a good idea, even Matthew Cerone, who I hold in high esteem said he’d rather have Angel Pagan over Damon YIKES!!!!

From reading some of the comments here and on Metsblog I’m kind of shocked at the level of disrespect towards Damon. Yes he has a rag arm and his power that he displayed as a Highlander most likely won’t play the same at $iti Field but he walks into your clubhouse a two time World Champion a high profile player on two of the highest profile teams and matching him with Frenchy would finally turnaround the Mets Clubhouse.

This would not be a long term deal, 2 yrs at most. The bottom line here Mets fans is Jason Bay doesn’t love you or your team, in fact he can’t stand your losing ass’ even for 4yrs/$60 mil

Now if you excuse me I have to baste myself in Ben-Gay after shoveling my driveway and sidewalk

It’s time to tell Jason Bay and Bengi Molina we’re not interested. Call both their bluffs in fact just tell Bay’s agent “sorry we’ve had second thoughts” then call Molina’s guy and Rod Barajas guy and the first one to say yes to a 2yr incentive laden deal gets that deal.

The reason I’m ready to “Bay-O, Bayyyyyyyyyyyy-O we’ve got no deal so you gotta go home”, is I want the Mets to sign Johnny Damon to play LF in 2010 and 2011

Now I’m not saying that Damon is better than Bay, he’s not, but the drop off is not so fierce that you could get Damon for half the money you’d spend on Bay and with less commitment. Then of course there is the all important intangibles. Damon is a dynamic presences in the clubhouse, he has dissed publicly by the Highlanders so you know he is going to come to camp ready to make a big statement, and he wears two world championship rings from two of the highest profile team sin sports. Not to mention the good will you would build up with Scott Boras for making his client look good after he (Boras) dropped the ball with the Highlander negotiations.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the last team Jason Bay wants to be a part of is the New York Mets. There is no mystery team, there is no competition for his services, now would be the time to tell Bay and his agent we’re going in another direction and announce the signing of Johnny Damon to a 2yr/18 mil deal with incentives to get the money over $20 mil. Damon is a winner and those types of players are in short supply I Queens.

Enjoy Camden Yards Jason.

My mood is very, very glooming today due to the awful defensive display put on by the New York Football Giants last night against the Iggles from Philly. With the Dallas Cowgirls losing to the San Diego SuperChargers (if it’s December you know it’s wintertime and the Cowgirls will choke) and a big fuck you to Flozell Adams who if he played in the Staten Island Touch Tackle Football League (of which I played in some 30 years ago, 30 YEARS!!!!!! HOLY SHIT)  would be in a hospital recovering from reconstructive surgery on a knee, for being a cheap shot bitch, but I digress……..what a time for the Giants D to come up small and for the special teams to fall apart as well. Oh, an a word to Iggles Coach Andy, (more Chins than the Hong Kong phone book) Reid, your fat ass will not be going to the Super Bowl so enjoy your win over the Giants, only coaches who haven’t won shit would chest bump with their players after a regular season win.    

Can you feel the holiday spirit just oozing out of me? After that Giants game last I got to think of all the teams I root for which gives me the most of my rooting interest, Here are the candidates:

New York Mets

The first sports team I’ve ever rooted for and the team that gives me the most aggravation. More the way the ownership and front office go about its business is what infuriates me as the Mets are the only team I root for that does not embrace it’s history, in fact the owner not only had to be shamed into honoring the teams past but is shocked that the fan base is so adamant in celebrating the history of the team.  Freddy Skill Sets ain’t exactly Tevye, you know what I mean?

New York Giants

I got involved rooting for the Giants as a kid when I started playing football at age 12. My oldest brother had season tickets for the G-Men and I got to go once in awhile (at Highlander Stadium no less) and then my other brother became friendly with the Mara’s though business so it was a natural progression to become a Giants fan. Back in the 70’s, the Giants were not very good but I was a kid and my older brothers were Giants fans so I went with the flow. But then came the 80’s and the G-Men were the cream of the NFL crop (thank you George Young and Bill Parcells) then it became cool to root for Big Blue. The Mara’s also celebrate the teams history fully as they have owned the team since it’s inception in 1925 and it doesn’t hurt they are proud Irish-Americans as well.

New York Rangers

No one in my family were hockey fans when I was a kid and now there are still no hockey fans in my family today but me. My relatives always said I was a little “different” but growing up my neighborhood in Brooklyn was a hockey hot bed. We had the finest roller hockey rink in the city on 53^rd St and Ft Hamilton Parkway (it’s still there by the way) so as teenagers we spent a lot of fall and winter days playing hockey, and of course we were Ranger fans. Saturday nights on Ch 9 were Rangers Hockey Night (your Schaffer Circle of Sports) I got to see Brad Park, Eddie Giacomin and my all time favorite Ranger, Walter Tkachuk play in their famous Blue sweaters. Again there is strong tradition with the Broadway Blueshirts as they were an Original Six (I love that title Original Six!!!!!!) While I watched the Rangers on Ch 9 and listened to them on radio, I didn’t go to a Rangers game until I was 18 but the first hockey game I saw in person was a NY Raiders of the WHA game at Madison Square Garden back in 1973 (I was 15 and a bunch of us hopped the on the Sea Beach to Manhattan with our G.O cards and got blue seats for the Raiders for a couple of bucks, the Raiders played at 1 PM and the Rangers at 7:30PM. We thought about finding a hiding place in MSG until the Rangers game at night but figuring we never told our parents about our field trip to Manhattan, they might not be too happy if he didn’t come home until 11 PM or so) I held Rangers season tickets for 10 years but with a wife and two kids, it’s hard to go to 40 games a season and when you can’t make the games and have to eat the tickets, it gets quite expensive, but I was there to see the Rangers win the Stanley Cup and remember the banner in the Blue Seats that night “Now I Can Die In Peace” Of all the fans in this city no fans are more loyal than the Garden Faithful of the Rangers.

Boston Celtics

I know what you’re saying, “No Knicks?” No. Again every Sunday in the winter, I’d watch the NBA on ABC with Chris Schenkel and Jack Tyman and it seemed every Sunday, the Celtics were on TV. Sure I watched the Knicks on Ch 9 (WOR Ch9 was our sports channel only the upper crust in Manhattan had something called “cable tv” ) but I was mesmerized by John Havlicek, JoJo White, Coach Red Auerbach and the great basketball player of all time, Bill Russell. Plus, I thought they were all Irish because of the shamrock, green and well they were the Celtics. Of all my rooting interests, this team has won the most championships and I know a lot of fans hate the team and its fans for that fact. Tough shit!!!!!!!! It is weird though when I go to MSG to see the C’s dressed in my Celtics regalia and Knicks fans yell at me to “go back to Boston” and I yell back “I’m from Brooklyn, asshole” Classy, I know

Scott Boras has entered the building and I agree with Mike Silva, Boras needs the Mets to get in the mix for Matt Holiday just to drive the price up. The Mets, Cardinals, Red Sox and maybe the Angels are Holiday’s best bets and with Boras blowing smoke up Mets managements ass about having the wherewith all to sign Holiday it’s quite clear that playing for a winning team is not paramount to Holiday signing a contract.

“The Mets have a network and they have an infrastructure there that is, I mean, it’s a juggernaut economically,” Boras said at the winter meetings Wednesday afternoon. “We’ve seen what NESN has done and they’ve become if not a multi-billion, over a billion-dollar franchise. The YES Network is a multi-billion dollar network and franchise. The infrastructure that they’ve built with the SNY network follows. They’ve got a brand new ballpark. They’re in New York City. Their revenues are in the top three or four in baseball. I mean, the New York Mets have a lot of choices. And the Wilpon family is very successful. Sure, the Mets can sign any player they want to if they so choose to.”

There is nothing in that statement that you can argue with. If you are a Mets fan, Scott Boras just did you the biggest favor of the off season by calling bullshit on the Mets inactivity. Of course he doesn’t give a shit about you or me or any Mets fan but by calling out the ownership to get in the game, we owe him some gratitude.

The piece of baseball news I’ve heard so far these winter meetings was that Peter Gammons has left the WWL and will join MLB.com and the MLB Network. I have had the pleasure of watching the Cape Cod League All Star game with Gammons a few years ago in Orleans and he was a real gentleman. We not just talked baseball but he is a real encyclopedia of Rock and Roll history as well. Congratulations Pete!

Oh boy lot’s of stuff to ponder today so let’s have at it:

METS SIGN ALEX CORA AND  CHRIS COSTE

Alex Cora is what he is, a backup infielder who most people around the Mets claim is a positive influence in the clubhouse and a manager in waiting. One more name to add to the “who will succeed Jerry Manuel by Memorial Day” list. What I can’t get through my thick skull is the amount of money and contract he received, 1yr with an option for 2011 and $2mil. Now 2 mil to the Mets is nothing but what I don’t get and the thing that makes my blood boil about this idiotic operation is, they never go over slot on a draft pick but they will overspend for JAG’s (Just Another Guy) and with all his leadership and his ability to play hurt last year Cora is a first class JAG and they come much cheaper than 2 mi. This is a typical Mets move. The Mets front office is as clueless when it comes to spending money on players as trailer park white trash hitting Mega Millions. At least the trailer park trash spends their fortune on malt liquor and cigarettes.

I read Chris Coste’ book and even though he had the stink of Philadelphia all over him, I admired his hard work and perseverance in making the big leagues. When I heard last night that he had signed with the Mets, again even with that Phillies stink all over him, I looked past that and thought, well he’s hard working vet who not only can catch but play some 1^st and 3^rd base and would be a great help to Josh Thole, but then Coste made a major blunder and inserted his foot and shin guard in his mouth:

Of all teams to come calling, Coste wasn’t expecting to sign a free-agent deal with the hated New York Mets. But that’s just what he did on Monday afternoon, agreeing to a one-year split deal.

“It was the Mets,” Coste told CSN. “It’s the last team I ever saw myself playing for. I knew I was going to accept it, but had to think about it for a few days.”

“I will always be a Phillie,” Coste told CSN this evening.

It it wasn’t my choice to leave Philly,” Coste said. “I never wanted to leave Philadelphia, I will always consider myself a Phillie.”

Are you kidding me? Wait let me rephrase that, Are you FUCKING kidding me?  If this doesn’t prove how clueless Mets management is it’s this signing. It’s bad enough that Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard have big mouths, in a way I can accept that as they are big time players, but when a bush leaguer comes out with this bullshit…Are you FUCKING kidding me? If the Mets don’t void this broken down busher’s contract after that…………..well……..ahhhhh who am I kidding there isn’t a pair balls in the whole organization.

CATCHER KELLY SHOPPACH TRADED TO TAMPA

Shoppach had a sub-par season in 2009 but was fantastic in 2008 and is a strong defensive catcher and is 30 years old. So of course the Mets had no interest. If he forged a birth certificate to show he was 38 years old and born is Santo Domingo, he’d be a Met today.

ROYALS DO NOT OFFER ARBITRATION TO CATCHER MIGUEL OLIVO

(Me outside $iti Field) HEY JEFFEY!!!! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE. WAKE UP GOD DAMIT!!!! OLIVO IS AVAILABLE REMEMBER HIM? HE WAS READY TO KICK JOSE REYES’ ASS BACK IN ’07. HE HITS WITH POWER AND HIS VERY GOOD BEHIND THE PLAT AND HE’S DOMINICAN!!!!!! SURE HE’S ONLY 30 AND I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE OLDER MEN BUT HE’S DEFENITLY WORTH GOING AFTER. JEFFEY HEY…………….TELL THESE GUYS TO GET THER HANDS OFF ME…………….HEY…………..JEFFFEY…………..ALLRIGHT……….I’M GOING………I’M GOING…………

PALACIDO POLANCO NOT OFFER ARBITRATION BY TIGERS

Let’s see Polanco is a terrific fielder with great range at 2^nd base. He hits doubles and has some pop in his bat. Won a  two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger and he’s DOMINICAN!!!! Ah but do we do with Rogers Castillo?

METS HIRE WAYNE KRIVSKY

I agree with Joe Janish, this could be the dark horse signing of the off season.

BRIAN SCHNEIDER SIGNS WITH PHUCK FACES

I don’t think Schneider will be quoted saying “I’ll always be a Met” but you know he’ll go 4 for 4 the first time he plays against the Mets. So anyone still think the Lastings Milledge for Scheider and Ryan Church was a win for the Mets?

STEP RIGHT UP AND SEE US SUCK AT PREMIUM PRICES

Metsgrrl has received her invoice for her Mets season tickets and it’s safe to say she is not a happy consumer but then again when it comes to customer relations the Mets make the Dept of  Motor of Motor Vehicles look like the happiest place on Earth.  I’m holding out hope that there will be more 97 cents days at $iti in 2010

Oh boy lot’s of stuff to ponder today so let’s have at it:

METS SIGN ALEX CORA AND  CHRIS COSTE

Alex Cora is what he is, a backup infielder who most people around the Mets claim is a positive influence in the clubhouse and a manager in waiting. One more name to add to the “who will succeed Jerry Manuel by Memorial Day” list. What I can’t get through my thick skull is the amount of money and contract he received, 1yr with an option for 2011 and $2mil. Now 2 mil to the Mets is nothing but what I don’t get and the thing that makes my blood boil about this idiotic operation is, they never go over slot on a draft pick but they will overspend for JAG’s (Just Another Guy) and with all his leadership and his ability to play hurt last year Cora is a first class JAG and they come much cheaper than 2 mi. This is a typical Mets move. The Mets front office is as clueless when it comes to spending money on players as trailer park white trash hitting Mega Millions. At least the trailer park trash spends their fortune on malt liquor and cigarettes.

I read Chris Coste’ book and even though he had the stink of Philadelphia all over him, I admired his hard work and perseverance in making the big leagues. When I heard last night that he had signed with the Mets, again even with that Phillies stink all over him, I looked past that and thought, well he’s hard working vet who not only can catch but play some 1^st and 3^rd base and would be a great help to Josh Thole, but then Coste made a major blunder and inserted his foot and shin guard in his mouth:

Of all teams to come calling, Coste wasn’t expecting to sign a free-agent deal with the hated New York Mets. But that’s just what he did on Monday afternoon, agreeing to a one-year split deal.

“It was the Mets,” Coste told CSN. “It’s the last team I ever saw myself playing for. I knew I was going to accept it, but had to think about it for a few days.”

“I will always be a Phillie,” Coste told CSN this evening.

It it wasn’t my choice to leave Philly,” Coste said. “I never wanted to leave Philadelphia, I will always consider myself a Phillie.”

Are you kidding me? Wait let me rephrase that, Are you FUCKING kidding me?  If this doesn’t prove how clueless Mets management is it’s this signing. It’s bad enough that Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard have big mouths, in a way I can accept that as they are big time players, but when a bush leaguer comes out with this bullshit…Are you FUCKING kidding me? If the Mets don’t void this broken down busher’s contract after that…………..well……..ahhhhh who am I kidding there isn’t a pair balls in the whole organization.

CATCHER KELLY SHOPPACH TRADED TO TAMPA

Shoppach had a sub-par season in 2009 but was fantastic in 2008 and is a strong defensive catcher and is 30 years old. So of course the Mets had no interest. If he forged a birth certificate to show he was 38 years old and born is Santo Domingo, he’d be a Met today.

ROYALS DO NOT OFFER ARBITRATION TO CATCHER MIGUEL OLIVO

(Me outside $iti Field) HEY JEFFEY!!!! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE. WAKE UP GOD DAMIT!!!! OLIVO IS AVAILABLE REMEMBER HIM? HE WAS READY TO KICK JOSE REYES’ ASS BACK IN ’07. HE HITS WITH POWER AND HIS VERY GOOD BEHIND THE PLAT AND HE’S DOMINICAN!!!!!! SURE HE’S ONLY 30 AND I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE OLDER MEN BUT HE’S DEFENITLY WORTH GOING AFTER. JEFFEY HEY…………….TELL THESE GUYS TO GET THER HANDS OFF ME…………….HEY…………..JEFFFEY…………..ALLRIGHT……….I’M GOING………I’M GOING…………

PALACIDO POLANCO NOT OFFER ARBITRATION BY TIGERS

Let’s see Polanco is a terrific fielder with great range at 2^nd base. He hits doubles and has some pop in his bat. Won a  two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger and he’s DOMINICAN!!!! Ah but do we do with Rogers Castillo?

METS HIRE WAYNE KRIVSKY

I agree with Joe Janish, this could be the dark horse signing of the off season.

BRIAN SCHNEIDER SIGNS WITH PHUCK FACES

I don’t think Schneider will be quoted saying “I’ll always be a Met” but you know he’ll go 4 for 4 the first time he plays against the Mets. So anyone still think the Lastings Milledge for Scheider and Ryan Church was a win for the Mets?

STEP RIGHT UP AND SEE US SUCK AT PREMIUM PRICES

Metsgrrl has received her invoice for her Mets season tickets and it’s safe to say she is not a happy consumer but then again when it comes to customer relations the Mets make the Dept of  Motor of Motor Vehicles look like the happiest place on Earth.  I’m holding out hope that there will be more 97 cents days at $iti in 2010