Last night’s hour long PRO BASEBALL CENTRAL show, went by in a flash thanks our own Yankee-Doodle, Michael calling in and Matt Silverman coming on to talk about the ’69 Mets. Some of the topics I wanted to get to in the opening of the show got pushed back as I went on a bit of a Fernando Martinez rant, so I guess I’ll touch on those here.

By the way I got to see F-Mart’s AB last night with the bases loaded and two out in the Dominican Republic v. Venezuela Caribbean World Series game. Martinez did not get a hit in the AB but it was an impressive turn at the plate that lasted 10 pitches until he hit a foul pop that was caught by the Venezuelan right fielder.

I’m not anti-Fernando in any way; I just want the kid to stop acing like he’s a 27 year old journeyman who has never gotten a chance and be the 20 year old who plays so well this spring that he beats out Angel Pagan to be Carlos Beltran’s understudy.

Looks like me and Orlando Hudson have something in common; we both will never play second base for the Mets. So after all the debate about second base for the Mets what’s done is done, Luis Castillo is the Mets second baseman for better or worse till death due us part (or until Reese Havens can prove he can play at the big league level) for 2010.

What is the under/over on how many times Gary Cohen or Howie Rose say “Just out of the reach of Castillo, for a base hit” this season? Let’s set the number at 75.

The last place in the world I thought I’d ever see the name Municipal Credit Union would be on a ball park marquee.  I wonder if those of us with accounts at MCU will get a discount on Cyclones tickets.

I’m very happy for Nelly Figs and his great performance the other day for DR in the Caribbean Series but it wasn’t like he was pitching against the Phillies or Highlanders, it was against Mexico and 45 year old  270 lb Vinny Castila, The Big Fajita!

Maybe things are not as bleak for the Mets as we think. FOX has the Amazin’s scheduled for broadcast 8 times this coming season and one of the games is a prime timer versus the Bronx Bastards.

Maple Street Press is coming out with it’s Mets Annual in a few weeks and there will be a section on the Mets Blogosphere, that will include yours truly.

Matt Silverman is putting out a revised paperback version of his book “100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” 

 

Intimidation is a major component in a sporting endeavor. The ability to get into your opponents head will make the difference between winning and losing when the physical aspect is so close, like it is in this World Series. The Highlanders have always liked to use this physiological warfare when dealing with an opponent. Whether it is the constant in stadium bombardment of how many championships they have won or trotting out old time players or prominent political hacks or just flaunting their monetary wealth, the Highlander are masters of head games. Sometimes is works, but sometimes it doesn’t and it looks likes this World Series is one of those times it doesn’t.

 

You think Cliff Lee is intimidated buy the Bronx Bastards or their palatial surroundings? Not in the least. When asked twice last night after his Game 1 gem first by Fox garden gnome, Ken Rosenthal, if he was nervous and then by Baseball Network’s Trenni Kusnierek, Lee just shrugged and said “What do I have to be nervous about” Lee went on to say that he prepared and did all his side work so he was ready to go and when you do your proper prep work what’s there to worry about? This was the same attitude that Josh Beckett had when his Marlins and Red Sox beat the Highlanders as well. Mystique and Aura, HA! My ass.

 

CC Sabathia did a good job last night but this biggest fault was falling behind in counts and the inability to throw strike one on a first pitch. Against Chase Utley he fell behind on his first pitch to the Philly second baseman 1-0 but came back to gain a 1-2 advantage as Utley just missed on two fastballs fouling them off. Utley then made Sabathia work by after getting the count even, Utley fouls off two more pitches and then CC misses for ball three and a full count to Utley. So now Utley has seen eight pitches in this at bat and the whole CC portfolio, now with two outs the last thing Sabathia wants is to walk Utley and bring up Ryan Howard with a man on. So CC tries to bust on inside on Utley but the pitches gets a little too much plate and Utley sends just barely over the right field wall for a 1-0 Philly lead. Sabathia pitched a terrific game but some times when you hook up against a guy who is tossing a classic, who have to be better than terrific.

 

If I’m Joe Girardi, I’d be very concerned about Phil Hughes. Hughes has been awful this October and the grumbling is he’s scared shit. Not a good rep to have and barking at home plate ump Gerry Davis doesn’t help his bad reputation either.

 

Speaking of Joey G, I’m done trying to figure out his bullpen moves. After the Phil Hughes melt down of walking Victorrino and Rollins, JG brought in Damaso Marte to go lefty-lefty with Utley and Howard. Now with Werth up JG goes with David Robinson who had nothing as he gave up a four pitch walk to Werth. Now you have the lefty Ibanez with in a bases loaded situation and the Highlanders down 2-0. The situation was calling for Phil Coke. But JG leaves in Robertson who gives up a two run single to Ibanez and 2-0 lead is now a 4-0 lead for Philly. That Ibanez AB was the turning point in the game as far as I’m concerned, the game was over at that point.

 

I’m fascinated by tonight’s match up of Petey and Pie Man. Petey is a Hall of Fame pitcher who like Cliff Lee will not be intimidated by the surroundings of this game. On the other hand, Pie Man has not shown the ability to step up his game in a big spot. You could say when it’s time to put up AJ Burnett is more cream puff than lemon meringue.

 

I did not get to hear Omar, Jeffey and Dave The Lawyer on with the Sports Bloviator last night and I can’t listen to the replay at work because of the filters on our computers, so I am relying on Mathew Cerrone’s recap which is court stenographer accurate.

 

The first thought in my mind when I heard the Gang of Three were going on ‘FAN with Francesa was how could I get some C5 explosive into that studio. The only nit wits missing from that group were Glen Beck, Momar Kadafi, and Vince the ShamWow guy for it to be a true Carnival of Douchebags.  

 

So let’s look at some of the highlights of this day of damage control Skill Sets style:

 

Only two coaches got whacked, Alomar Sr. and Luis Alicea and they were the only two who didn’t have anything to do with the season of suck. Razor Shines, the most inept third base coach since Wendel Kim, not only stays but he becomes Manuel’s confidant. But according to J-Man, Shines was responsible for the awful base running and for not making Daniel Murphy into an acceptable outfielder, but he’s a good baseball man so he gets to stay. Alomar Sr. gets the boot because it’s his fault that Luis Castillo is a broken down pedestrian second baseman. Christ, my head hurts already! As for Alicea , I wouldn’t know Alicea if he were sitting here next to me. So much for flying under the radar.

 

Jeffey apologized up and down for the awful season and said time and again that injuries were not to blame and that the lack of fundamentals were front and center a huge problem. He also said that the problem stems from the minor league system and the organization has to do a much better job of preparing the players on the farm so they can step in when the big league team calls them up. Well, knock me over with a Wilson Valdez’ bat. It’s good to see that Jeffey is reading the blogs and finally getting reliable information, especially the soon to be hiring of Wally Backman, to manage Binghamton.

 

The money issue came up and Jeffey claims the Mets will have plenty of bucks this off season to tantalize free agents. That’s great, but just because you have money doesn’t means you know what to do with it.  I give you Mets fan exhibit A, the Oliver Perez contract. Jeffey also was proud to say the Mets went over slot with first round pick Steve Matz by giving him a bonus of $895K. That’s great, but now with the 7^th pick in this years draft I want to see if the Skill Sets go over slot as they are sure to get a top talent to drop in their lap due to signabilty. It will be put up or shut up time next summer.

 

I’ll give Jeffey and his stooges this much, they learned the lesson from 2007 when they left Willie Randolph hanging in the wind for a couple of days before the came out and said he’d be back and addressed the collapse. This year they were out in force and addressed everything that needed to be addressed. The key is money talks and bullshit walks and with all the bullshit that comes from the Mets corporate office, the stuffed shirts in charge must go thru a lot of shoes.

 

The plan sounds good but it will take a big time move to prove to me they Skill Sets are sincere and intelligent enough to pull this off. Bring me Roy Halliday and I’ll be conveniced.

 

Watching Jeffey on SNY during his presser and with Chris Carlin, I’m pretty certain he never took a public speaking course in college. The guy is soooooo uncomfortable in front of the camera and reading his prepared statement was as painful to watch as it was for him to give it.. He has the personality of stale Wonder Bread. Crack a fucking smile will ya ! and stop the Elmer Fudd impersonation. Besides the on field work that needs to be done, the organization needs to hire a front man with some personality, some pizzaz. Not only would hiring Bobby Valentine bring that but he also brings a brilliant baseball mind as well. Sure the Skill Sets love Jay Horowitz like a son but it’s time to get someone in here who will push the Mets agenda a little more forceful. If you have seen Giants mouth piece Pat Hanlon on Giants All Access, that’s the kind of PR flack the Mets need.

 

Gimp Castillo, Aaron Heilman, Brian Schneider a prospect and money (half of Castillo’s ill gotten gains) to the San Fransisco Giants for Bengi Molina and Randy Winn. The Giants get a second baseman for half price, plus a back end of rotation pitcher in Heilman and choice of a B level prospect (from a list the Mets provide) and they get relived of close to $15 mil in salary relief.  The Mets get a big upgrade at catcher plus a switch hitting bat for RF which in turn makes Ryan Church a bargaining chip for pitching.

 

Go ahead and flame away!

 

Saw these pics on Dom’ D’s Mets info laden site of Bailout Park. There is one shot of the bullpen that I hope is still under construction because I don’t see the Kevlar roof that will be needed to protect the relievers from the angry mob of Mets fans.

 

Mike Silva has a great post on his site on the 2^nd base black hole and the lack of leadership that is needed on the Mets. When we think of leaders we always go with fiery types like guys Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter but sometimes leaders are guys like Eli Manning who is far from being a spitfire in the personality department but he has stepped up and become the leader of the New York Football Giants by stepping up his game and remaining clam when tough and tense times occur. It also helped him immensely that two of his biggest critics and the biggest wash women on the team Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey were gone from the team and in turn Manning flourished. That’s why I would have loved to see Omar deal off Carlos Delgado to get not only max return off his stellar half season but them maybe David Wright would feel more comfortable to exert his leadership to the team. There is a part of that feels a team with mostly younger players would be more beneficial to the Mets winning than having older players. Maybe it’s still the hangover from the Famous Rays season but I like watching young guys bust their ass day after day than old ones drag their saggy butts around all season.

 

The Angels look like they are gearing up to offer C C Sabathia a Johan Santana like contract. I really don’t care where Sabathia goes but as long as he doesn’t end up in the Bronx just watching Mike Francesa look like more of a horse’s ass than usual will be a great holiday gift.

 

How come no one talks about Nick Evans? Talk about a forgotten man. Another reason why I’d move Delgado as a platoon of Dan Murphy and Evans at first would be more than adequate and then if the Mets made my Giants deal you could keep Church and Winn together with Endy Chavez and Fernando Tatis leading a strong bench (Omar go get Willie Bloomquist please)

 

Check out Toby Hyde’s Mets Minor League Blog as he has a post on Tigers catcher James Skelton who could be available as a Rule 5 draftee. Skelton is very slight in built especially for a catcher (5’11” 165lbs) but he has a good batting eye and could be converted to a 2^nd baseman a la Craig Biggio. It never ceases to amaze me how progressive thinking the Mets bloggers are compared to the organization which sometimes is stuck in the old time baseball mentality.

 

Do you think the message has sunk in to the Mets brain trust’ heads that there is no way on earth Mets fans want to see Gimp Castillo at 2^nd base on opening day 2009?