Mets Merized Online

This is the time during Spring Training that all Major League teams start to cut down their rosters, sending some players down to their Minor League affiliates, while others are sent on their way right out of the organization.

The funny thing about this process is that there are very few surprises as to who stays and who goes. Sometimes a young player with just a little minor league experience makes such an outstanding impression that management feels that he is ready for the big leagues and they can’t envision him not being with the parent club.

Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals comes to mind this year as he has not allowed a run in three appearances so far. It was expected that the number one overall player in last years draft would start the year perhaps even as high as AAA. He did have an advantage of playing college ball under Hall of Fame great Tony Gwynn, but still there would seem to be no real reason to rush him into the fray. It’s not like the Nationals will be in the playoff hunt this year.

On Sirius/XM Radio yesterday, Rob Dibble, who I love as a color commentator and sports talk show host, said that when he was in his first couple of years of Spring Training and he knew he wasn’t going to make the Reds big club, he actually asked the team to cut him early enough so he could get more work in at the level he would be playing at. Amazing.

For the Mets as they start their cuts, the big controversy at least among the Mets faithful, revolves around whether or not Fernando Martinez and Jenrry Mejia, the young pitching sensation, should be on the big club at the opening of the season.

It has been well chronicled that Martinez, still only 21 years old, has been the Mets best prospect for the past five years and has a history of injuries. During the injury fest of 2009 F-Mart, as he is affectionately called, had what’s known as a cup of coffee with the Mets and was not very effective with a batting average just somewhat north of 100.

He was and is still slated, according to Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, to start the season at AAA Buffalo and if he does well he should see action with the Mets no later than September 1st.

The problem is that he’s tearing the cover off the ball this spring after an excellent showing in the Caribbean World Series. Right now it looks like Angel Pagan, who had a walk off home run yesterday, will begin the season in center field until the return of perennial All Star Carlos Beltran.

Newly acquired Gary Matthews Jr. is also having a torrid spring and will definitely make the team as it’s 4th outfielder  and maybe even the center fielder, again that is until Beltran’s return. If that is the case where would Martinez fit in? Personally, and what most writers and fans agree on, is that Martinez needs to play everyday and Buffalo is the obvious place for him to be.

Mejia’s situation is even more complex. From here it doesn’t look like the Mets organization has decided what their expectations are of the role that Mejia will play. Is he a starter, perhaps even a top of the rotation starter, or can he become a lights out closer?

There is a case for both sides. He can crank it up to 98 mph on the gun and is developing some pretty good secondary pitches. He has drawn favorable comparisons to Dwight Gooden who at Mejia’s age, 20, was already dominating Major League batters. That in and of itself is not too shabby.

The other comparison has been to Mariano Rivera who some are already calling the greatest closer in the history of the game. His “cutter” over the years has been practically un-hittable and his post season performances have become legendary.

Former Met and Yankee, Darryl Strawberry has said that Mejia’s “cutter” is just as good as Rivera’s and the Mets need to use him right now, this season, in the pen.

So what are the Mets to do. Jerry Manuel, not my favorite Mets manager to say the least, has said Mejia could wind up as the 8th inning specialist this year if all falls into place.

What the Mets must be concerned about is not falling into what I call the “Joba Catch”. The Yankees have perhaps marred Chamberlain’s chances for super stardom as they vacillate between having him in the bullpen and as a starter. Most pitching experts agree that the transition from starter to reliever is much easier and likely to be more successful than the other way around.

So the Mets must decide which way to go with Mejia. I just want them to make a decision either way and more importantly, stick to it. What it comes down to, as I see it, is what’s the better long term solution. You have Frankie Rodriguez as your closer for the next two years. Mejia, if on the big club, would serve as the apprentice waiting to move into the closers role in 2012 if the Mets chose not to resign K-Rod.

If he goes to the Minors he would have at least a year or maybe two to develop his arsenal of pitches and at 22 he could become the ace of the staff for the next 10 to 15 years. My opinion, which amounts to nothing more than a hill of beans, is that Mejia and Martinez need to be sent down to develop. I think that in the long run, that would give the Mets the best opportunity to compete for the playoffs for years to come.

Agree? Dis-agree? Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Earlier this week, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated revealed that Bud Selig has setup a task force of fourteen people whom he refers to as the “special committee for on-field matters”.

The purpose of this committee is to review certain areas of concern within the game and make recommendations regarding the implementation of some changes. Among those issues that are being considered is a radical divisional realignment plan. The purpose of the plan is to improve the competitive balance in the game.

Obviously, competitive balance has been mostly an unrealized goal in baseball for the past two decades. The divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots” continues to expand with no end in sight.

However, the suggestion of a ”floating realignment” where teams will change divisions year to year, based on geography, payroll and opportunities to contend, is absolutely ridiculous and makes no sense whatsoever. A floating realignment might lessen many of the long established natural rivalries of the game for one, and the expectation that it will improve competitive balance seems flawed.

Imagine a season where the Red Sox and Yankees are no longer in the same division. As much as many New Englanders would welcome such a move, wouldn’t you be destroying one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports?

And how does putting the Red Sox or Yankees in the AL Central for example, help create competitive balance in that division?

This latest and hopefully last proposal by Bud Selig is by far the craziest of them all. It has also sparked a boatload of alternate realignment plans all across the blogosphere and I’ve yet to see one that wasn’t as significantly flawed as the one Selig’s committee proposes. They are all bad.

From a Mets fan perspective, any alignment plan that puts the Mets into the same division as the New York Yankees would be an abomination. Especially with the Wilpons at the helm and calling the shots. It would truly take another “miracle” for the Mets to win a division.

I assume this floating realignment plan would completely make inter-league baseball extinct and just a memory after all of the success it has enjoyed.

Then of course there’s the problem of the designated hitter.

The fact of the matter is that no realignment plan would be ideal, and even if there was a perfect plan it would do little to improve the competitive balance in the league.

As long as you have one team spending $200 million and another spending $60 million, competitive balance is just an unreachable star.

How can you have competitive balance in the worlds largest game of Monopoly when some players start with $1,500 dollars and others with just $15 bucks? How can the team with $15 bucks ever get his hands on Boardwalk and Park Place?

You can blind yourself to what I’m going to say all you want, but I’ll still say it…

Only a salary cap with built-in, agreed upon minimum and maximum limits can bring competitive balance to the league. Anything else is really just “fantasy baseball”.

The New York Mets have seen darker days than this; the midnight massacre in which Tom Seaver was traded away comes to mind.  Another bad time for the Mets and their fan base was in the early 90’s when the Mets had the worst team that money could buy followed by the failure of Generation K.  2002 was a horrible year as the Mets signed a bunch of over the hill players for a lot of money plus there was the messy legal battle between Nelson Doubleday and the Wilpons for ownership of the Mets.  2003 saw the Mets win just 63 games that year and in 2004 the Mets didn’t do that much better even though they “battled” all the time.

The Mets brand got a jolt of life in 2005 when Omar Minaya was hired as the GM and quickly signed Pedro and Beltran.  2006 saw the Mets just miss getting to the World Series.  2006 also brought a lot of new fans to the Mets as they were relevant again; they had the new, young superstars of David Wright and Jose Reyes leading the team.  2006 didn’t end the way the fans wanted it to, but there was hope for 2007 and beyond.  For a new Mets fan base, 2007-2009 might seem like the darkest days for the franchise and I understand their point of view since they haven’t followed the team as long as other Mets fans have.  So for those new fans I quote Harvey Dent from the hit film The Dark Knight: “the night is darkest just before the dawn.  And I promise you, the dawn is coming.”

I believe that quote really applies to the Mets.  Yes 2007 and 2008 ended in horrible collapses on the last day of the season and we really don’t have to speak about 2009 anymore.  2010 is not starting the way we envisioned it would with Beltran missing at least a month due to knee surgery and Jose Reyes missing opening day and perhaps longer with a thyroid condition, but the dawn is coming.  In fact the dawn is in Florida with the Mets.

This Spring we have seen the future for the Mets, and it looks bright. Ike Davis is knocking the cover off the ball as is Fernando Martinez.  So far this Spring Jenrry Mejia has been practically untouchable and is being considered as a setup guy for K-Rod.  Josh Thole is also coming along nicely and as we saw last year, he’s close to being ready for the majors.  Jon Niese has also impressed me and could very possibly make the opening day rotation.  It has been a long time since the Mets had this much promising youth in Spring Training that actually have great futures ahead of them in the big leagues.  These kids will most likely be with the Mets by next year if not sooner in some cases.

I understand all the bad communication and injuries that have plagued the Mets and it’s easy to be pessimistic and see nothing but dark days ahead, but the dawn is coming and will be here soon.

Please don’t hold my pessimism against me. Usually I’m a “glass is half-full” kind of guy, but the 2010 Mets are essentially relying on the same starting rotation they had last year as it’s been painfully told and shown to us all winter long.

Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez and perhaps either Nelson Figueroa or Jon Niese, are going to round out the staff. It’s a rotation with more health issues than a VH1 reality show and about as much raw intimidation as Tim Gunn.

Bottom line, like Casey Stengel said, “Good pitching will always stop good hitting…and vice-versa”. I love ya Casey but sadly that does seem to be the logic of our beloved Amazin’s.

The solution is about as complex as the situation itself. We can’t trade our way out of this and we can’t sign every free agent under the sun. With an off season full of fans demanding the Mets pay top dollar for a few nominal pitcher’s at best, the Mets were oddly content with the signing of Kelvim Escobar to a 1 year 1.25 million dollar contract.

The same Kelvim Escobar who tore the labrum in his pitching arm a few years ago with the Angels. The same Kelvim Escobar who hasn’t pitched an inning so far this Spring. The same Kelvin Escobar who will probably start the season on the disabled list. The same Kelvin Escobar whom I guessing won’t get as much as a nanosecond on the mound at Citi Field.

Now in defense of the Mets, the pick of the pitching litter this off season was John Lackey. The Mets did make a play for him but unfortunately he ended up with the Boston Red Sox. His stats were impressively solid but his health always seemed to be the 800-pound gorilla in the room.

Whether the Mets didn’t offer as much money or guaranteed years or a personal Swedish bikini model masseuse, whatever, he didn’t sign with them. Not every player is meant for the bright lights of New York. Go ask Bobby Bonilla who even as a native New Yorker, was given the warm welcome of an overpaid MTA executive with a runaway case of the swine flu.

There were a few others on the Mets radar this winter such as Joel Pineiro, Jon Garland and even John Smoltz. All have their pluses and minuses with Pineiro being the favorite in this bunch by many.

Pineiro eventually signed with the Angels. Garland signed with the Padres and Smoltz is still out there probably golfing with Pedro Martinez until someone needs an experienced arm in August. Quite the crop I must say. If the Mets didn’t have bad luck they’d have none at all.

I feel signing Smoltz, I mean prying Smoltz off the greens at Isleworth, might pay off in one of two ways provided he’s healthy. It’s a big gamble I know and it’s easy for any of us to say lets give 5 million to a 42 year old pitcher with health issues and call it a day, especially since it isn’t our money.

With recent news that the Minnesota Twins closer, Joe Nathan, may miss the season with an arm injury, now is the time for the Mets to get off the pot and bring in this versatile veteran pitcher. He would be a greater financial risk than Kelvim Escobar for sure but his upside could be invaluable.

However if the Mets fizzle out before the trade deadline, and Smoltz is still pitching effectively, theoretically he could draw interest from a contender.

If you remember the year was 1987 and the Detroit Tigers were in a heated pennant race against the Blue Jays. To bolster their pitching the Tigers acquired Doyle Alexander from the Atlanta Braves, sending a little known minor league pitcher by the name of John Smoltz to Atlanta. The rest is history of course.

Of course if it happens, and he signs with the Mets, I wish Smoltzie health and success. Yet it would be a fitting end for Smoltz to be traded for a minor league pitcher, but with our luck we’d probably stay in contention right up to the very last day of the season and blow it.

But then again what am I saying, nothing like that has ever happened before. Silly me.

Updated 3/11 12:50 pm

Reyes Will Be Okay, But Needs To Completely Shut It Down For A Few Weeks…

In a surprise development to the Mets and Jose Reyes’ agent, the shortstop will remain in New York for several weeks and open the season on the DL.

Test results to determine the extent of Jose Reyes’s hyperthyroidism confirm that his levels are still too high for physical activity, according to a release by the Mets.

Doctors have told him to rest and make changes to his diet. These steps, along with medication, should allow his thyroid levels to return to a normal level. At that time, Reyes will be able to resume baseball activities. When this might happen is still very uncertain according to a conference call by Omar Minaya.

This will not be treated with medication and they do not have a specific timeframe.

The fact of the matter is that Reyes is will have to be out for weeks as opposed to days said Reyes’ agent, Peter Greenberg who is also on the conference call.

Even if he does return to physical activities, he will still have to go into some sort of extended spring training to be in condition to play everyday. For now, he has been ordered to completely shut down all activities.

Get well soon, Jose.

Thanks to Matt Cerrone for his live updates on MetsBlog of the conference call.

Updated 3:20 pm

The Reyes situation has just gotten a little more clearer and less muddled after GM Omar Minaya talked with reporters in response to comments that Jose Reyes made that he was fine.

“I had a conversation with our doctors, a conversation with his representative and we’re all in agreement that he has elevated thyroid levels.”

One of Jose Reyes’ agents, Chris Leible, confirmed the call with Minaya and said there is no communication issue.

“We’re on the same page with the Mets and we’re waiting for the test results.”

Also, according to a report by Adam Rubin, a source told him that Reyes may not even need any treatment and that just a simple dietary change could be the only course of action.

Updated 11:20 am

According to David Waldstein of the New York Times, Jose Reyes has a ‘mild and perhaps temporary case of hyperthyroidism,’ which might not require treatment, as stated by his agent, Peter Greenberg.

“We’re waiting for the final results tomorrow,” Greenberg said, “but all indications are that it’s the most minimal case of hyperthyroidism possible.  The doctor was very pleased and so is Jose.”

According to Waldstein, Reyes could be cleared to play within days.

Maybe this isn’t nearly as bad as the Mets doctors let on…

Original Post 1:30 am

Hours after the New York Mets issued a statement via SNY that said Jose Reyes has an overactive thyroid, the star shortstop said “No way, my thyroid is fine.”

Here we go again…

In a story that gets stranger by the minute, Reyes told ESPN Deportes’ Enrique Rojas that he’s fine.

“The specialists who took care of me in New York have told me that I’m fine and that there’s nothing wrong with my thyroid. The test [taken to follow one conducted during his physical] showed that I’m fine. We just have to wait for the results of the additional test. The [doctors] found inflammation in my throat and no medicine to treat the thyroid or any other condition has been prescribed.”

Last week doctors cleared Reyes to play Friday, but team doctors in New York wanted to take a closer look at him and scratched him from his scheduled game and had him fly to New York for more testing. The Mets said on Tuesday that Reyes is expected to remain in New York while the results of additional blood tests are used to determine his treatment after tests confirmed he has an overactive thyroid. The additional test results aren’t expected back before Thursday.

This is the second time in as many months that the Mets and one of their players have had conflicting reports about their health, diagnosis and treatment, the other being Carlos Beltran.

It looks like this will become yet another media circus, as once again it appears that somewhere between the player, the doctors and the Mets there is a total breakdown in communication.

In a span of three hours, both the Mets and Jose Reyes have issued statements regarding this alleged thyroid condition, and each version is a complete contradiction of the other.

Why does this keep happening?

According to Adam Rubin, of the Daily News, Jerry Manuel  does in fact intend to use Jenrry Mejia in short relief appearances. First, Mr. Rubin’s quote, than my outrage.

Look for Manuel to get his way with Jenrry Mejia, at least as far as working the 20-year-old righthander as a reliever from this point forward in camp. If Mejia does end up with Double-A Binghamton, it’s likely he won’t be ready to enter the rotation immediately there, since he won’t be stretched out. My expectation is that from this point forward in camp, Mejia will work as a reliever rather than get three-, four- or five-inning work.

As Joba Chamberlain got torched in yesterday’s game between the Yankees and Tigers, I can’t help but see the similarities in his evolution to what the Mets are proposing to do with pitching phenom Jenrry Mejia.

Chamberlain gave up six runs on five hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings on Wednesday. The situation for Chamberlain rapidly deteriorates, and what was once their can’t miss ace of the future, may now be a longshot for the rotation or even the bullpen.

This unfortunate turn of events is the price the Yankees will have to pay for jeopardizing the long term future of a cant-miss top of the rotation starter, just so they could have a solid option in the bullpen for a few months. It was a doomed short term strategy that bore some fruit for three months at the expense what could have been a sensational career as a Yankee ace.

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it…

If the Mets truly believe all that hype that they have been dishing out on Jenrry Mejia, and still proceed in a like manner, it would be akin to or even worse than the trade that sent Scott Kazmir to the Rays for Victor Zambrano.  

There are plenty of good rants today on why the Mets shouldn’t proceed on the course that they have seemingly embarked upon.

No good will come out of this situation, unless a few months of right-handed relief is worth more to you than a top of the rotation starter in 2011 and beyond.

Let the kid go to AA or AAA and hone his craft so that we can reap the rewards of our patience for the next decade.

The time for short-sightedness must come to an end.

I have a sneaky suspicion that someone from the front office, maybe even Omar Minaya, took Jerry Manuel on the side and told him how it was regarding prospects Jenrry Mejia and Ike Davis.

Yesterday, in the lesser of the two big miscommunication snafus, the other being Reyes, Minaya made a statement contradicting what Manuel had said two hours earlier regarding Mejia’s chances of starting the season in the Mets bullpen. It ain’t happening is what Minaya said.

Today, Jerry Manuel is singing a different tune and sounded more like… well like a real major league manager instead of a 13-year old fan who just got his favorite players autograph.

When asked about Ike Davis after the young first baseman hit a mammoth 410 foot homerun in yesterday’s game, Manuel had this to say about the kid’s chances of making the team.

“Some unforeseen things would have to happen in my opinion for that to happen . It’s a little bit more difficult to make that decision based on a position player unless everybody just has to be 100% in agreement that that’s the right way to go. I would say more young pitchers have made the jump than more young, unproven position players. I could be wrong, but I would think.”

You see… the previous version of Jerry Manuel would have probably already proclaimed Ike Davis the opening day first baseman, insisted on adding an Ike Davis Bobblehead Day to the promo schedule, and dug out his vintage ”I Like Ike” button from his attic and sported it wherever an SNY camera could be found.

Here’s the thing though…

Why do Omar and Manuel feel as if they have to commit to anything at this point? There is still plenty of spring training to be played and they come off like idiots to me when they speak in absolutes regarding who will make the team and who wont.

What if Ike Davis ends the spring with six homers, a .435 batting average, and leads the team in RBI’s and slugging?

On the flip side, what if Jenrry Mejia gets torched in his next two appearances and ends the spring with an ERA north of 5.00?

It’s one thing when us bloggers suggest things like who should make the team and who shouldn’t based on such a small sample size, but to hear our leaders speak like that whenever they have a microphone shoved in their face is ridiculous to me.

The Mets don’t just have a communication gap, they just can’t communicate period. It’s gotten so bad, and so nauseating and so conflicting that I wish someone would just issue a gag order on both of them. Can anyone remember the last time either of them said anything substantive?

Thanks to Adam Rubin for providing the quote.

Several days ago Mike Silva of the NY Baseball Digest posted an article titled “Could The Mets Get Adrian Gonzalez?” Silva proposed last spring that the Mets offer Jenrry Mejia, Jon Niese, Brad Holt, Fernando Martinez, and Daniel Murphy, now he suggests adding Ike Davis into the mix with a combination that still includes Mejia and F-Mart. He says, “A big year from F-Mart and he all of a sudden becomes the kind of piece you can center in a blockbuster package”.  He thinks that there could be an opportunity to make a trade prior to the July trade deadline, if the Mets are in serious contention.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.  Blogs afford this opportunity, as so they do for the commentor to express agreement or disagreement.  Not only do I disagree with Silva but I totally take issue with his entire mentality and philosophy in proposing such a trade.  To sum up my thoughts in one sentence:  Making such a trade is not the way to run a major league franchise.

Most Mets fans are disillusioned with ownership’s inconsistent actions in executing a long term strategy.  That’s why the Mets are never able to contend for an extended period of time.  That’s why we need a plan that maintains a constant flow of prospects coming up through the minor league system.  They need to be well coached and tutored to afford them the opportunity to develop and eventually play important roles at the major league level.  We also need a top tier free agent or two to complement our future stars.  The result would be continuity of the roster from year to year for many years.  Chemistry, camaraderie, and hopefully success will be the end result.

This is not a unique or novel approach.  It simply combines the best strategies of small market teams and large market teams.

In my opinion, a strong farm system is the most important factor in being able to achieve the stated goal.  To be fair, I realize that there is more than one way to build a championship caliber team.  And there are many who disagree with my opinion which so heavily would rely on the minor league system.  It’s true that the Mets have had little success developing their own players.  There is a history of over-hyping our prospects and when they do not meet our lofty expectations, we trade them but get little in return.  In addition, as a large market team, we can afford to splurge on top free agents.  These arguments do give credence to the idea of acquiring Adrian Gonzalez at any cost.

I say we need a strong farm system at any cost.  If it’s broken it must be fixed.  And if it can’t be fixed by the current administration, a change must be made.  In this vein, I have never criticized Omar for failing to sign an impact free agent or make a high profile trade.  I don’t buy the belief that the Mets need to concentrate their efforts on these types of moves.  Making a big splash to pacify the fans and generate support for the team is short sighted.  Trying to imitate the Yankees formula for success has never worked.

We need to scout better, draft better, and coach better.  The results will be difficult to measure, especially in the short term.  Unfortunately a long term plan doesn’t yield instant success or gratification.  But this is where the money should be spent. The team should be built primarily from within.  Let’s get the right people in charge who can get these results.

Believe it or not, the Mets might be on the right track.  I think the Wilpons, along with Minaya, are in the early stages of implementing such a plan. They haven’t formally announced or publicized this plan, nor might they have the courage to admit that this is the plan.  But seeing what has transpired this winter, there is proof that the winds of change have begun to shift.

Proof lies with the Mets payroll for 2010.  Cot’s Baseball Contracts currently shows the Mets payroll as being down 18% from last year.  That’s $122M against $149M last year.

In addition, there has been no response to the Phillies having increased their payroll substantially.  $98M in 2008, $113M in 2009, and $138M committed to date in 2010.  Yes you read it correctly.  The Phillies as currently constituted, will be outspending the Mets in 2010 by $16M.

An 18% decrease in salary and no knee jerk reactions.  Not signing mediocre free agents to long term contracts is consistent with this strategy.  No short-sighted decisions in hopes of improving poor ticket sales is a sound way of staying the course.

The plan is operational!  But that’s just the beginning.

The second piece of proof that a new strategy is in place is that the Mets have not traded a single minor leaguer this winter, from any level of their organization.  It’s exciting that we now have many highly rated prospects that are predicted to succeed at the major league level.

I think the mentality and philosophy of this organization has changed.  The Madoff fiasco and the poor economy seem to have jolted the Wilpons into changing there tune on how to manage this team.  For whatever reason, it is a change for the better and quite refreshing.

Mets Merized fans are energized about the coming 2010 season, despite having been agitated, disgruntled, and depressed all winter long.   We have laid our hopes on all the injured players being healthy, comeback seasons by last year’s underachievers, and the addition of Jason Bay, hopefully a leader and backbone of the team.  Plus now for the first time in years, we feel turned on by our prospects having the potential to be true impact players.

I want to see Jenrry Mejia and Jon Niese pitch for the Mets, not some other team.  I want Ike Davis and Fernando Martinez to be the ones getting curtain calls at Citifield.  Brad Holt, Ruben Tejada, Wilmer Flores and many others.  Who knows?  I’ll take my chances with them.  I don’t want to see any of these guys coming into Citifield with a visiting team’s uniform on.

I want my trip to Citifield to center on an exciting game played by an exciting team.  I don’t want my memory to be having stood on line at the Shake Shack or being mesmerized by the waterless urinals.

All I am saying is to give patience a chance.

Danny Baseball

In an exclusive to www.metsmerizedonline.com, Bobby Valentine, former manager of the New York Mets from 1996 to 2002, will be named the team’s next General Manager. I’m a tease what can I say. Perhaps I should have saved this for April 1st but I just couldn’t help myself.

No, Bobby V is still at ESPN as an analyst, for now. But he is laying in wait, like a lion in the Serengeti tracking its prey no doubt. Sharpening his baseball acumen by dissecting each game bit by gnarled bit. All while wearing a fake mustache of course.

Now I know you’re asking yourself why would Bobby V envision himself coming back at all let alone coming back as the GM of the New York Mets. Well I have a feeling he wouldn’t but it’s probably where he should be. I’m sure he sees himself in the dugout at CitiField, leading the charge. He was successful in that role, guiding the Mets to the 2000 World Series. He was also one of the most entertaining managers in recent history no doubt. But in spite of his many faults, all of which stem from the man’s gigantic ego, he is in my opinion a brilliant baseball mind.

Let’s face it if you had a documentary made about your life as Bobby does, “The Zen of Bobby V” , you too would have a high opinion of yourself.

The man is a virtual demi-god in Japan, having spent six years managing the Chibe Lotte Marines. There are bronze statues in Japan made in his honor. Maybe I’m off base but doesn’t that usually require one to be six feet under to achieve?

So knowing all of that can Bobby V sit in an office in a suit, on the phone, talking to guys who never put on a pair of cleats without having a golf club with them? That would be a challenge worthy of Sun-Tzu himself. Bobby V loves challenges.

Is it really a runaway ego or is it just a pure testosterone enhanced single mindedness that sets Bobby V apart from so many other ex-managers out there? I think it’s a blend of both. Something very yin-yang wouldn’t you agree? How would his style differ from Omar’s? Would there be similarities? Would he be able to contain himself and let his manager run the team on the field? I think it would be the most frustrating job he’s ever had and I think he would ultimately excel in it. Who wants to see that…and the “stache” again?

As all of you know by now, Jose Reyes is on a plane to NY, in order to get tested for an overactive thyroid.  While this is certainly concerning news, even if he has this condition, chances are it will be treatable and he will be ok.  What worries and concerns me however, is how inept the Mets front office is at handling information.

What other major sports organization, continuously releases contradicting reports and constant misinformation, about its star players?  This isn’t a new occurrence ladies and gents.  This has been going on for years.  This is the same organization that allowed an all-timer like Mike Piazza, to have to proclaim in a press conference, that he wasn’t gay.  These are the same keystone cops who told us that JJ Putz had passed a physical and was 100% healthy.   How can we forget Carlos Beltran’s two month “sore quad,” and “Microfracture surgery” rumors; both poetically handled by Jay Horowitz and crew.  Oh and off course, last but certainly not least, the very same Jose Reyes’ sore hamstring turning into a season long exile and then tendon removal surgery.

Is there any fact checking that occurs before a statement is issued or “leaked?”

Are there any checks and balances set up to ensure factual information is being received and delivered?

Is there any member of the Mets medical staff who can speak or write in English, or are they still all using Sanskrit?  Actually, this would be a great excuse, since it’s a dead language that can potentially get mistranslated.

I am not one of these pessimistic, doom and gloom Mets fans, which are always one slip away from the bottomless crevice.  However, I do feel that our beloved organization is a complete mess right now and forever will be, unless changes are made.  Worst of all I think that this type of inept behavior has a direct effect on what goes on between the lines.  With how important image is for today’s athlete, and how quickly and easily information gets around the globe, I can’t imagine the players feel like they are in good hands.

I worry for Jose Reyes and his health and his family…but I think he will be ok.  I worry more for our Mets and the team of warrior poets that are manning the offices at Citi Field, because I can’t imagine, how they will finally get it right.