Big tip of the Blue Mets Cap to Shannon Shark at Met Police for the first released pictures of the new, old, same Mets pinstriped jersey that looks exactly as the one I bought three years ago that hangs in my closet.

Hopefully some time today I will see this jersey up close and personnel as the plan was to up and out by 9AM for Christmas shopping but my daughter has decided to engage in a marathon sleeping session so our attack of the Paramus Mall is on hold.

Oh well, with the football season done here in NY , I guess all we can look forward to is the big Elmer Dessens press conference to announce his re-signing .

Lot’s of news today, on what is the beginning of the last weekend of the summer and even with our dreadful season by our heroes in Flushing, this summer has flown by. I guess it’s due to the Mets being out of playoff contention for the first time in awhile that I am very excited about NHL training camps opening, Notre Dame-Nevada tomorrow and Week 1 of the NFL season starting next week.

But make no mistake it sucks not having a team fighting for the pennant. Wait it doesn’t suck, IT BLOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

On to the news of the day:

The first question I had when I heard that Jerry Koosman was found guilty of tax evasion was it had to be a mistake. But now that Koos has been sentenced to 6 months in the slammer and also reading how he got taken in by an anti-tax group, the comment that had me sit up and say what the fuck, was Koos believing that only federal workers and residents of Washington D.C. paid federal taxes. Say it ain’t so Koos you can’t be that naive.     

Sad news out this morning about Ernie Harwell fighting incurable cancer. Harwell is not just one of the greatest announcers of all time but he is a first class story teller as well.

Carlos Beltran went 0-2 for the Brooklyn Cyclones last night in a loss to Hudson Valley as the’Clones in true Mets fashion have taken a dive down the home stretch of the season. The Staten Island Highlanders have surged into first place of the Mc Namarra Division however, the Cyclones have clinched a play off spot so let’s hope for a Cyclones-Baby Highlanders NY-PENN Championship showdown. Oh yeah, Beltran, he played centerfield and still says he’s not 100 % but wants to get back to the Mets some time this month. Someone has to be an adult and put their foot down and tell him see you in February.

The debate between Mets watchers is to rebuild or not rebuild that is the question, and I would fall in the burn it down and start over camp but realistically as Mike Silva points out in a terrific post on NYBD they don’t have the luxury of that option. Where Mike feels it’s due to giving the fabled “CORE” another shot at glory, my feeling is (and we discussed this last night at PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL) the Mets just don’t have many tradable parts. As much as I would explore moving Beltran or even Jose Reyes, both players are coming off season ending injuries and you would not get optimum return for either player. So in that case, bring them back and hope to build around them and Wright, Santana and Rodriguez. 2010 will not hinge on the “CORE” but on the Mets being able to find some starting pitching.

I don’t think D-Wright ditched the salad bowl for traditional batting helmet due to vanity even though that thing looked ridiculous. I’d bet anything that the helmet was extremely uncomfortable and he had a hard time running the bases with that condo on his head. Memo to Rawlings: go back to the drawing board fellows, that helmet is the Edsel of baseball equipment.

Dear Josh Thole,

Congratulations on your Major League debut. Two hits and some nice work being the plate has made you the Mets fan flavor of the month but don’t get used to it. Daniel Murphy was once in your shoes and the fans have turned on him because in his first full season in the bigs he hasn’t been Keith Hernandez. As much as I love my fellow Mets fans, they are at times a bunch of fickle fucks. So don’t get too much of a big head, they will turn on you the first time you go 0 for 4.

Sincerely,

The Eddie Kranepool Society.

The first game we went to at $iti Field my wife and kids look all around the City Walk at the bricks and my asked me “So where’s our brick”? I told her I didn’t buy one. She looked at me and said “You have every kind of Mets merchandise ever made but we don’t have a brick with our name on it in front the brand new ball park”? Uhhhh no. All I got was that disgust look that I have seen way too many times over the last 23 plus years ( I have a lot of Ralph Kramden in me ) So when I got the e-mail from the Mets that they were selling more bricks for the City Walk I broke down and bought one. So Honey, clear the mantel and make a place for our brick is on the way, I just hope that brick don’t land on the back of my head someday.