This is not a rumor I’ve heard but something I would love to see happen. The Mets have been linked to Kevin Millwood and I have even read Millwood would except a trade to Flushing. Well, we are now in need of a second baseman and I say lets go after Ty Wigginton. Now I do not know what the O’s would want for the package of Millwood and Wiggy but I can see the Mets as legitimate contenders with those two coming on board.

Think about a lineup of Reyes, Pagan, Bay, Beltran, Wright, Davis, Wigginton, and Barajas. A pitching staff of Santana, Pelfrey, Millwood, Niese and Dickey. This then allows Takahashi to hit the pen and give it some depth. I would also add Maine to the pen and release Ollie. Maybe the Mets can even jettison Ollie to Baltimore, I’m sure it would be worth 12 million to move him somewhere where he will never hurt us.

The Orioles are now 21 games out of first and behind four great teams, I am sure that they understand that their season is already over and if given the right package would move these two veterans, that I am sure would love to get into a pennant race. Not only that Millwood and Wigginton have what it takes to succeed in NY. Millwood pitched many big games against us and Wiggy obviously was a good player before Wright came up.

I doubt this would happen but it would be a great move to change team and fans morale, make us more gritty and give us the talent to exercise those demons and make the playoffs once and for all.

It wasn’t all smiles and laughs Wednesday afternoon in San Diego as the Mets thanks to a Frankie Rodriguez blown save in the 9th and a mismanaging of the bullpen by Jerry cost the Mets the last game of their road trip 5 to 1 to the Pads.

Johan Santana certainly wasn’t at his best as he was uncharacteristically wild but still fought through it and pitched 7 shutout innings. In a 1-0 game in the 8th, Jerry put in KRod with 2 outs and runner on 2nd. K-Rod got out of the situation but you knew we were in trouble the second he came walking out for the 9th.

Mike Scioscia is often referred to as the best skipper in baseball and he never used K-Rod in two inning situations, however Jerry must have missed that 8 years of baseball history. Frankie promptly gave up a knock, a stolen base and after 2 k’s, David Eckstein delievered to tie the game. The Mets were bailed out as Eckstein was thrown out after Gonzalez got yet another hit.

Jerry then put in Valdez in the 11th and he promptly gave up a knock, they then decided to get Mejia up. If you had a clue you would figure he would have been up in case the lead runner got on. However, that was not the case, without a righty ready the Padres then loaded the bases for Adrian Gonzalez who eats up slow pitching lefties and ripped a game winning grand slam.

More head scratching for us Met fans, we cannot live this up and down roller coaster that is Frankie, and we certainly can not put him in tougher situations in the 8th. I cannot tell you how many times a reliever pitches two innings and screws up. Also, I am sick and tired of Jerry mismanaging game over and over. The Mets are talented and at home can often make up for Jerry’s mistakes by batting last, but it is clear to see Jerry’s managing mistakes cannot be made up on the road, look at the home/road splits. It makes sense to me, this team is not going anywhere until they cut ties with Jerry Manuel.

One last vent….Why send up Matthews in the 9th????? I’d rather see Ollie pinch hit and at least then he’d earn some of that 12 mill.

The Mets can take a big step in turning things into the right direction Wednesday in San Diego. The Mets have yet to win back to back road games this season but a win Wednesday would do just that. It would also give the Mets a road series win and give them a .500 road trip.

These would all be big for this club to gain some confidence on the road, with a decent road record and the home field advantage that Citi Field is becoming, the Mets can solidify themselves as a threat for the NL East.

In what I would call a huge game for June, the Mets have the right man on the mound. Ace Johan Santana is slated to face the Padres and the Mets will need to ride his coattails in order to win 2 of 3 in SD. Clayton Richard will oppose him and has been solid this season. Look for it to be close and low scoring.

Hopefully, Santana can build off his great start in Milwaukee and tempt Jerry to allow him to pitch deep into the game. Santana was lifted and the Mets promptly lost after his dismissal. I think Jerry needs to play this game as a statement game and needs to put all the regulars and ride Santana as long as he can.

The theme that SNY was pumping out in San Diego is that Mike Pelfrey is now an elite pitcher in the National League. I ask myself is this just another Mets propaganda machine invention. Yes, Pelf has been near lights out this season but can we see him do it consistently over a year before we mention him with names like Jimenez, Wainwright and Lincecum.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Pelf but with the exception of his dominating June-August of ’08, this is the first time we have seen him flat out dominate. We have seen him get the yips and almost ruin an entire season because of it. If Pelfrey can turn into a guy that we can rely on for 15-18 wins a season for the next ten years I’m all for it.

As I watch baseball, I still don’t have the same feeling as I do when I see a Lincecum or Halladay. Maybe part of it is the guy managing him and the pen behind him. I knew even though Pelf was sitting down Padre after Padre that he would not get a chance to complete his masterpiece. Maybe when I see a Jimenez or Josh Johnson pitch I know that their managers will not screw them over and go to an inconsistent pen when there ace is dealing.

Maybe if we, the Met fan, are given more opportunity to do things that aces do then we can start to call Pelfrey the ace that the media and the team are trying to pump him up to be.

Again, don’t get me wrong, I want him to succeed, I love this team and if he is an All-Star or even a Cy Young candidate it will only help the team. He certainly seems like an awesome down to earth guy. As a matter of fact, I think there is no one on this team I’d rather see succeed. I just cross my fingers and hold my breathe because I know the Mets have tried to sell us on things that didn’t exactly come to fruition before and I don’t want them to be wrong this time.

I know the pic is of Armando Benitez but it is getting very hard to tell the difference between today’s Mets closer and the one of the turn of the century Mets. Frankie Rodriguez is starting to make every save an adventure. I don’t care about stats, he is not very good. His fastball topped at 91 last night vs. the Pads. How come other teams have guys who throw 100 in the ‘pen and in the rotation and we can’t get anyone over 91???

Frankie promptly came in and gave up a run, put the tying runs on base before striking out two Padres to end the game. Yes, he pulled this out , yes he also pulled out the Yanks but the feeling I really came up with tonight was I would have no faith what so ever in a big spot. NL East pennant, Wild Card on the line, playoff game….no way he holds a 1 or 2 run lead vs. Pujols or Tulo or Utley.

I think many Met fans feel that he is definitely a huge risk and I think he should focus a little more on getting outs then the show he tries to put on while he’s out there. It just makes me sick to see Pelf dominate for 8 innings just to see the Mets have to sweat another one out as the man I call “Roller Coaster” Frankie again gives us all heart palpitations.

Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork gives us an update on the Carlos Beltran saga saying that Carlos hopes to play in actual baseball games within a week.  Real life baseball games.  Wow.  I will remain guarded until he has played in a few and has had no setbacks.

But assuming he does come back, does he come back to his natural center field postion or does he slide over to right?

Manuel also broached what could be a sticky situation regarding Beltran: Could he return as a right fielder if his mobility is reduced by an arthritic right knee? The Mets do have a quality center fielder in Angel Pagan, who was hitting .302 with four homers, 23 RBIs and nine steals through 179 at-bats.

This is an excellent question. It would seem to best help the team, and Beltran, if he did come back as the right fielder. As much as I absolutely love Jeff Francouer he’s killing us at the plate. It makes absolutely no sense to remove Pagan from the lineup given that he’s been playing great ball for us. Frenchy would also provide decent pop off the bench as well as a defensive replacement if needed late in games.

This would all hinge on Beltran agreeing to this and that’s where it gets tricky. Carlos takes a great amount of pride in his prowess in CF and moving him to RF might not be something he’s too keen on. His agent might not like it either given that he is looking for a new contract after next season. I say, propose it to Carlos as a solution for the rest of this season, to help him ease back into game-shape and minimize the wear and tear on his legs, and look to next year for a return to CF. It seems like it could be a mutually beneficial move.

Source: @AdamRubinESPN

This wont be a rant about how they need to cut Oliver Perez. I have beaten that dead horse and it’s obvious they aren’t going to cut the guy loose. This is about the other dead weight on the roster. Specifically Gary Matthews Jr and Fernando Tatis.

It’s time that the Mets bid these guys adieu and send them on their way. Why are we carrying so much dead weight on this roster? Yes I know Jerry, Tatis is your 3rd string emergency apocalyptic cather, I get it. The rest of us aren’t amused.

This is a perfect opportunity for the Mets as an organization to send a signal. Let the kids down in the minors know that if they work hard and produce at the AAA level (or even AA if that’s their case) they can potentially be rewarded with a call up. Why did it take so long to call up Ike Davis? Chris Carter? They have proven to be huge leaps over the “veterans” they replaced. Not to mention better fits in the clubhouse as well. It’s time to get rid of dead weight.

Why not give Jesus Feliciano a shot? The guy’s only hitting .403 over 150 at bats. That’s just about more then GMJ and Tatis combined. He’s also 31 so don’t give me the line about needing to mature to handle NY. What about Tejada instead of Cora when Castillo inevitable goes on the DL, he’s hitting .296 over 160 at bats. There are other guys worth a look too like Mike Hessman. Not to mention Daniel Murphy who is rehabbing well.

I know these aren’t perfect solutions. They are realistic solutions that could resonate down the organization. Guys will get the point that there is potential for a reward if they work hard. Right now they have to wonder what their future is with the Mets. If nothing else it infuses some hunger in the team.

Granted we have no idea if guys like Tejada, Hessman and Feliciano can hit at the Major League level, but we damn well know at this point that GMJ can’t, and Tatis isn’t much better.

Just found this via MetsBlog:

According to Gammons, Scott Boras approached the Mets a few weeks ago and asked them to put Oliver Perez on the disabled list, send him to Florida and have him work with renowned sports psychologist Harvey Dorfman.

However, Jeff Wilpon declined, says Gammons, ‘because he didn’t think that was appropriate, or necessary.’

WHAT? Are you kidding me? We had an out to get rid of this guy and free up the roster spot and the Wilpons declined? They probably declined because the shrink wasn’t on their HMO approved list. Unbelievable.

Of course it could just be spin by the agent, stay tuned in for more on this soap opera.

Source: MetsBlog.com

Perhaps if Oliver Perez spent as much time on his pitching craft as he does man-scaping his facial hair he’d be a Major League pitcher ….. just sayin
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Today’s New York Post has stated that they talked to at least two players on the Mets that want Oliver Perez gone. They say that the players wish to remain anonymous so a healthy skepticism is prudent here. I never like the “anonymous” clubhouse quote, as they are generally fabricated to sell papers, but even if true, they signify larger issues.

Scandal aside, the news isn’t surprising. Imagine being a guy like RA Dickey, Fernando Nieve, even Nelson Figueroa, or any pitcher in AAA and your fighting and working your ass off to get a shot and all the while you have to watch this bum stink it up for year after year. It sets a bad precedent for the entire organization. Players need to start being held accountable, and while you let this guy remain not only on the payroll, but taking up a roster space, you are sending the absolute wrong message.

The front office needs to sniff this out and find out if it is in fact true that players want him gone, and if so they need to do everything can to remove him from the roster. If that means eating $20 million and worrying that he will be picked up for the minimum and prosper then so be it. Stop being afraid of what may happen and look at what is happening. The best thing for this team is to admit this failure and cut ties.

Source: New York Post