When Jerry Manuel took over the managers office form Willie Randolph, the one statement he made that resonated with Mets fans was that his team would be tough and fight through whatever adversity was in front of it. His quote was “Gangsta’s on the field, Ladies on the bus”. I thought it was a great motto and felt maybe Manuel would be a speak softly carry a big stick kind of guy but I was wrong. If anything Manuel let the rash of injuries suffered by his team, become a crutch for losing and all around stupid baseball. Gangsta’ my ass.  but, so far this spring, Manuel looks to be getting his Gangsta’ on.

I’ve been critical of Manuel for not coming to the Jason Bay coronation and not being around for that weak ass Winter Caravan the Mets rolled out this off season, but now I know what Manuel was up to, he was planning his going out in a blazing glory strategy for the season.

Manuel knows that his contract is chump change and the only reason he’s back is a combination of the injuries and Omar Minaya’s contract. Minaya got to stay because the Skill Sets are tired of paying guys not to work for them. Omar does not have the juice he once had the organization and if and when a managerial change is made he will have little input in the new hire, hell if the wheels fall off early, the outcry from Mets fans will so loud, even the tone deaf Skill Sets will hear it. So in a long winded way, I’m saying Jerry Manuel has nothing to lose here if he puts pressure on management to take the best twenty five players he feels give him and the team the best chance to win.

We are already hearing him push for Jenry Mejia to make the team as the 8^th inning set up man and you can bank on Manuel pushing either Hisanori Takahasi or Fernando Nieve to make the starting rotation over a struggling Ollie Perez, and dumping OP in the bullpen, while making it known that he was not responsible for his awful contract, and with Ike Davis at first base over Daniel Murphy. If Manuel thinks Davis would be better than Murphy at first he will make it public knowledge.  

It’s a win/win situation for Manuel. If he gets his way and gets to take the players he wants North, it’s possible he could not just make it through the season but get an extension as well. If he doesn’t, and the team tanks, he gets to spend the summer at home in Cali waiting for the Mets checks to clear. We all should have such problems. 

When I can not only go online and buy tickets to opening day and do so two hours into the exclusive pre-sale time frame, you know this organization has its work cut out for them to not have a repeat of last season.  If Jerry Manuel can convince Jeffey Skill Sets that bringing  Mejia and Davis up North to not only help the team win but also sell tickets, then J-Man will not just be a Gangsta’ he’ll be The Godfather.

tip of the Mets cap to Metstradamus for the picture

After waking up from a Nyquil stupor I was perusing the ‘net for Mets stories and of course my first stop was Mathew Cerrone’s Metsblog, in which a few posts had me thinking:

It’s about time for the Mets and Omar Minaya to call Jason Bay’ bluff. Tell him and his agent “here’s the deal 4yrs/$68-70mil take it or leave it” then give him 48 hrs to decide. If he can get more from this mystery team that’s out there, so be it. Time for the Mets to man up and let Bay take them for assholes.

Same thing with Bengi Molina. There is no team in any baseball league-MLB, Japanese League, Little League, or Men’s Sunday softball league , that will give Bengi a 3 yr deal. Again Omar needs to make a take it or leave it 2yr deal an if Molina balks then go to Rod Barajas or Miguel Olivo (two better choices ) or go with the Blanco/Santos later in the year Josh Thole catching troika. 3 yrs for Bengi Moilina? Keep dreaming

Good to see that the Mets are taking my advice and speaking to the Cincinnati Red Stockings about Aaron Harang and or Bronson Arroyo. This wanna be GM’ing is tough so how about a finders fee to me Jeffey?

It’s amazing that the Jose Reyes/Mike Francesa sit down from Wednesday is still getting so much buzz. Reyes handled himself beautifully with the FAN Bloviator as he let his personality and passion show thru. Instead of hearing from second and third sources we heard right from the shortstops mouth that he never had a problem with Willie Randolph and understood full why he was benched for non-hustle and the fact that he wanted to come back to play so badly last year that he injured himself more. Reyes also said his personality is what it is and he’s not about to change and he told it like it is about the handshakes and celebrating, how what he does is tame to what other teams do. The sad part of the interview was Francesa telling the audience that he had to plead with the Mets to let Reyes come on with him. It just shows how out of touch management is. Reyes and Jeff Francouer have done more for goodwill amongst the fan base this week that even the incompetent Jeffey Skill Sets should be able to see that but I may be asking for too much.

My ambition meter is on empty today so I’m just warning you.

Weather wise it is one miserable day in NYC, rain and cold and just the kind of day to stay home and do nothing, which is what I plan to do. The forecast calls for the rain to stop or just go to drizzle and from the sound of things Game 1 of the Satan Series should go off on time. Whoop-Dee-Fucking-Do.

Don’t if you seen this video of the Phuck Phace fan and the on-air, reporter but all I can say is stay classy scrapple eaters.

Remember back in the summer when Brian Brunney was talking shit about Frankie Rodriguez and Rodriguez sort him out “meet you in the school yard” style?  Funny, but Brunney’ season went to shit after that didn’t it?

Do you miss Willie Randolph? “We’re  battling, We’re fighting…….I’ll be out of a job soon”

Ok, stop crying check this one out and wipe your tears.

WE GOT THE TEAMWORK, TO MAKE THE DREAM WORK…LETS GO METS.   

Keep the faith fellow Mets fans, KEEP THE FAITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wright and Doofus Joe went over the same old bullshit of how it is so tough to be a pro ball player in NY with all the media and the fans and blah, blah, blah Wright even mentioned the blogs,( if you are reading this David well thank you let’s do lunch? Me and you at Katz’s Deli the Brisket and Dr.Browns are on me e mail me at sinymets@aol.com  ). No questions on how the Mets change the fact that they are known for choking and indifferent play. No questions on how the clubhouse differs from the tight assed Willie Randolph to Cool Jazz Jerry? No questions about if Wright the face of the franchise has been briefed on organizational moves as he was with the Sheffield signing. No questions on whether Wright, in a clubhouse that has a heavy Latin influence feels respected or is he intimated?  In other words, another puff piece. There were forced moments like two guys coming up to Wright on the street asking for an autograph (they were the only two guys on the Manhattan street in what looked like the middle of the afternoon go figure!) then the all time staged moment when some asshole in a Phillies jersey comes by the restaurant window and bangs on it to point to his shirt and make a motion of a ring on his finger. A real low rent move but then it’s Doofus Joe what do expect.

The highlight of the evening though and what amounts to the biggest payback for guys like me who despise Doofus Joe Buck was when he did a segment with actor Paul Rudd, some unfunny fuck from SNL, and the Great Artie Lang.  You must check out this clip and this clip to hear Lang being his vile and nasty self. Doofus Joe couldn’t be more uncomfortable if his balls had a rash. Lang, a New York Football Giants fan telling Michael Irvin (who was also on the show and in the audience for this segment) that the Cowboys suck was a scream. It’s such a shame Lang is a Highlander fan which is worse than being a heroin junkie.

So now Rick Peterson is working with Scott Kazmir in Tampa to help him correct flaws in his mechanics that Peterson feels is causing him the physical  problems haunting him this season. So much for the bullshit propaganda from the Skill Sets that Peterson and Kazmir couldn’t get along. Adn the Skill Sets are pissed that Peterson claims he’s hearing that Johan is having difficulty with the knee that was operated on last winter. How dare someone tell the truth!!!!!

As much as having Bobby Valentine manage the Highlanders would sadden me, the prospect of Valentine managing the Nationals, scares the shit out of me.

Someday the main streamers in the press and talk radio will give fans the credit they are due for knowing their team better than they ever could. Why is everyone in the media so shocked that Jerry Manuel has no use for Ryan Church? We knew this since late February when J-Man made it known that Church would platoon with Fernando Tatis in RF. Back then Daniel Murphy was the fair haired boy but now he is closing in on Church status.

Just viewing the video of J-Man giving Church his ass to kiss after Church missed 3^rd base. I have no doubt that Church missed that base in fact Church deserves to grab some pine after that but Manuel HAS TO go out and argue that call no matter what. Let’s face facts, Manuel is no Earl Weaver when it comes to moves and counter moves from the bench his strength is holding his clubhouse together but after last night there could be a crack in that clubhouse. Manuel not going out to argue was reminiscent of Willie Randolph not fighting for the home run taken away from Carlos Delgado in Highlander Stadium last year.

Carlos Beltran is 100 % right that Angel Pagan (the new Jerry Manuel flavor of the month) should have backed off when he called for that ball. The center fielder is the ruler of the outfield roost, but throwing Pagan under the bus in the press is not what a leader does. Flame his ass in private Carlos.

With D-Wright stepping up big time with his bat (after taking Omar’s “this team has no edge” remark personally) now with Delgado on the shelf for 2 months minimum Wright needs to grab that clubhouse but the balls and get his teams attention. After that embarrassing loss last night maybe a gathering of teammates only is in order before tonight s game.

Lost in the slop of last night was the stellar effort by Tim Redding and the bullpen’s strong outing as well.

Can we please just put Daniel Murphy at 1^st base everyday and see what he can do? Go with Tatis in RF if you want and Sheffield in LF. I don’t know what the hell Murphy sis to J-Man but it’s time to forgive and forget if you’re J-Man. I swear Manuel is part Irish the way he holds a grudge.

When the manager is more upset about losing Alex Cora than Reyes then we know we’re in for a turbulent summer .

I have a 5PM game today and you know making sure you touch all the bases willbe brought up in my pre game talk

What do the coaches have to do with any of this? It’s the old chicken shit/chicken salad refrain as much as I’ve backed Omar Minaya and still think he has done some good here if this were The Apprentice board room and I’m Donald Trump I might have to say:

 “Omar, you know you’re a great guy and you’ve done some really, really good work here. You’ve built up the farm system and for the most part your deals and signing have been terrific but the bottom line is this team is broken and some of the parts have been here too long and there is not sense of urgency when times are tough as there are no real alternatives for the problem areas,. The fans are looking for some one to show some leadership qualities and telling them it’s early and at the end of the day it will work out just doesn’t cut it here anymore. Omar you know I love you and you’re a great great guy but you’re the GM and the team you are in charge hasn’t shown it is making any progess,   so Omar as much as I hate to do this I have to say, YOU’RE FIRED”

Maybe all you Omar haters are right maybe it’s time for a new voice in this organization but who? Who would you bring in to run the Mets? Is it too early to think this way? Not really. This isn’t a three week knee jerk reaction here this is a two year and three week reaction as the Mets we see today are the same listless, uninspired lot the we lived with in September 2007 and September 2008.

Omar fired Willie Randolph and hired Jerry Manuel. I get a strong feeling that Omar and Manuel are not on the same page as far as personnel goes but they’re not even reading the same book.  Manuel for the most part has played the loyal employee but as the losses pile up and the bad pitching and listless play in the field mount up it won’t be long before J-Man goes Gangsta’ on the front office. What are they going to do fire him? HA!

Sure it would send a message to send Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey down to Buffalo (down to Buffalo? That makes no sense unless you’re Canadian) and moving Wright to the 5 hole is a start and I know we are not to take David Wright’s name in vain but maybe he needs to be in a less pressurized spot in the order so as to get max performance out of him? This team is very hard to figure out some days they play with passion but most days they’re as limp as overcooked linguini. It doesn’t seem like the manager is getting much help from the front office so he may have to take matters into his own hands. We are seeing some signs of that by his calling for an eighth reliever due to the incompetence of the rotation and the fact that he announced yesterday that both Gary Sheffield and Fernando Tatis will play tonight, meaning that Murphy and Church take a seat which is stunning to me. But I think this J-Man exposing the flaws of the roster he was given as he tires to mix and match a lineup.

When Gary Sheffield was signed I was for it as low risk move that could pay off well it’s not paying off and after further review Sheffield really doesn’t fit with the Mets. If Omar demotes Jeremy Reed in order to bring in the eighth reliever and doesn’t release Sheffield that would be a travesty.

 “I thought it was definitely the best pre-spring training meeting I’ve ever been part of,” said new set-up man J.J. Putz, who came over from the Mariners in December.

David Wright agreed, saying the message hit home even more because of Manuel’s popularity in the clubhouse.

“You get kind of the best of both worlds with Jerry,” Wright said. “He’s a tremendous players’ manager, where you feel you can talk to him about anything, and he’s a tremendous motivator who will push you.”

So early in Season of Redemption, J-Man is stressing it’s all about “we” and I think the Wright quote is the most damning indictment on Willie Randolph’s managerial reign and now that Manuel is entering into his first spring training and his first season as head man in charges of on field performance he is putting his stamp on the team early.

Big news out of camp is that Johnny Franco is back in the good graces of the Skill Sets and is back working for the Mets in a host of jobs which tells me they have no clue of what to do with him but they need someone around to tell Jeffey how handsome he is. As long as Franco has no say in personnel decisions then I’m cool with the move. 

Matt Cerrone is at Pt St. Lonesome and is relaying some fantastic post from the team workouts and yes I am extremely jealous.

I’m reading this list of eating places at $iti Field and not one of them excites me in fact it proves my assumption that real Mets fans were the last people the Mets thought about when putting this ball park amenities together. From everything I’ve heard, $iti Field is going to be a an outstanding place to watch a ball game and just from the pictures I’ve seen of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, I believe it, but the food choices just stink of yuppie. Where is the concession that will serve deli sandwiches? No corned beef, pastrami, or brisket? Or NY centric items like egg creams, pizza -and not the new age downtown bullshit goat cheese, endive, truffle uneatable slop, but real NY Bari oven corner pizzeria pizza with calzones, garlic knots, zepoles and Italian ices. You want Shake Shack? Give me White Castle. You want Blue Smoke? How about a Ghetto Chinese stand for some chicken wings and fries and it has to be surrounded by bullet proof glass of course, for that authentic feeling. 

From reading the stories on J-Man’ first address of the spring, it’s clear that unlike Willie Randolph he will not let his team forget the end of the last two seasons. I also like that  Manuel has stated it wasn’t just the bullpen that sucked down the stretch that putting the failure of the ’07 and’08 collapse solely at the feet of the relievers is selfish and easy to pin the failure on. That’s not to say the bullpen didn’t suck last year or the year before of course they did but also the inability of the offense to get key hits and the fact that if the Mets were hockey players there would be a lot of Lady Bing candidates, so Manuel throwing out a grenade like he did yesterday is welcomed as this team needs to have its cage rattled.

The thing to watch here is will be the reaction by Jose Reyes when he bops into camp. If Reyes comes in and says” Whatever Jerry thinks we to do to win I’m all for it” then the message has gotten through. If Reyes comes in and acts like a baby then puts a face on and complains then he validates Manuel’s mindset that the Mets are a selfish bunch and Jose is clueless to what it takes to win. 

This is also a challenge to Castillo who is the most hated Mets player since Bobby Bonila wore ear plugs and acted like a first class dick. Now in Gimp’s defense he has never been as much of a prick as Bobby Bo and the biggest blame on having Gimp around is solely on Omar Minaya from the ridiculous contract he gave him but J-Man is throwing down the gauntlet to Castillo by telling him show what you got old man.  This will be a huge spring for Castillo as Reyes goes off to be a Dominican Dandy, Gimp can show J-Man that not only does he deserve to be the starting 2^nd baseman but he can thrive in leadoff spot of the batting order.

It may not be so crazy to look at Reyes in the 3 hole. Maybe as Reyes approaches 26 years of age he can continue with adding power to this offense and driving in runs more than worrying about stealing bases so much.

In the end though I think this is something Manuel is tossing out there as a test to see if Reyes has added some maturity and if Castillo has any pride left in him.