Here are some Mets thoughts from the afternoon media session from Tuesday’s 23rd annual MLB B.A.T. Dinner.

Gary Sheffield

Sheffield said it was not difficult for him to retire after his long career, which included a World Series championship in 1997 with the Marlins and hitting his 500th career home run as a Met.

“I pretty much did everything I wanted to do on a baseball field,” he said.

He has enjoyed spending time playing football and baseball with his five boys. He thinks his 5-year-old has the best shot to make it big.

Sheffield has been involved with B.A.T. in the past and likes where the organization is headed.

“I think it’s very important for every player to be here,” he said. “A lot of guys fall on hard times, but many of those guys wind up being successful.”

Ed Kranepool

Ed Kranepool

Kranepool was an original member of 1962 Mets, so he was thrilled to be back for the team’s 50th anniversary.

“It’s a lot of fun to be part of it,” he said. “The organization has great tradition, and I hope it continues.”

Kranepool spent his entire 18-year career with the Mets and saw the team’s transformation from “Lovable Losers” to World Series Champions in 1969. He said the team was able to turn it around through the combination of hard work and the development of young players.

He also said Gil Hodges was the main reason for the turnaround.

“Under Gil Hodges’ tutelage, we became a good ball club and we could have won more pennants if he didn’t pass away,” said Kranepool.

Kranepool was the only member of the original Mets to still be with the team in ’69. Naturally, his favorite career memory was winning the World Series.

“Forty years later, they’re still talking about the ’69 series,” he said.

Jay Payton

Jay Payton was back in town for the B.A.T. Dinner, and he was one of the highlights of the afternoon media session.

Currently, Payton is spending time with his 7-year-old son in Oklahoma and is officially retired from baseball. He did say he would be interested in getting involved as a coach at the professional level when the time was right.

The highlight of Payton’s career was the 2000 World Series. He enjoyed playing for Bobby Valentine and said he wouldn’t be surprised at all if Valentine led the Red Sox to the playoff in this his first season with the team.

“We had the right blend of young guys who were hungry and veterans,” Payton said of the 2000 team.

Individually, he’ll always remember hitting a home run off Mariano Rivera. In fact, Payton’s home run in the World Series was one of only two home runs Rivera has given up in the postseason in his career.

When asked about what his advice would be to young players coming to New York, he responded with the following: “Get an apartment about 300 miles outside of the city.”

He stressed the importance of a young player keeping his head on straight, especially in the New York market.

“Having success here is unlike having success anywhere else,” he said.

Payton looks like he’s still in playing shape and joked that he could go out and play right now.

“I only need about five days,” he said with a smile.

Tom Seaver

Hall of Famer Tom Seaver was on hand for the festivities. While many of the reporters were curious to hear about Seaver’s favorite Mets memories from his playing career, all Seaver wanted to talk about was wine.

During his playing career, he was asked what he would do once his career was over.

“I said, ‘I’m going to go back to California to raise grapes,’” said Seaver.

Seaver enjoys his 90-second commute to work where he runs a Cabernet wine bottling company.

“I can’t wait to get out of bed an go to work,” he said.

Seaver said that both his dreams—playing professional baseball and having his own win company—have come true.

Ron Swoboda

Ron Swoboda

“Rocky” was also excited to be celebrating the team’s 50th anniversary. He is currently the color man on the broadcast for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, and he has great fun doing that.

Swoboda will never forget playing for Casey Stengel as a 19-year-old. Stengel never called him the right name—Stengel never called anyone the right the name for that matter—but he knew who Swoboda was.

Stengel placed his confidence in Swoboda as a rookie, which led to Rocky hitting 19 home runs.

“Stengel said, ‘You can’t learn to hit by sitting on the bench,’” said Swoboda.

He called the Mets climb from a 100 loss team to a 100 win team “meteoric,” especially in the days when free agency didn’t exist.

Of course, Swoboda’s legacy is his great catch in the ’69 World Series. But his favorite memories are the months leading up to that catch.

“You don’t make a catch in the World Series unless you get there,” he said. “You have to win a few ballgames to even get there.”

Finally, Swoboda actually thinks the current Mets will be better this year than last year. Let’s hope he’s right.

Wally Backman

Fiery second baseman Wally Backman will take over managerial duties of the Buffalo Bisons this season as he continues ascending up the ladder in the Mets organization. He previously managed the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Binghamton Mets.

However, he doesn’t see too much of a difference jumping from level to level.

“You’re teaching fundamentals,” Backman said. “The same things you’re teaching in the lowest levels, you’re teaching in the highest levels.”

He’s most looking forward to working with outfield prospect Kirk Nieuwenheis and the young pitchers Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Zach Wheeler (who will like start the year in Double-A). Backman compared these three pitchers to the Mets young studs in the mid 1980s: Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez and Doc Gooden.

“Being in Buffalo, my job is to get this guys to the big leagues to help Terry (Collins),” he said.

Recently, Backman spent time with Gary Carter at Carter’s golf tournament. He wished Carter the best and said “The Kid” is still fighting.

“Gary wasn’t just a teammate,” said Backman. “He was like a brother to a lot of us.”

Davey Johnson

Who would have thought that Davey Johnson would take over the Washington Nationals last season?

Well, his team played some great baseball down the stretch, and Johnson is excited for a full season at the helm. He did say it feels strange to be back in New York as the enemy.

“I have to whip up on those Metsies that I love,” he said.

Though his team lost out on signing Prince Fielder, he is happy with the current team and is excited to see young phenoms Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper take the field.

“Harper hasn’t made my club yet,” Johnson said. “But he’ll have a chance. We’ll find out this spring if he’s good enough.”

Johnson said he thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Mets. He even hinted that he had been helping the Mets well before he took over as manager in 1984.

That’s because Johnson made the final out of the ‘69 World Series on a long fly ball to Cleon Jones.

We should be seeing plenty more of Johnson this season.

It looks like later today or possibly tomorrow Oliver Perez will be reactivated and be back with the big league team.  The genius that Jerry Manuel is has reportedly decided to use him the bullpen as a second lefty.  The fact that Oliver Perez is going to be back on this team just shows how bad the management of this team really is.

Oliver Perez shouldn’t even be on this team anymore.  Perez was signed not for his accomplishments since he never accomplished anything, but for his “potential.”

He has done nothing since Omar gave him that undeserved contract.  We all know why Omar signed Perez over Lowe and let’s admit it it wasn’t because of that 4th year.  Look at what Lowe has done for the Braves since signing his contract: Lowe has started 54 games, so far he’s won 25 of those games.  Oliver Perez since signing his contract: started 25 games and has only won 3 of those games!  Perez since signing that contract has been “injured” and has been downright awful!

The Mets made as many excuses as the could last year after Perez’ horrible season. This year was supposed to be different.  Perez spent a good amount of time in Arizona training before the Spring.  Of course nothing changed.  Perez was as bad as ever.  He also refused to go to the minor leagues even though he was hurting the team paying him 12 million dollars a year.

And now he’s coming back.  Instead of cutting their loses with Perez they are going to continue to let him hurt this team.  Look at the smaller market teams the last couple of seasons have done with expensive talent that has failed to produce. Detroit last year released Gary Sheffield.  Toronto last year released BJ Ryan. Earlier this season the Tampa Bay Rays released Pat Burrell.  Yet the Mets refuse to cut ties with Perez.  They would rather pay Perez to lose games for the Mets than see him go to another team or sit home and collect a paycheck.

Since it’s inevitable that Perez will be back on this team why is Manuel going to place him in the bullpen?  Perez being in the bullpen makes a weak pen even weaker and it hurts the rotation by keeping Takahasi in there.  Takahasi has been great out of the pen.  As a long reliever he’s a valuable player.  As a starter he isn’t. Since Perez is going to be on this team, let him start.  Takahasi can help this team more out of the pen than Perez can.  Just makes no sense at all.

I was worried going in that we didn’t have enough horses in the rotation, and while you surely can’t win when Johan and John Maine each miss more than a month of time, you could also argue that you can’t win with Johan and a collection of #3 and #4 starters.  I was a big Maine fan, and still am, but I have tempered my expectations on him being dominant and healthy for a full season.  He’s really a #3 or #4 guy now.  Pelfrey is a train wreck, and so is Ollie P.  And Livan pitched great for a couple months before being derailed by awful performance and then injury.  We should pursue Roy Halladay as Joe suggested earlier today, but we can’t stop there.  If we can land both Halladay and Jason Marquis, the rotation would look a whole lot nastier—championship nasty so long as everyone stayed healthy, a big if.

But that’s still not going to fix the other big problem—an utter lack of power.  Daniel Murphy leading the team with 12 home runs (not counting Jeff Francoeur, who had 5 when he came to New York)?  That’s not going to cut it.  Depending on the health of both Carlos’, the age of Gary Sheffield, and the fact that David Wright’s 10 homers might be a horrible anomaly, we really need another big bat.  I don’t know what that bat is, but you can’t win a championship by hitting 95 home runs as a team.

And the worst part of all this is that I don’t think Omar is going to do enough, again.  He’s going to make one token move and otherwise go with what he’s got, and we’re all going to be complaining again.  If you feel differently, please say so, but that’s what my gut is telling me.

Do you ever wonder that even if the Mets make the postseason in 2010, it will be the first time they have done so since 2006?  Think about that for a minute.  All that talent and all that payroll, and the clock just keeps ticking since Carlos Beltran watched that hook from Adam Wainwright go past him.

Do you ever wonder that if Daniel Murphy does not hit a home run in the final 10 games and if David Wright or Gary Sheffield do not hit more than one, we will likely have the lowest high of 11 for a single season?  It could happen.  No, it really could happen.

Do you ever wonder if for all the crap we’ve had to endure since 2006, that the baseball gods could do us a solid and throw a no-hitter our way?  And I mean for us, not against us.

Do you ever wonder when the last time the Mets had a solid #2 starter was?  Even the 2006 team had this rotation, give or take for injuries: Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel, John Maine, El Duque, Ollie P and Pedro Martinez.  A decent rotation, but not a true #2 or even #1 at that point in their careers.

Do you ever wonder if Mike Pelfrey would be a much different pitcher in, say, Kansas City?

Do you ever wonder that if the Yankees lose in the first round this year, that many baseball pundits will forget what a horrible season the Mets just had?  (hey, we can only hope).

The Giants were in the market for a righthanded bat off the bench, a role that Sheffield could have certainly filled.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had just traded two minor league prospects to the Nationals for Ronnie Belliard who was only batting .246 with 6 HR and 24 RBIs. So you would have expected at least as much for Sheffield who was batting .280 with 10 HR and 40 RBIs.

Sheffield was upset when he learned that he could have finished the season playing for a contender and could have helped his chances to play one more season in 2010 with the added exposure.

Instead, the Mets chose to pull him off waivers. Since August 21st, Sheffield has started just two games and he is now finished for the season.

He is a Class B free agent, but the Mets will not get anything in return for him as they will not offer him arbitration.

What a comedy of errors…

The Mets have 76 home runs through 132 games, putting them on pace for 93, their lowest total since 1992 when Bobby Bonilla led the team with 19.  Gary Sheffield currently leads this Mets team with 10 (Jeff Francoeur has 11, but only 6 with the Mets), so it looks like our leader is on pace for 12 or 13, a number that harkens back to the ‘70’s.

And if it weren’t for the 2008 San Francisco Giants, who had 94 homers (the lowest total and only mark under 100 of the new millennium), this Mets’ power or lack thereof would really be a black eye in the record books.  It still might be, as it’s quite likely the tally can be between 85 and 90, depending on if Beltran comes back.

So for all of the bad things that have happened to our Mets this season, the lack of home runs is possibly the most insulting, most disturbing and utterly forgettable trend we’ve seen.  It’s even magnified by the fact that this team has the second-highest payroll in the game.  By comparison, those guys across town have hit 207 homers, and even the lowly and small-market Pirates and Royals are over 100 at this point.

I know I’ve written about this subject before, and I’m not worried about this being a problem in 2010 (yet), but you have to admit these numbers are just baffling, and we might not see a power outage like this for another 30 years.

Say the Mets load the bases against the Phillies in the bottom of the ninth inning.  For argument’s sake, let’s put Luis Castillo on third, Daniel Murphy on second and Jeff Francoeur on first.  (I feel bad for the guy.  There’s no way I was going to make him the hitter in this scenario.)  Let’s also say they’re losing 6-5, with Gary Sheffield batting and waiting on a no-out, 3-2 pitch from Brad Lidge.  Sheffield lines a ball to the Cryin’ Hawaiian in center field, who takes his foot out of his mouth just in time to make a highlight-reel, over-the-shoulder catch before tumbling to the ground.  The umpires haven’t made an out call yet because Victorino is seeing hula girls circling his head due to the impact of his diminutive body against the center field turf.  As a result, the baserunners are still running the bases.  Once the umpires make the out call, Raul Ibañez takes the ball out of Victorino’s glove (leaving his customary tissue in the ball’s place) and throws to Victorino’s fellow member of the Lollipop Guild, Jimmy Rollins, who tags Murphy trying to get back to second and then tags Francoeur.

This looks like a triple play with the game ending once Francoeur is tagged out.  However, Castillo scored from third base long before the second and third outs were made.  Once Rollins tagged Murphy, the force was removed on Castillo.  Therefore, his run would count since it scored before the third out was made.  Of course, in between bites of a chocolate bar, Charlie Manuel notices that Castillo also left third base early.  Therefore, he instructs the team to go back onto the field for an appeal play at third.  When Pedro Feliz steps on third, the third base umpire calls Castillo out for leaving the base too early. This is the “fourth out” of the inning and prevents the Mets from tying the game. Had the “fourth out” not been made, Castillo would have scored a legal run and the game would have gone into extra innings with score tied 6-6.

I expect this bizarre play to occur at some point in September, if not earlier. If it does, please do not ask me for my thoughts on lottery numbers. That information is on a need-to-know basis and you don’t need to know.

Just for fun, I’d like to ask the readers for their opinions on unusual ways to lose ballgames.  Is there anything you can think of that could rival Sunday’s ending?  Not including this season’s odd endings, what’s the most bizarre way you’ve ever seen the Mets lose a game?

As soon as he walks into the Mets club house today have equipment man Charlie Samuels greet him at his locker with a surplus of Hefty bags to stuff his belongings into. He came with baggage let him leave with garbage bags.

The fact that he asked Omar Minaya for a contract extension for 2010 is not surprising considering he has always looked out for number one, the reason he has moved around like a baseball vagabond. His timing couldn’t have been worse.

With all that has befallen the Mets this year, Sheffield’s future ranks up there on the priority list with ordering more paper clips. So what he has a team leading 10 home runs (wow) and has filled in admirably. They rescued him from the scrap heap (how bad does a team want to rid themselves of a player than to choke on 14 million dollars of severance like the Tigers did?) and they can deposit him right back there in the waning days of a brutal season.

Why would he think in August the Mets would commit next year to a soon to be 41-year old outfielder with barking hamstrings? Because he’s Gary Sheffield. It’s irreverent he was put on waivers and claimed but pulled back. Any GM worth his salt will tell you dozens and dozens of players are put on waivers after the trade deadline to gauge interest.

If someone claimed him, and the Mets could not agree on compensation, then their only recourse is to pull him back. After all, the Mets need warm bodies at this stage of the sorry season. By the way, he hasn’t homered since June 29th.

Sheffield has always been an ingrate. The surprise here is that it took until August 20th for his true persona to surface. Sitting out last night to “clear his head,” is tantamount to quitting on the fans and teammates. He was slated to be in the line-up last night.

The point is the Mets have already had their quota (for two seasons) of aggravation, and don’t need it from someone who is in the twilight of his career. Let him walk, run to the door (and don’t let it hit you on the way out you bum).

Does his presence in the lineup really matter at this point? The Mets are going to finish in 5th place with or without Sheffield.

Don’t just help him pack, but drive him to the airport too.

It was only a matter of time until the Gary Sheffield story, as it pertains to the Mets, would take a turn for the ugly. However, I’m hanging this on Omar Mianay and not Gary Sheffield.

Here is the latest…

SI.com’s Jon Heyman tweeted that the Giants were the team that claimed Gary Sheffield and prompted the Mets to pull him back. Many others had speculated that the mystery team was the Marlins.

In a post to NY Baseball Digest, Frank Rizzo writes,

Last night, I contacted one of my sources, a Giants front office official, who confirmed for me that Omar Minaya was asking for “high level talent” for his aging slugger, something that Giants GM Brian Sabean was not willing to part with.

What I find curious is this… Why put Sheffield on waivers and then not trade him when you had the opportunity?

It’s funny because not only do we overrate our prospects to the point that they are untouchable, but now we even overrate our 40 year old outfielders with bad knees that are in their last month of their contract and we have no interest in bringing back. Great… Wake up Omar, wake up…

Brian Costa of the Ledger, tweeted the following after the game.

As he walked out a back door to the Mets’ clubhouse, Gary Sheffield said, “I’m done.” Perhaps in more ways than one. 

Claimed on waivers earlier this month and pulled back by the Mets, Gary Sheffield is unhappy that he “essentially is being held hostage” from moving on to a contender for the remainder of this season, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke Thursday night on the condition of anonymity. That’s according to our friend, Adam Rubin.

I know there are many who are really taking shots at Sheffield with their “I told you so” posts, but I’m with Sheffield on this.

First of all, Omar Minaya continues to show how out of touch he is with the reality of baseball economics, player evaluation and recognizing opportunities to help this team. How can he possibly believe he can get a top level prospect for Sheffield who can only play 3-4 games per week and could blow out his knee or hamstring at any given moment?

Second, If you had no intention of trading Sheffield in the first place, why did you place him on waivers only to awake the sleeping bear? I would think you’d have some appreciation for a player who gave this team his all and did it for the rock bottom price of $400,000 (cost to the Mets). 

Third, If Sheffield wants to play the last days of this season for a contender, why not grant him that small favor considering the small throng of fans he gave you in the days leading up to his 500th homerun; the only highlight in this miserable season?

Finally, you have now put us in a situation where Sheffield simply walks and we have nothing to show for him. If you had no intentions of bringing him back, why not get something for him?

Your plan is to have this black cloud that you created, hang over the team for the rest of this depressing season?

Wow, are you really gonna do this to the few fans like me who still tune in to watch the games?

Swallow your pride and place Sheffield back on waivers and give the guy his freedom and get us a prospect, any prospect.

This would certainly be a blow to the team for the remainder of the season, as Sheffield was one of very few legitimate Major League bats in the Mets lineup.

Originally signed to be a back up to Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church in the corner outfield positions, Sheffield soon found himself in the lineup just about every day.

In 248 at-bats with the team Sheffield hit .286 and slugged 10 home runs. 10 home runs may not sound like a lot, but it actually was the most home runs hit by any full-time Mets player this season.

If nothing else, Sheffield also provided the team with what will most likely be the biggest highlight of the 2009 season, when he crushed his 500th career home run against the Brewers in early April.

Unfortunately, Sheffield’s release comes as no surprise as Sheffield and Mets manager Jerry Manuel have been at odds over playing time for the slugger recently.

Despite this, however for the most part Gary was very professional during his Mets tenure and did not exhibit the attitude problems that were feared prior to his signing with the team.

Update (6:40 PM EST): Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Sheffield’s future with the Mets is up in the air, as he met with team officials to discuss a possible contract extension. When the Mets declined, Sheffield reportedly was angry and threatened to leave the team and return home.

Update (7:01 PM EST): Joel Sherman just talked to a Mets higher up, who said that Sheffield has not been released, however that official did confirm that Sheffield requested an extension.

Livan Hernandez started and he was absolutely torched by the Giants batters who were teeing off on him like it was batting practice. He ended up lasting just 5.1 innings, but in the process he allowed six runs on eleven hits and a walk. Livan is clearly gassed and has hit the skids in the second half with a 6.55 ERA in six starts. Hernandez has an 11.30 ERA in his past three outings. I’ve had enough of the Hernandez siblings.

Elmer Dessens relieved Livan and looked solid, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings without allowing a hit or walk. Not bad at all, but then along came trouble… Tim Redding started the eight inning and got pummeled for three more runs on four hits. His ERA now stands at 6.42 this season. What a terrible addition he has been… In 69 innings pitched, he has allowed 83 hits, 39 walks and 49 runs. Nelson Figueroa pitched the final inning and gave up the Giants’ tenth run of the game.

The Mets lone run came courtesy of Gary Sheffield who singled home Cory Sullivan who had two hits and a walk batting leadoff. Dan Murphy also had a couple of hits while batting in the cleanup spot. Speaking of the cleanup spot, I have to say that as long as I’ve been watching baseball, I have never see outfielders come in and play so shallow when a cleanup hitter comes to the plate. It was so freaky watching the Giants come all the way in and then go all the way back deep when Jeff Francoeur came to the plate.

After the game, Jerry Manuel said that Livan Hernandez will remain in the rotation. Now don’t go flipping out on him, as the fact of the matter is what other options does he have? Obviously, all those untouchable arms we apparently have in the minors can’t seem to get AA batters out so what help can they offer? There’s really nothing else he can do and his choices are not only limited, but pretty bad as well.

The Mets begin a three-game series against the Braves tonight; Derek Lowe versus Oliver Perez. How fitting.

Out of the Opening Day lineup, only Wright and Murphy have never been injured. Castillo is listed because we don’t have enough information on his injury, and the Mets would probably wait a while before putting him on the DL, if they do.

The rotation is another story, but a similar one as well:

Johan Santana

Mike Pelfrey:  Missed a start in April due to forearm trouble.

Oliver Perez: DL: Patellar Tendinitis (May 8-July 8)

John Maine: DL: Shoulder Weakness (June 12)

Remember, Livan wasn’t on the Opening Day Roster at first, he was called up in time for the 5^th team game. Also, here are other starters that have done time on the DL

Tim Redding: DL: Shoulder Weakness (April 5-May 19)

Fernando Nieve: DL: Thigh (July 20)

Jonathan Niese: As of this writing, his injury was declared sprained hamstring. No timetables discussed.

Bullpen:

JJ Putz: DL: Bone Spur (June 5)

K-Rod: Back Spasms gave us a scare

Billy Wagner started the year on the DL.

But wait, it get’s worse; to the bench:

Alex Cora: DL: Hand (May 18-June 5)

Ramon Martinez: DL: Finger (June 3)

Angel Pagan: DL Elbow (April 5-May 16) ;Groin (June 1-July 11)

Gary Sheffield: Hamstring (July 18-August 1)

Fernando Martinez: DL: Right Knee Inflammation (July 10)

This just isn’t fair.

Looking back, here are some original estimated returns from the time the players were placed on the DL:

Jose Reyes: Early June

Carlos Beltran: All-Star Break

John Maine: Early July

It’s now August.

I wonder if we built Citi Field on cursed land.

Till Next Time

Popper said that Beltran appeared to be “fine”. He reports that Beltran hit a ball hard enough to reach the Pepsi Porch, which is definitely encouraging. He even goes as far as saying that he was surprised that Beltran was not in the lineup tonight.

Bart Hubbuch echoed a similar report, however he noticed that Beltran still was walking with a limp. Hubbuch also reveals that Gary Sheffield will not play tonight, rather he will be activated tomorrow.

Hopefully, all goes as planned, as Jose Reyes was supposed to be activated ‘tomorrow’ two months ago. Still, it is encouraging to hear that two of the bigger bats in the lineup are getting close to returning.

According to our friend Adam Rubin in his Daily News blog, Gary Sheffield has become the latest Mets player to be placed on the disabled list.  He will be replaced on the Mets roster by tonight’s starting pitcher, Jonathon Niese.

Sheffield hadn’t played since the July 18 game against the Braves, when he was taken out of the game with a leg cramp after chasing a base hit in left field.  At the time, Sheffield thought the injury wasn’t severe.  He had this to say when it happened:

“It’s pretty much a cramp.  If I thought I pulled it, I probably would have been on the DL.”

Jerry Manuel kept insisting that Sheffield was available for pinch-hitting duties but never used him.  As the days progressed without Sheffield in the starting lineup or being used as a pinch hitter, the decision had to be made, especially knowing that Jonathon Niese was being called up to replace Fernando Nieve in the rotation.

Fortunately, the Mets did not bungle this one by using Sheffield for an at-bat here and there.  Because he hasn’t made an appearance since the injury last Saturday, the move can be made retroactive to July 18, meaning he can be activated next weekend when the Mets are playing the Diamondbacks at Citi Field.

The question is, will he be ready to be activated next weekend?  Most of the Mets injuries this season have kept players on the disabled list far longer than originally expected.  I can’t recall if any player has come off the disabled list after the minimum 15 days had expired.

According to Rubin, Sheffield still believed he could avoid a trip to the disabled list as late as this afternoon, but when informed of the team’s decision, he didn’t seem to be happy with the decision.  In fact, he was quite blunt about his thoughts.

“Y’all talk to them about that.”

Sheffield now takes his team-leading 10 HR to the DL Hotel, where he’ll be sharing a floor with the likes of Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, John Maine, J.J. Putz and others.  At the rate things are going, Albert Pujols will have more home runs this season than whatever lineup Jerry finds healthy enough to put together.  Manuel should be a crochet expert by now with all the patchwork he’s had to do with the lineup cards.

Hopefully, this will only be a one-week stay for Sheffield on the disabled list and that once he checks out of the hotel, the rest of the team will follow.

The Mets have 53 home runs, worst in the majors.  The Phillies have 126 and the Yankees 136.  Gary Sheffield leads the team with 10 homers, and David Wright still only has 5.  FIVE. 

Speaking of Wright, while he’s batting a respectable .322, his 5 homers and 44 RBI puts him in the company of guys like Jacoby Ellsbury (5, 29), Freddy Sanchez (6, 34) or Pat Burrell (5, 32).  Those are decent players, but Wright is supposed to be more in the company of guys like Ryan Braun (16, 58) or Albert Pujols (34, 90).  In fact, Wright has similar power numbers to teammate Daniel Murphy (5, 29).  What the hell is that?

The Mets have 814 hits and 362 RBI.  The Phillies have 804 hits and 457 RBI.  Think about that….less hits, but almost 100 more runs batted in? 

The Mets have one complete game, and it’s not by Johan…it’s by Livan.  The Giants and Royals each have 8 complete games to lead the majors.  The GIANTS and ROYALS.

Mets’ pitchers have given up 361 walks, trailing only Washington (365) for worst in the majors.  And of course, their 10 balks leads the majors by far, thanks mostly to Pelfrey’s “yips.” 

The Mets could have had Raul Ibanez, who has 24 homers, 65 RBI and is batting .316 for you-know-who.  

The Phillies’ notable rookie this year is pitcher JA Happ, who is 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA and 65 strikeouts.  The Mets’ notable rookie is F-Mart, who is batting .176 with one homer and 8 RBI. 

Amazingly, the Mets’ hitters have only struck out 501 times, which is best in the majors.  But I guess power hitters strike out more, and the Mets have almost no power, so in that context it makes sense. 

The Phillies’ top home run hitters are Ibanez (24), Ryan Howard (23), Chase Utley (21) and Jayson Werth (20).  The Mets’ top home run hitters are Sheffield (10), Carlos Beltran (8), and Wright (5).  Oh, and Jeff Francoeur also has 5, but he hit most of those with the Braves. 

I probably just made you all sick, and I’m right there with you.  I can’t wait for this season to be over so we can move on!

It doesn’t end there. While the Mets may insist it’s just leg cramps with Gary Sheffield, we all know what’s coming. A 15-day stint (if not longer) on the DL, with no one, absolutely no one in the minor leagues, to replace him on the roster.

What I am about to say is going to cause a stir but it needs to be said. Keep in mind, it doesn’t make me any less of a Mets fans. It’s just time to accept reality. The Mets are done and the Phillies are going to run away with this division, yet again. Even if and when we get a healthy Reyes, Delgado, Maine and Beltran back, the Mets will be too far behind to come back. We may as well begin to look towards the football season and the 2010 baseball campaign.

Message to Ownership:  Time for a change boys. Get rid of Omar. Since there is no sense of urgency on his part, then how about on yours? Do we have to get as bad as the Nationals before we wake up?

Message to Omar:  Since you are still fortunate enough to have your job, how about showing us that you have earned that right by growing some nuggets and getting on your manager for the way he is handling this team. Remember how fans ripped apart Willie Randolph for not flipping over spread tables and not getting angry enough at this team for losing night after night. What makes Jerry any different?

Message to Manuel:  I know you aren’t the one out there on the field and can only make the best of what you have. But stop making excuses for this team. Get mad, admit they suck and don’t accept anything less than perfection. I don’t want to hear how Ollie pitched so well on Thursday and how they played hard but just came up short. These “moral victories” don’t mean squat in the standings. And quite frankly, they don’t mean much to the fans when a team has been failing miserably all year.

Message to fans:  Hang in there. True fans don’t turn their backs on their team. But it is okay to get angry and frustrated, and even give up hope and move on to next year, when you know the end has come.

Mike Pelfrey and the Mets handed the Braves an 11-0 win and in the process they fell to 8 1/2 games back of the first place Phillies who look like world beaters.

Pelfrey was god awful tonight nd it has become quite clear that he is not suited to be a number two pitcher in the rotation. He has become as wildly inconsistent as Oliver Perez, and it won’t be long until we start referring to him in duality; Bad Pelfry or Good Pelfry?

The Mets righthander was torched for nine earned runs in just 4.1 innings of work. He allowed nine hits including two homers, walked one and struck out three. As is usually the case whenever he struggles. Pelfrey had no sink on his sinker and everything seemed to be high in the zone with little to no movement on his fastball. His ERA has now ballooned to 5.07 as his struggles with consistency continues. He could be seen pounding the bench after the third inning with his right hand. So obviously besides being a poor choice for a number two pitcher, he is also a little short on brains.

The Mets’ offensive woes continued and they were held to just two hits all night, one by David Wright and the other by Gary Sheffield who came out of the game with what the Mets are calling a leg cramp. But given the sad track record of the Mets’ medical team, it’s probably just a cover story for the real extent of the injury which is most likely much worse.

Before the game, the Braves retired Greg Maddux’s number and after the pre-game ceremony he shouted, “Let’s beat the Mets – like old times”, and that’s exactly what the Braves did. Jair Jurrjens went out and did his best Maddux impersonation and the rest, as they say, was history.

The Mets now drop to five games below .500 (42-47), and continue to fall behind the Marlins, Braves and Phillies. The shutout was the fourth for the Mets in nine games, and they have been shut out eight times this season.

Where do we go from here?

We have a team that can’t score runs and have no real homerun threat in the lineup. Baseball has seen many teams win the World Series without a premier offense. But what makes the Mets so pathetic and their plight so bizarre, is that they have a terrible rotation with an ace in Santana who is usually trumped by the other team’s ace, and a collection of miscast number five starters and long relievers all struggling to keep a job in the rotation.

According to Jerry Manuel last week, three bad performances in a row and you’re out of the roatation. Pelfrey faces a do or die situation his next time on the mound.

The bullpen has been inconsistent for over a month now, and even Frankie Rodriguez has been struggling to close games.

The defense is a joke and fundamentals are for shit.

So what exactly are the Mets doing right these days?

Let me know when you find out…

The Mets may have just lost Gary Sheffield to the disabled list after he pulled up lame trying to chase down a Yunel Escobar double. Sheffield caught up with the ball, flipped it to Angel Pagan, and grabbed his right leg in pain.

After a long injury delay, he was escorted off the field by the trainer and replaced by Jeremy Reed. The Mets will most likely be without Sheffield for a significant amount of time, although I’ve heard nothing official as of this posting.

UPDATE 10:25 PM - Gary Sheffield has been diagnosed with leg cramps, but remember that diagnosis comes from the Mets crack medical staff.

My mind is so numb right now that some of what I might write may seem like incoherent ramblings.

I’m angry at Omar Minaya for allowing the Mets to fall into this black hole. I’m angry because every time he rolls the dice, it comes up snake eyes. He had almost a month to find a suitable replacement to fill in at rightfield.

Instead, Omar’s master plan was to play a 40-year old Gary Sheffield everyday in the outfield an a pair of bum knees. The plan was not much different than playing field hockey in a mine field. It was a disaster in the making.

Yes I know the Mets had no choice, but to ride Gary Sheffield as long as they could until the team got healthier. Well the result of that bad decision has now possibly derailed any chance the Mets had of making a go of it in the second half.

How can the Mets possibly recover now?

Last week, I penned a couple of rants imploring Omar Minaya to go after Alex Rios who the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to unload. As I said then, it would allow Sheffield to come off the bench, improve our defense, and recharge our lineup. Those words fell on deaf ears, and Gary Sheffield continued to grind it out in the field despite already having at least one cortisone shot to relieve some pain.

All of this could have been avoided…

Another thing to consider is that we probably just lost one of our best bargaining chips if the Mets had decided that they were going to be sellers.

Of course there’s no telling what the Mets are these days…

Unbelievable…

Mets First Half MVP

Griffin – Gary Sheffield, most homers and has been a huge part of team

Russell Z – Johan Santana

Satish – David Wright – I was reluctant to choose Wright because it seemed as if he didn’t do much this year, but he does deserve some credit for his new-found ability as a leadoff hitter. (His OBP is .410 and he has 20 steals!)

Greg P – Gary Sheffield - Who would have thought?  He kept the Mets in contention in June.

Kelly - Carlos Beltran 

Mikey J – Frankie Rodriguez

Ed – Francisco Rodriguez

Gregga – Johan Santana

Joe D – Frankie Rodriguez – He had a hand in 25 of our 42 wins. He’s as good as advertised. 

Best Moment

Griffin - A tie between  Sheffield’s 500th homer (one of the best moments I have experienced at a game) and my first game at CitiField.

Russell – Omir Santos game winning home off Jon Papelbon.

Satish – Omir Santos game winning home off Jon Papelbon.

Greg P – Omir Santos game winning home off Jon Papelbon.

Kelly – Omir-Acles!

Mikey J – A tie between Sheffield’s 500th homerun and Omir’s homer off Jon Papelbon.

Ed – It hasn’t happened yet.

Gregga – The fans cheering for the Apple to come up during the 7th inning of Sunday’s game.

Joe D – Opening Day – Santana was brilliant, Putz was perfect, K-Rod blew them away, and our new left fielder Daniel Murphy got the game winning RBI. Everything went according to plan, but it was all downhill after that.

Worst Moment

Griffin - Luis Castillo’s dropped popup off the bat of A-Rod. - Being there made it 10X worse.  One of the worst moments in my entire life.

Russell – Luis Castillo’s dropped popup off the bat of A-Rod.

Satish – Luis Castillo’s dropped popup off the bat of A-Rod.

Greg P – A tie between Castillo’s dropped popup and Ryan Church missing third base.

Kelly – Luis Castillo’s dropped popup off the bat of A-Rod.

Mikey J – Luis Castillo’s dropped popup off the bat of A-Rod.

Ed – Two words: TWO HANDS! Castillo’s game ending dropped popup.

Gregga – Reyes pulling up lame into third base.

Joe D – Oliver Perez – Seeing our $36 million dollar man get yanked from the rotation and banished to the bullpen was pretty deflating.

Biggest Surprise

Griffin – TIE Cora and Santos

Russell – Gary Sheffield

Satish – Gary Sheffield

Greg P – Gary Sheffield

Kelly – Trading for Francoeur, I didn’t see that coming.

Mikey J – Omir Santos

Ed – That people are still coming out to the ballpark in droves.

Gregga – Daniel Murphy’s defense as a first baseman.

Joe D – Our Bench – I never expected Alex Cora, Gary Sheffield, Omir Santos, Jeremy Reed and Angel Pagan to step in and perform as admirably as they have under such extreme circumstances.

How We Graded Them

What best and worst moments will you take away from the first half?

Tomorrow, we unveil our second half predictions!

Baseball analysts (notably ESPN) have been saying that it is a buyers market (for trades) this year – as teams out of contention look to unload salary for economic reasons – and that the Mets can take on one high priced salary – what would be the best way for them to address the current crisis?

Let’s examine that question by looking at the Mets performance so far position by position.  We’ll break this post into two parts – and since it HAS been a depressing weekend – let’s start off with the good:

The Good

Third Base

The sole surviving bright spot in the Mets lineup is David Wright.  For all the statistical strangeness of his 2009 season – it’s hard to argue with his BA, run production, OBP and base stealing proclivity.  We would obviously love to see his HR totals increase in the 2nd half – and to see a decrease in strikeouts (especially of the looking variety) – but really – David Wright has not been part of the problem this year.

Center Field

Assuming Carlos Beltran‘s return in the 2nd half remains on schedule – he is on pace for one of his best offensive seasons except for his HR totals (and his SB totals of the past).  He is the best defensive player on a bad fielding team as well as a reliable and productive bat in the middle of the lineup.  While his return won’t solve all our problems – it would be a huge boost to get him back sooner rather than later.

Closer

K-Rod has had a few hiccups recently but by and large has been extremely reliable.  His ability to throw any pitch any count has been incredibly impressive – and bodes well for his value remaining consistent over the life of his 3 year deal.  Try to imagine this season without him – adding closing inconsistency on top of everything else…

Ace

Santana obviously is going through a rough patch – but I think we’ve seen the worst of it.  He’s proven to be a staunch competitor in his short time as a Met and when (if?) we need him down the stretch – he will be there.  ‘Nuff said.

Left Field

Gary Sheffield‘s signing was to provide the Mets a right handed bat off the bench as a spot starter and pinch hitter.  Instead injuries have forced him to be a key part of the lineup – and thankfully he’s been up to the challenge.  Sheff’s been our biggest power bat (not saying much) – providing solid run production and OBP in Left Field.  Imagine where we’d be without him?  Of course it would be better to give him some rest from time to time that didn’t include Nick Evans or Fernando Tatis replacing him – but let’s appreciate what we’ve got.

Catcher

Omir Santos has been a great find – providing a solid bat and defense that’s made Ramon Castro both forgettable and expendable.  Schneider’s been better since coming back from the DL – even flashing some power with a couple of HRs at Citi in the last month.  Overall – Mets catchers have combined to give them top 10 offensive production in the Majors.  Who’d a thunk that?

Setup

JJ Putz looked great early in the season – but faltered and eventually succumbed to injury that will make him a minimal factor for the one year we have him.  Thankfully Sean Green has stepped up – and aside from a few recent tough outings has displayed reliability over the past month that belies his overall 5.00 ERA.  His K/BB rate now hovers around that key 2:1 ratio and he has earned his position as 8th inning reliever.

In addition – Pedro Feliciano has provided as always a solid and dependable lefty that can be used in key situations.  His ability to pitch consistently and effectively over the last few years and especially in 2009 have been invaluable.

#2 Starter

Begrudgingly we’re going to add Mike Pelfrey to this list.  To date he has not performed in line with the 2nd half of 2008 when he seemed to be turning a corner performance wise.  However Pelf is even more efficient this season in inducing ground balls – sporting a 2:1 GB/FB ratio.  In addition he’s shown some flashes that may lead us to believe that the best is still ahead for the big sinkerballer.

Part II – the Bad to come later this week.  Brace yourselves – will try to time it’s post with some good news (a win maybe?) to soften the blow.