Mets Today

The trading deadline (and my wife’s birthday) is 10 days away. The Mets are currently in a tie for first place with the Phillies, and go into Philly return to Shea for a three-game series on Tuesday. Omar Minaya has been remarkably quiet.

I smell a trade coming … a big one.

While it’s true the Mets have no chips to trade, I have a funny feeling that Omar will pull off something, and get something big in return. And not Raul Ibanez big.

Carlos Lee big.

Huh?

Before you poo-poo Gotham Baseball’s latest rumor, consider this: Lee is 32 years old and signed through 2012, for a total of $74M after this season. Houston owner Drayton McLane has to be re-thinking that contract, and with the Astros 12 games behind and nowhere near the talent level of the Brewers and Cubs, he might be thinking of trading away Lee while his stock is high.

No doubt the cost would include the Mets’ top prospects — i.e., Jon Niese, Mike Carp, F-Mart — but there’s an outside possibility they can pull off something that doesn’t include crown jewel Fernando Martinez. For example, the Mets might instead put Aaron Heilman and a few of their very young hurlers (Nathan Vineyard, Bobby Parnell, Brant Rustich) into a package. Why would the Astros bite? Think about it — there are only two other teams in MLB who would take on that kind of contract for a player on the wrong side of 30 — the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Bosox won’t do it because they can pick up their two options on Manny Ramirez. The Yankees could be a suitor in the offseason, but right now seem uninterested in dealing away any more of their youth.

Gotham also suggests Willie Bloomquist — a guy I never considered but does seem to be a decent fit. Still, I think we’ll see something bigger, and keep looking at the Baltimore Orioles and all their bad contracts. Furthermore, the latest news that Billy Wagner needs an MRI on his shoulder means the Mets are suddenly in the market for a closer. Could Huston Street be in their sights? Or at the least, Rafael Betancourt?

Most likely, what the Mets do before the 31st will depend directly on what happens this week. If the Mets have a strong series in Philly, and take at least two, they might just stand pat — or make a minor deal. If they lose at least two, though, you can bet your bottom dollar that a panic deal will be made. Minaya’s job is on the line this season, and he MUST get the Mets to the postseason. My best guess is Aaron Heilman is on the way out, as well as either Scott Schoeneweis or Pedro Feliciano. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Church was put into a deal for the right player (i.e., Street … with Matt Murton, or Carlos Lee). Think I’m nuts? You would have thought the same thing on this date in 2006 if I said the Mets would trade Xavier Nady for a 41-year-old reliever and a starting pitcher sent to AAA after posting a 2-10 record. Crazy things happen this time of year.

Around the Blogs

Metstradamus did a nice job of illustrating Bronson Arroyo’s performance last night. Fans of Bo Derek may not want to click that link.

Matthew Artus and Beyond the Boxscore rained on the Mike Pelfrey parade, Lone Star Mets thanks Scott Boras for Big Pelf, and Driveline Mechanics was somewhere in the middle, though optimistic.

Where else but “Its Mets for Me” can you see photos of Marge Schott back from the dead, handing out Nazi balloons to children in Cincinnati — as well as a visual scouting report on Raul Ibanez?

From the rivals’ side, Phillies Flow explains the pre- and post- Jerry Manuel numbers, and despite the Mets’ offensive onslaught, has found a more dramatic difference under his helm. The same blog also compares “the two Manuels”, showing why the Phillies have the right one.

Oh, and on the heels of the Phils acquiring Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ threw a no-hitter in AAA.

Be sure to email me if you see something worth sharing with the MetsToday audience.

Around the Blogs at the All-Star Break

Andrew Vazzano over at ‘Ropolitans rants about the Sign Guys — in particular, “Bad Sign Guy” and “Good Sign Guy”. Also have to agree with Andrew on his opinion of the two bald guys who walk around the stadium in orange suits. There’s only one Cow-BellMan … all the rest are pretenders.

Personally, I miss the “original” sign guy, the one you always see on the old Mets highlight reels from 1969 and 1973, the one who held up the “Ya Gotta Believe” placard. I don’t *think* Andrew’s “Good Sign Guy” is that guy.

By the way I’d have no idea what a “placard” is if not for Casey Stengel (anyone else remember that vintage interview of Casey, talking about ” … children carrying placards and yelling ‘Metsie Metsie’ …” ?).

Speaking of good guys and bad guys, Joel Sherman says the Mets are no longer pursuing Raul Ibanez while USS Mariner is rooting for such a deal. You can decide for yourself who’s good, and who’s bad.

Dana Brand’s “All Star Break” post includes a fitting passage that may apply to many of us:

“The last nine games have altered everything. … What?s most fun is having what we had in ?73 and ?01: that sense, that although we were heading for the exits, we have to get back to our seats. We were, as you may remember, just about ready to turn our attention to the other things is our lives and worlds. Now the Mets are back, better than ever …”

Finally, “Coop” writes a lovely, moving tribute to Derek Jeter, in honor of the last All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

Meanwhile, please expect to continue to see some weird things here at MetsToday as I continue with technical upgrades.

Be sure to tune in to SNY tonight at 6 pm to see the latest episode of “Playing for Peanuts“, in which you’ll see South Georgia Peanuts manner Wally Backman throw nearly two dozen bats on the field.

But don’t watch the show just to see the bats go flying. Rather, watch it to see what REALLY happened during that game — the events that led to the eruption, Wally’s actions, and the media firestorm that resulted.

If you remember the national media reaction to this particular game, it was highly dramatized and portrayed Backman as an out-of-control nutcase who suffered a “meltdown”. It was further MISREPORTED that Wally went running into the press box to start a fight with the opposing GM, the play-by-play announcer, and anyone else hanging around.

Well in this Sunday’s episode, you will get a rare chance to see what REALLY happened, and then compare it to the second-hand reports we received from the media. You will also be able to form your own opinion on Backman’s “meltdown”, rather than accepting someone else’s.

It may be the best episode in the series — so if you can’t watch it live, be sure to set the DVR / VCR, as it’s sure to be a “can’t miss”.

In case you missed it — and believe me, I won’t begrudge you for not tuning in to a two-hour radio show on a Friday night that also happened to be the first day of summer — you can download the podcast / MP3 of Live From Mickey Mantle’s, which featured yours truly as the main guest.

Download it from here and listen to it at your leisure.

Have to say, I’m a huge fan of internet radio and podcasts, simply because I can listen to what I want, when I want — rather than be a slave to some radio station’s programming schedule.

In any case, if you listen to the show you’ll hear me spew on and on about our beloved Mets. Some of the topics we covered included the Willie Randolph firing (as if you needed to hear MORE on that subject), my first impressions on Jerry Manuel, who we think is the best Mets announcing team of all-time, and myriad other Mets topics.

Listen closely, in fact, and you will hear me reveal a realistic trade proposition that involves Brian Schneider and would bring back a future Hall of Famer — straight up.

Many thanks to Mark Healey and Gene Berardelli of Gotham Baseball for having me on the show and keeping my whistle wet through the evening.

FYI, I’ll be a guest on Live From Mickey Mantle’s tonight from 6pm - 8pm. You can listen to it live this evening, or download it to your computer or iPod anytime after the show.

If by chance you are in the neighborhood, feel free to stop into to Mantle’s during the show. Heckling is fine, but please refrain from throwing objects in my general direction.

The “new” Mets, led by interim manager Jerry Manuel, head to the hills to play the Colorado Rockies for a three-game weekend series.

Last year’s NL Champions are having a tough time so far this season, struggling with a 31-42 record and 8 games behind the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks. The only thing keeping them out of the cellar is the fact that the Giants and Padres are performing just as poorly. However, all is not lost for the Rox. It’s still early in the season, and the D-Backs are not exactly dominating the West. All a Colorado fan must do to keep the faith is look to last year and the Rockies’ mad rush down the wire that placed them in the postseason. A similar rush could be starting right now, in fact — the Rockies are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and should have key players returning from the DL shortly.

To get a view of the Rockies from up in the mountains, we called on Brandi Griffin — a.k.a., “RoxGirl” — from Purple Row, one of the popular Rockies blogs.

1. Last year’s rollercoaster ride saw the Rockies go from pretenders to contenders, ending up in the World Series. Thus far this season, the Rox are mired in the NL West cellar and 12 games under .500. What do you think is the chance of a repeat of last year — a strong finish that takes them back to the postseason?

First of all, I think it’s crucial that the Rockies get within a couple of games of .500 by the All-Star Break. There’s simply no reason to think that a team more than five games under with seventy left to play has a chance to come back, regardless of how close they are to the division lead. Beyond that, however, the fact of the matter is that the NL West is still very much in play as only eight and a half games separate the division leader from the cellar dweller (which as of last night, is no longer the Rox, thankfully).The Diamondbacks had a chance to put the division in the cooler in May, but didn’t. Now everybody else, including the Rockies, has an opportunity to make a comeback. As for the Rockies chances specifically, I wouldn’t put it past them. Last season, the Rockies were still eight games back in the division as late as the beginning of July, so if we can close the gap a little these next couple of weeks, we should become a viable threat.

Plus, last season’s experience could benefit the team as the pressure mounts. I would think it would get easier to make stunning comeback runs if you had experience with them beforehand. Holes in one in golf are a good analogy. The odds of making just one are staggering, and to make two the odds are seen as sort of monumental, but it is a skill we’re talking about, and golfers who have made hole-in-ones in the past are as a group more likely to have future hole-in-ones than players who have never hit one. I think the experience of a successful late charge gives the Rockies one edge over the rest of their division rivals in the comeback chase, but Iâ??ll grant that having a solid one through five in the rotation and an All-Star caliber lineup just perhaps might be a slightly bigger edge. Luckily, none of the NL West teams can boast that.

One thing that plays against the Rockies this season is that it’s looking likely that the Wild Card is going to be completely out of reach to NL West teams (thanks solely to our own ineptitude) by the middle of July, if it’s not already. The Mets and other teams around .500 or above definitely have an advantage in that there are still two possible avenues to the playoffs for them, the Rockies only chance this year it seems is to overtake the D-backs.

2. Injuries have been a problem for the Rox this year, but the fill-ins, for the most part, have done an admirable job. When / if everyone is healthy, who will be playing shortstop and second base?

Shortstop will be played by Troy Tulowitzki, second base might be more of an open question for a little while. Tulo’s April was awful, but there was a lot of bad luck with balls in play in his stats, and I think colder weather is a bigger factor for him than it is for many other players. Ian Stewart will likely be sent back to AAA to improve his pitch recognition while Omar Quintanilla will stay on as a defensive replacement and left-handed utility player. Second will come down to either Jeff Baker or Clint Barmes. Baker’s got the hot bat right now, but Barmes was almost equally impressive before his injury and he brings better defense at the position. I think Hurdle will use Baker as a super-sub for Helton or Hawpe against left-handed pitching, also to spell Atkins on occasion, and Barmes will be the primary second baseman but will be subbed for by Baker on some days as well, especially if his bat goes as cold as it did the last time he went down with an extended injury. Similarly, if Tulo continues to struggle, Hurdle will start to use a Barmes at short, Baker at second combo fairly frequently. It’s good to have as many options as we do, though, I’d rather have too many good bats that the manager is trying to find time for than not enough.

3. Over the winter, the Mets signed and then “unsigned” Yorvit Torrealba. Are you happy he returned? Was there ever any scoop in Colorado as to why the Mets contract fell apart?

The word that was leaked was that the Mets suddenly had concerns about Torrealba’s shoulder. However, since they never actually had anybody do a physical on Yorvit, it tells me that this is probably a complete fabrication. Watching how Omar Minaya operates when he wants to get out of something leads to me suspect that the truth is that somehow Minaya actually figured out that no other team was going to bid close to as much for Torrealba, so he just burned those bridges quickly and thoroughly in an attempt to avoid being discredited by the New York media for such a glaringly stupid move as offering the contract in the first place. Good for you guys that you got out of it, but I think it should have been more of a sign that your front office can be pretty clueless than it was taken for at the time.

I think Yorvit does well as a backup or split time catcher, as he’s shown lately while Chris Iannetta has gotten more playing time, but is particularly ill-suited for a starterâ??s role. He has a tendency to get complacent in both his approach at the plate and behind it if he doesn’t feel like he’s being pushed or his job is being threatened and he doesn’t have nearly enough skills to stay valuable while also slacking like that.

4. What’s the chance of Brian Fuentes finishing the year in a Colorado uniform? Is Manny Corpas ready to be a closer?

Corpas has struggled a bit this season with his mechanics and until he shows that he’s fixed this the answer is no. As for Fuentes, I think it depends on how close we are and how desperate other GMs are. Fuentes is almost certain to be a Type A free agent after the season, meaning any deal would have to be equal or greater than the value of two top 60 draft picks. I don’t know if I’d want my team giving up that kind of package for a rental reliever unless I was sure that this was all I needed to put me over the top. Fuentes is very good at his job, and underappreciated by most Rockies fans and certainly baseball fans in general. Imagine if you had a reliever over three seasons pitch 208 1/3 innings with a 3.24 ERA, a 228/71 K/BB ratio and a .681 OPS against. Pretty good, right? Now think about if that reliever did that while playing every single one of his games in the most hitter friendly stadium in the majors in Coors Field. That’s Fuentes’ line at Coors and the context should take him from “yeah, not bad,” to “dang this guy’s good” if one’s fairly assessing him.

5. Dang indeed. Moving on … Who has been the biggest disappointment on the Rockies thus far? Who has been the most pleasant surprise?

Lots of possibilities for disappointment. I think, for me, I would have to eliminate guys like Troy Tulowitzki, Manny Corpas or Franklin Morales because they are so young and talented, and inconsistency is just sort of a way of life with young ballplayers typically. So while they’re certainly disappointing, there’s enough hope for a brighter future there to mitigate that. So I guess my biggest disappointment would be with Jeff Francis, who after winning 17 games for us last season, and for the most part pitching like he deserved that, has just been woeful this season. It’s a heavy blow to take when one of your expected top two starters, a veteran, but not an old one, whose performances should be relatively consistent, suddenly falls off a cliff. Francis has pitched better the last couple of outings, so I’m hoping for a turnaround, but he’s been the cause of a lot of my pessimism and angst this year.

As for pleasant surprises, I think I was most surprised by the resurgence of Clint Barmes, which I just really didn’t see coming and am frankly still a little skeptical about.

6. Bottom of the ninth, tie game, two outs, winning run on third. Who on the Rockies do you want to see at the plate?

Matt Holliday. Easily. I mean clutch might not be a real phenomenon, but he’s one of those players that has definitely given a lot of positive enforcement to the contrary, leading the team in WPA each of the last two seasons. You compare him to say Garrett Atkins, who overall hits very well, but doesn’t seem to come through late in games or with runners on as often or Todd Helton, who can be counted on for a walk or the occasional dramatics but not the consistent show stopper. People remember the bloody chin slide and phantom tag of home more, but just before that, Matt’s opposite field triple in game 163 against Trevor Hoffman to tie the game was just an incredible piece of hitting in one of the most leveraged situations imaginable.

7. Same situation as above, but the Mets are at bat. Who would you least like to see in the batter’s box?

Beltran would be nerve wracking, but I’d have to go with David Wright. I know from my fantasy team that he hasn’t had his best season, but he’s clearly a dangerous hitter. If you are wanting my off-the-wall, from a Rockies fan only perspective, I’ll also add Damion Easley. Seriously. He reached safely in four straight pinch-hit or late-game defensive sub ABs against us over the last two seasons, including a double and a game winning homerun (which started the streak) in April 2007 before we finally got him out for once this past May. He;s been added to my list of Pedro Feliz All-Stars, players who are top caliber against the Rockies but scrubs to everybody else.

Well done. Thanks again to RoxGirl for providing insight on the upcoming Mets - Rockies series. Be sure to check out PurpleRow for top-notch information on the Colorado Rockies.

Hmm … seems I’m not the only one wondering about Tony Bernazard’s influence in the Mets’ organization.

Check out what Mark Healey had to say about Shea’s resident Rasputin in his article “Peas in a Pod” at Gotham Baseball.

Speaking of Gotham, I’m scheduled to appear as a special guest this Friday at 6pm on their weekly radio show “Live From Mickey Mantle’s“. If you are in NYC on Friday, come on down and heckle me. If not, you can listen to the show live online or download it afterward and listen at your leisure.

US $3.49 (1 Bid) End Date: Sunday Oct-12-2008 11:32:12 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Big win last night. Woo hoo. More like, darn lucky win. Was it me, or were the Mets waiting to lose the game before Carlos Beltran belted one out of the park?

Anywho, ending a five-game losing streak is hardly cause for celebration. There are still issues with the Mets, and it goes beyond this year’s 31-33 record. As we’ve all heard from every media outlet, the Mets have been playing .500 ball for about a year now. Being mediocre for that long does not suggest future success.

Toward attacking that issue, I reference you to this found on MetsBlog yesterday — comments from Jon Heyman speaking on WFAN about the possibility of the Mets trading for Kevin Millar:

“He’s a feisty guy, I’d like to see him come in to that clubhouse, and be a guy who can shake things up. But, you know what, there’s some detractors in that front office on Millar. So, I’m not gonna give that a better than 50â??50 shotâ?¦If you recall, Tony Bernazard came from the Player’s Unionâ?¦and, I have talked with Tony about Millar, and I don’t sense that he’s a fan. I’ve heard from others that, because Millar crossed the picket line (in 1994) and he was a replacement player, but I didn’t get that from Bernazard. You can make a case against him with that. But, I’ve heard this, and I wouldn’t be shocked if that was an issue.”

Gawd, where do I start?

Let’s begin with Millar. I’m an advocate of bringing him, or someone like him (i.e., someone with a pulse) into the fold to shake things up a bit. It’s also nice that he’s a righthanded bat who can play both the OF and 1B. His advanced age is worrisome, but on the crotchety old Mets roster he looks like a spring chicken. Finally, it’s helpful to have someone else around the clubhouse who has actually won a World Series ring — not too many of those currently on the roster.

Now let’s get to Tony Bernazard. If in fact it’s true that Tony B. is the reason the Mets aren’t hot on acquiring Millar, then by all means it’s a deal I want to see done PRONTO. Why? Because if Willie Randolph can be continually undermined for the team’s performance, then how about someone in the front office getting crisp slap on the face?

Case in point: last season, the Mets are in first place, but the team is struggling offensively. The front office fires Willie’s best buddy and batting coach Rick Down, then assigns Howard Johnson and Rickey Henderson to “Willie’s” coaching staff. Of course, it’s not really Willie’s staff, since nearly every member was chosen and hired by the front office. When the Down firing took place, it sent a message to Willie: we’re in control of this team, not you.

A year later, it’s pretty clear that the team’s .500 record has more to do with the batting coach — or any coaches, for that matter. The issue is clear to anyone who can see the forest from the trees that this team has a personnel problem.

That established, who put the personnel into place? Omar Minaya, of course, but he’s not going to fire himself. The next man in line is Tony Bernazard, the VP - Player Development. Sandy Johnson, the VP - Scouting Director, should also be on the line, though I get the feeling that Johnson doesn’t have nearly the influence of Bernazard in the final decision-making process. Which if true, is strange, since Johnson is the one with vast experience in scouting and player evaluation, while Bernazard’s background is, well … I’m really not sure how a guy with his background gets a position of power.

After finishing a rollercoaster career as a streak-hitting second baseman, Bernazard worked as a “special assistant” in the MLBPA. His next job was again a “special assistant”, this time to Minaya. Then all of a sudden he’s Omar’s righthand man, a VP in charge of Player Development.

As Mark Healey pointed out on Gotham Baseball:

“Based on his resume, and a choppy 2005 as Minaya’s special assistant, it’s hard to fathom why he was given control of the minor leagues. Yes, he spent 10 years in the majors. After retiring he was a special assistant with the Players Association. Not a lot of scouting background that I can find. Well, there’s none, actually.”

There are some serious issues with the Mets’ roster, there have been curious personnel moves recently (Abraham Nunez?), and the Mets went into the season without backup plans for the fragile bodies of Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez, and Pedro Martinez; with the idea that Mike Pelfrey was ready for prime time; and without acquiring a legitimate RH bat to spell Carlos Delgado. May I also add the fact we’re looking at three and a half more years of Luis Castillo at a less-than-bargain rate?

You can’t blame Willie Randolph for getting stuck with these personnel decisions — he’s doing his best with the hand he’s been dealt. Now it’s time for the front office to look at themselves. Again, Omar is not going to fire himself, but he can fire his staff. And if he’s not willing to put the responsibility on his talent evaluators, then perhaps the Wilpons should do to Omar what Omar did to Willie: make the firing for him. Perhaps the Wilpons should step in and ask, “why are we trusting Tony B’s opinion on anything?”

Before Rick Down was sent packing (and I admit I was on board with the decision at the time), he at least had justification for existence on the staff. For example, he’d won World Series rings as batting coach for one of the best offenses in baseball, the New York Yankees. What is the justification for Bernazard? His claim to fame — and apparently the reason for his promotion to VP — was his “significant role” in bringing Carlos Beltran to the Mets. Well, number one, it isn’t hard to convince someone to play baseball when you’re holding a $119M offer in your hands. And two, many of us now think that paying Beltran marquee money to be a complimentary player wasn’t such a “coup”.

Of course, it’s a lot easier to put the blame on the manager. And in fact, even if you don’t blame the manager, firing him just for the sake of change is the easiest short-term solution. Heck, there have been enough in-season firings that turned teams around in the past — Bob Lemon for Billy Martin with the ‘78 Yankees; Jack McKeon for Jeff Torborg on the ‘03 Marlins; Phil Garner for Jimy Williams with the ‘04 Astros. The problem, though, is if showing Willie the exit doesn’t change the team’s performance, then Omar and his staff are next to go.

Personally, I’d start looking more long-term right now, and make the front office accountable first. Band-aids can only stop the bleeding for so long — and this is a team with some large wounds.

Before there was Prince, there was Cecil — a mountain of a man with thunderous power to all fields and gravity-defying deftness in the field and on the basepaths.

Think about what it might cost to get Prince Fielder’s voice on your phone … ten dollars? twenty dollars? fifty? a hundred? More?

Stop thinking, because the bottom line is, you can’t get Prince on your phone. However, you can get a ringtone of the original Weeble of baseball — for free.

Act now and you can be the first kid on your block to get Cecil Fielder screaming on your cellphone — now that’s original. Who knows — ringtones made from celebrities screaming at a Starbuck’s could become the next “in” thing with the hipsters, and YOU can be one of the trendsetters.

Of course, you may feel a little uncomfortable with the self-proclaimed “Dr. Livingood” talking out of your phone. But follow the link anyway, to see a preview of Playing for Peanuts Episode Three: “The Good Life City” — which will be premiering this Sunday at 6 pm on SNY.