All this talk about Matt Holiday, Jason Bay, Curtis Granderson and Brandon Philips has me totally baffled. You could bring in all four of these guys in and it still doesn’t solve the Mets biggest off season problem PITCHING!!!!!

Of course the Mets need help in the corners of 1^st base,(I’m not abandoning my boy Murphy but I will concede a righty hitting dance partner would be nice)  LF and catcher both power wise and defensively but right now the Mets have one solid starter in Johan Santana .

The Reds are just about begging for teams with deep pockets to give them salary relief and with Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo and Brandon Phillips sitting there for the taking, there is no reason for the Mets not to go full bore in making a deal for this troika.

Ah, but who is in charge? As I linked yesterday to Joel Sherman’s story in the Post, Omar looks to be a dead GM walking. So who is in charge? Is it John Ricco? Sandy Johnson? Little Shit? Who damn it, Who is calling the shot out there?

If there were ever an off season where the Mets organization could really fortify the team it’s this one. So many teams are looking to either dump players with high salary or are arbitration eligible ready to cash in on a big raise or they are a year away for free agency and ready to be moved for cheaper labor. And here sit the Skill Sets who told us the money is not a problem so fuck that Bernie Madoff as he didn’t hurt this franchise because the Mets are truly solvent. Between being, what the second or third most valuable franchise according to Forbes and don’t forget the close to $20 mil a year coming in from those crooked bastards at $iti Group plus the ownership of SNY, there is no excuse for the team not to as aggressive as a Cougar at a frat party.

But who is in charge of the baseball decisions, inquiring minds want to know?

by the way can you spot the ex-Met in that picture?

If you’re a FOO (Friend Of Omar’s) it would be a good idea to hide in one of the many  nooks and crannies of $iti Field. The Skill Sets have taken out the chopping block and let’s hope the ax keeps swinging.

The Mets have fired Ramon Pena the guy in charge of Latin American Talent and Luis Aguayo the Minor League on field coordinator and have let Sandy Johnson the VP of Scouting file retirement papers. Finally something productive is coming out of the Skill Sets Ivory Tower with these moves. But the cleansing of the front office and on field staff has to continue before a turnaround can get under way in Flushing for next season.

I get the feeling more of these moves are coming. Next should be an overhaul of the coaching staff it’s time for some fresh faces and a different way of teaching and it would not be a shock that Omar gets reassigned to a new position and John Ricco takes over as the GM/Point man/Face of the Mets.

It’s going to be a very interesting winter around here.

Seriously, can we all just leave Daniel Murphy alone? The kid will be a solid ML’er and decent first baseman. Take all your ‘We need a first baseman” energy and move it toward the starting pitching where the team is really hurting. Remember if you ain’t got pitching, you ain’t got shit”

Just when I thought I was done watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN (MLB Network blows that amateur production out of the water) they go and drag me back in by signing Bobby Valentine to work the panel. Damn you ESPN!!!!

Jon Niese says don’t blame the Mets for his hammy ripping apart that it was his own fault. He made this statement while blindfolded and Jerry Manuel holding a rifle at his head.

I must head to downtown Brooklyn and make friends with Mikhail Prokhorov and see if he’d liked to go to a Mets game. Maybe my dream of becoming the Mets GM could come true More borscht? More Vodka? Comrade!

So there was J-Man looking more CEO than Gangsta’ last night on Daily News Live when the first question asked of him was “Wadda bout Manny, would you have a problem managing him”? and the Mets Warlord pulled no punches:

“I don’t think so.  I don’t have a problem with people that produce in the form and fashion that Manny Ramirez produces.  We shouldn’t spend that much time in the locker room anyway, our job is to be on the field – and Manny Ramirez has proven that he is probably one of the best right-handed hitters of our generation.  To have a shot at managing him would be exciting for me.  I’ve had Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, tremendous right-handed hitters.  I would love to have the opportunity to watch Manny hit every day.”

I really feel that there are discussions between the Mets Gang of Four (Omar, John Rico, Tony B and Sandy Johnson) on the Manny situation going on, maybe it’s just wishful thinking or maybe it’s the Omar modus operendi of laying in the weeds to swoop in. As we approach February, the Dodgers offer of 2yr/$45 mil is still on the table with Manny/Boras still holding out for 4-5 yrs for $100-$125mil. No one is paying that for Manny. But why can’t the Mets stoke this negotiation with a 2yr/$50 with an attainable third year option? Worse case scenario, Manny/Boras turn it down Best case, they accept and we get Manny or they turn it down but you send the message to your fan base that you are willing to go the extra mile to sign an impact player like Manny.

Believe me it’s not like I want the Mets to throw money away . I wouldn’t even think of signing Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn for anything more than a 1yr ML vet minimum same with Ollie Perez (3yr) and Ben Sheets (2 yr), I’d love to sign either guy but not at their price but Manny is a living breathing Hall of Fame player who has played on nothing but winning teams plus he brings a real swagger to the team and brings respect to the Mets which this team has lost in the last two season.

In part two of Mike Steffano’s interview with Joe Janish of Mets Today, Joe sums up the biggest problem with the disconnect between the Mets fans and management:

  If you could change just one thing about how the Mets franchise is run, what would it be?

Easy. I’d make a commitment to building the franchise for the long-term, emulating the Braves and the Twins. I’m not on board with the idea that New York fans don’t have the patience for rebuilding — that’s nonsense. YANKEE fans may not have patience, but the large majority of loyal Mets fans would be fine with struggling for a few years IF they saw that there was a plan in place, and there was commitment to the plan. We toughed it through the early 1980s, and were rewarded with some of the most exciting seasons in the team’s history from 1984 to 1990 — with teams built around a core of players that we as fans could easily root for, and felt more attached to because of continuity and because we felt we “watched them grow up”.

Under my watch, the long-term plan would start at the very bottom of the organization, with the scouts and the low levels of the minors — where the focus would be on instilling fundamentals and developing consistent execution in all phases of the game. Teenage phenoms would not be rushed through the system because they have a great bat or a live fastball — they’d have to develop their entire game in a ball before moving up to the next level. That’s where the current regime frustrates me — they say they’re committed to a “win now” mentality, but then they stop short of acquiring the final pieces and start talking about the farm system. A lot of mixed signals.

I agree 1,000 % with Joe. If the front office said they were committed to building with youth especially young pitching and a defense over offense no one would be happier than me. I would be singing the praises of Omar and the Skill Sets. But as Joe says, the Mets tell us they are a “Now” team so if you are a “Now” team then sign the two “Now” guys that are out there Manny and Ben Sheets.  If you’re building a team for the future then give Randy Wolf and Jon Garland 1 yr deals and let Jon Niese, and Bobby Parnell work on their craft in Buffalo. Whatever, the Mets need to decide which direction you want to go and stick with it.

Frankie Maniscalco is getting ready to launch a Fantasy Baseball League over at NYBD.

With President Obama looking to close the Guantanamo Bay camp maybe the government could keep it open for a little while longer and give Kirk Radamski, Brain McNamee, Jay McGwire and Greg Anderson permanent housing there.

Speaking of Radamski, Doc Gooden vehemently denies the accusation that Radamski was his personal Wizzanator. On a lighter note, it seems Gooden is still glowing from the reception he received from Mets fans on the Last Day of Shea:

    “I want to set the record straight,” Gooden said. “When I went back to Shea last year it really hit me how much the fans care for me, it still gives me goose bumps. I want to do the right thing for them and my family. I love the fans and I appreciate how much they care for me.”

Welcome back Doc.