Binghamton 4, Erie 3

Cesar Puello‘s two-run double down the first base line capped a four-run eighth inning in the Binghamton Mets 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Erie SeaWolves on Monday night at NYSEG Stadium. The B-Mets used three hits and two Erie errors in the decisive inning in the series-opening win.

After getting handcuffed for seven innings by Erie starter Warwick Saupold, the B-Mets broke through against the Erie bullpen. Facing reliever Michael Morrison and trailing 3-0, Alonzo Harris started the comeback by reaching on Corey Jones‘ fielding error at third. Darrell Ceciliani followed with a single and Josh Rodriguez walked to load the bases.

With Allan Dykstra at the plate, catcher James McCann fired to third in attempt to nab Harris, but his throw skipped into left field, allowing Harris to score. Dykstra followed by hammering an RBI double to left, cutting Erie’s lead to one. Puello capped the comeback by bouncing a two-run, go-ahead double down the first baseline, plating Rodriguez and Dykstra.

The SeaWolves had jumped out to an early lead by tagging B-Mets starter Erik Goeddel for three runs in the first four innings. Daniel Field homered in the first, James McCann collected an RBI single in the third and Luis Castillo added a run-scoring double in the fourth.

Erie’s run in the fourth proved to be their last. Goeddel battled to complete five innings and handed the reins to Josh Edgin in the sixth. The lefty allowed two hits, but no runs thanks to Cory Vaughn‘s strong throw to the plate, retiring Castillo to end the inning. Edgin returned for the seventh and posted a perfect frame.

Chase Huchingson (1-0) retired all three batters he faced in the eighth and became the winner after Binghamton’s four-run eighth inning. Jeff Walters racked up his league-leading seventh save with a shutout ninth. Morrison (1-1) suffered the loss.

Saupold settled for the no-decision after tossing seven shutout innings. The righty surrendered just four hits and allowed only one runner to reach third base. Goeddel was taken off the hook thanks to Binghamton’s comeback after giving up three runs on eight hits.

The B-Mets (13-11) continue their four-game set against the SeaWolves (12-10) Tuesday night at 6:35 PM. LHP Mark Cohoon (2-0, 7.11) fills in for Binghamton against LHP Matt Crouse (2-1, 3.68).

(Take note that Vaughn left with a potential injury – and Tyler Pill will miss tomorrow’s start, which you can read about here…)

Key Stats

Allan Dykstra: 2-for-3, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Cesar Puello: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Francisco Pena: 2-for-4, 1 2B

Erik Goeddel: 5.0 IP, 8 H,1 HR, 3 BB, 3 ER, 6 K

Josh Edgin: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

Chase Huchingson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Jeffrey Walters: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

(Team Report)

This is what addition by subtraction is all about!

Usually we’d wish former players the best of luck, but in this case we’ll just say, “Adiós amigos!”

I’m really looking forward to a great season in 2011. Jose Reyes is running without pain, Carlos Beltran insists he’ll be ready for Opening Day, Chris Young and Chris Capuano are healthy and having solid outings, and how great has Frankie Rodriguez looked this spring! 

I haven’t felt this excited about a new Mets season in a couple of years.

Lets Go Mets!

When the Sandy Alderson pulled the trigger and finally put to rest the piñata that Luis Castillo had become, through that awful contagious ailment called aging, all of us in Metdom can now finally breathe a partial sigh of relief. It struck me that so many of us would be partially sad for the guy.

The guy gets to live on a 6 million dollar paycheck if no other team see’s the innate value in a 35 year old second baseman with little to no range, bad wheels, and an even weaker slap hitter with a self-delusional mentality that he SHOULD be starting in the Majors. Now that’s winning my friends.

I guess if Castillo were more introspective and humble about his decline the anger that attaches to him like Velcro to pet hair wouldn’t be so vitriolic. Then again the infamous dropped pop up against the Yanks probably negates any good will we will ever have for him. It’s best for him to wade quietly into history along with the Bobby Bonilla’s and Vince Coleman’s of Met history.

THE LINE MUST BE DRAWN HERE….NO FURTHER!!

You got that right Captain baldy with the English accent that has the French sounding name. I have a feeling all the off-season hand wringing about Castillo and Perez and all on field Met issues are being dealt with dare I say – FAIRLY – by Alderson. But without a doubt, the line in the sand is being drawn.

Sure he could have listened to the many voices out there calling for the heads of those infamous Mets but he waited and apparently wanted to see for himself. Basically he gave them the rope and they obliged.

Of all the player moves Alderson has made so far, these moves could very well define him in the eyes of the fan base. He’s not deaf to our calls but he shouldn’t flick his finger into the wind and go where the breeze from all the hot air takes him.

We have about 2 weeks left to go in Spring Training and theoretically we don’t have a clear cut second baseman. I’m fine with that. Have them battle it out and compete for the job, as they have so far. Believe me, we aren’t going to collapse because we don’t have a Dan Uggla manning second. Relax.

As for Ollie Perez, what can we say that hasn’t been already? After imploding as a starter this Spring, Collins moved him to the pen, as a situational lefty. A 12 million dollar situational lefty? Who the hell do we think we are, the Yankees?

As of right now, the official word hasn’t been given by Alderson to release Perez. But if I were you I’d keep an eye on TMZ today, Ollie Perez would be the perfect replacement for Charlie Sheen, both overpaid underperforming, with serious control issues.

Maybe Perez could tryout for Major League III, he has years of practice pretending to be a Major Leaguer.

Updated 3/20 1:00 PM

Oliver Perez left the Mets complex this morning and was not told what was next for him, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. Costa also says that we should expect a decision by Monday.

Pitching coach Dan Warthen said this morning that no decision has been reached yet on Perez, but there will be a meeting of the minds with Terry Colllins and Sandy Alderson on Monday.  – JD

Original Post 3/19 10:00 PM

Yesterday many Mets fans received the 4 words we’ve been praying for. METS CUT LUIS CASTILLO. How can life get better? Oh wait that’s right Oliver Perez still exists. So Sandy, your supposed to be this Anti-Omar, wizard of a GM. Why is Oliver Perez still on the team? Well if Sandy had any last thoughts on the matter, they have likely faded away after today’s performance.

Oliver Perez’s line vs. Nationals today – .2 IP..3 hits..2 ER..1 BB..and a big fat 8.38 ERA for the spring.

I’m sure someone is erasing Oliver Perez’s name from his Digital Domain parking spot as we speak. Likely by tomorrow the news will come down from upper management to go ahead and do the inevitable – Cut Ollie Perez. Sadly this is the best moment Mets fans like I have had to enjoy in awhile. But the facts were plain and simple. Oliver Perez is not worth a roster spot.

My guess was the Mets were only keeping him around for the chance he could be Terry Collin’s desired Long Reliever/2nd Lefty. Similar to Hisanori Takahashi last season except his name is Oliver Perez. The experiment is clearly not working.

Luis Castillo- .235/.337/.267, 0 HR, 17 RBI, 6.7 UZR/150, 0. 6 WAR, $6 million, 35 years old

Daniel Murphy- .266/.313/.427, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 1.0 WAR, $400K, 26 years old

Brad Emaus- .290/.397/.476, 15 HR, 75 RBI (between AA and AAA), $400K, 25 years old

The Underdog:

Justin Turner- .316/.374/.487, 12 HR, 43 RBI (at AAA), $400K, 26 years old

The Long Shots:

Ruben Tejada- .213/.305/.282, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 1.2 UZR/150, -0.4 WAR, $400K, 21 years old

Chin-lung Hu- .317/.339/.436, 4 HR, 37 RBI (at AAA), $400K, 27 years old

Normally, a team will have two or three players competing for a position in Spring Training. The Mets, who have had a hole at second base for the past few years, will have as many as six different players competing for the second base job. Each player has his strengths and weaknesses and will have a chance to win the job.

Luis Castillo has been the Mets starting second baseman since the middle of the 2007 season. Castillo has had knee problems and is no longer an elite defender. As a result of his injury issues, 2009 is the only year in which he played over 100 games with the Mets. Castillo did hit .302 that season, but has struggled offensively during the rest of his tenure. One reason that Castillo has stuck around is because of his contract although new GM Sandy Alderson has said that he is not afraid to cut players with money remaining on their deals.

Daniel Murphy exploded onto the scene as a 23 year old in 2008 hitting .313 in 131 at-bats. This was enough to win Murphy the first base job for 2009. Murphy was hurt entering 2010 and had to begin the season in the minors. His minor league season was cut short after he tore his MCL while playing second base. Murphy has a lot of potentially offensively and he is still young.

Brad Emaus is an unknown. The Mets claimed him in the Rule V Draft this offseason. Emaus played most of last season in Las Vegas with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate. It has been known that their home park does inflate offensive numbers. Emaus did not have an error in his 33 games played as a second baseman. His defensive abilities have been called in to question however.

Justin Turner impressed the management of the Mets organization with his ability to get on base and his power. Turner is a career .309 hitter in his minor league career. He has the ability to play multiple positions for the Mets which does help his chances of making the team.

Ruben Tejada was the third youngest player in the National League last season. He showed that even at age 20, he could hold his own defensively. Tejada is the best defensive player out of the group of candidates. However, the problem is that Tejada’s bat is not major league ready. Tejada struggled and looked overmatched at the plate. There has also been talk that Tejada may replace Reyes at short should he leave via free agency after the season.

Chin-lung Hu was acquired from the Dodgers this offseason for minor league pitcher Michael Antonini. Hu has had four stints in the majors with the Dodgers, and in his longest stint, he failed to prove himself, hitting just .181 in 116 at bats in 2008. It is not as if Hu has not shown the ability to produce offensively. He has a career .299 average in the minors. Hu has struggled a bit defensively at times. This is evident from his 109 errors in 712 games at second base in the minors.

If Daniel Murphy is able to show that he is healthy, he should be able to make the Mets major league roster out of Spring Training. In regards to whether or not he starts at second, it will depend on if he can show that he can handle the position defensively. That may only leave one more roster spot for a player listed above.

The competition will likely come down to Castillo, Emaus, and Turner. The one advantage Castillo has over the others is his large contract. Emaus is a Rule V Draft pick and if he is not on the major league roster, he would need to either be returned to the Blue Jays or the Mets would need to work out a trade for him. Turner is the only one in the group that has experience at shortstop. This is an advantage because he would be able to spell Jose Reyes.

For now, it appears that the advantage might go to Justin Turner because he can fill in at both middle infield positions. There is a decent chance that unless he has a strong Spring Training, Luis Castillo will be cut. Emaus’ chance at winning a roster spot might have more to do with Oliver Perez than anything else. If the Mets decide not to cut Perez they will carry 13 pitchers. If Sandy Alderson does decide that it is time to part ways with Oliver Perez, then an extra bench spot will be available. Emaus would likely be fighting with Nick Evans for that last spot.

He no longer has the range of his younger self and has also lost a step or two on the basepaths.

But the one thing about Castillo to keep in mind is that he is owed a ton of money in the final year of his contract. Omar Minaya signed Luis to a four-year deal after the 2007 season.

Part of the reason was to lock up a familiar face for Johan Santana. Santana and Castillo had been teammates, albeit briefly, in Minnesota.

What’s done is done, and you can’t change the past. In my last article about shaping the Mets 2011 bench, I constructed the bench with the assumption that Castillo would be the starting second baseman.

Now, obviously I nor do many know what will happen during spring training and beyond this season. But since there aren’t exactly teams lining up for Castillo’s services and he is owed a good chunk of cash, maybe the Mets would best be served letting Luis play out the final year of his contract in a starting role.

Personally, I think Castillo should have been sent packing awhile ago. After he hit .302 two seasons ago, there must have been some team willing to trade for him, assuming the Mets paid some of his contract.

I know I’m bound to be attacked for this proposal, but the following might be a situation in which the Mets can get the most out of Castillo.

If Castillo happens to show enough to win the second base job and if he proves he at least somewhat has his legs back, the Mets should consider hitting him ninth in the order. That’s right, hit Castillo after the pitcher.

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa has had some success with this in the past, more so though because his pitchers could actually hit a little.

The Mets would do it for a different reason. Though Castillo in his prime was best suited as a No. 2 hitter, Angel Pagan has solidified that spot in the order. In my mind, hitting Castillo eighth is useless.

Despite his flaws, the man can still bunt very well and is a decent base-runner. However, the idea of having him in the ninth spot wouldn’t be to move runners over. That’s the pitcher’s job.

Castillo would serve as a second leadoff man. If the pitcher makes the last out of an inning, the Mets would have Castillo, Reyes and Pagan in that order. That combination of speed and bunting ability could set up the Mets with some great scoring chances. It would then be up to Wright, Beltran and Bay to drive them in, which is a completely different can of worms.

Naturally, having the pitcher hit eighth would mean that the pitcher’s spot would come to the plate more often. It’s definitely a risk and something that doesn’t need to be employed every game, unless it’s working of course.

And again, this is only a suggestion in trying to make the most out of the parts we have. If Murphy, Emaus or Turner wins the second base job, I would feel more comfortable batting him seventh or eighth and not ninth.

I wonder if Terry Collins has at least pondered this scenario with Castillo. Yes it’s risky, but it can also be a way to give some value back to a former All-Star caliber player.

Happy New Year everyone! Let’s hope for some Mets success in 2011.

Andy Martino of the Daily News gives more evidence that Ruben Tejada is not even considered in the mix for the second base battle this spring.

He begins with comments from Terry Collins on the newest Met, at least for now, infielder Brad Emaus, the Rule 5 pickup from the Blue Jays.

“Obviously, with J.P. (Ricciardi, a former Toronto GM) involved, we had real, real good information about him, what kind of player he is. Talked to some people in the Dominican about him, talked to Obie (Ken Oberkfell, the Mets’ new bench coach and Emaus’ manager in the Dominican winter league) about him because Obie has seen quite a bit of him. He said he is a solid player, looks like he can play a couple of positions. His approach at home plate is something that’s going to fit here. He’s a big pitch-selection kind of guy, good walk-to-strikeout ratio. We’re going to give him a shot in that mix at second.”

Emaus would have to make the Mets 25 man roster, otherwise by league rules, he would have to be returned to the Blue Jays organization. Emaus could be a potential top of the order hitter as he had a .397 on-base percentage between Double-A and Triple-A last season, and seems to be an Alderson type player as I read on Baseball America.

Collins named Emaus, Luis Castillo, Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy as the competitors for second base at Spring Training, and didn’t even mention Tejada, who excited the fanbase during his short time with the Mets last season, but only batted .213 in 216 at-bats.

Collins also weighed in on Daniel Murphy when asked if he was a viable candidate for the job.

“I think he is. I really do. Work is not an issue with Murph. He’s worked very, very hard to play second…His range is OK, his hands are fine. He’s just got to get familiar with turning double plays, gotta get used to it. We’re going into camp with four legitimate guys – Justin Turner, people are not mentioning him, but he’s also down in winter ball having a very, very good winter. He had a very good finish in Triple-A, so we have to include him in that mix.”

Both Murphy and Justin Turner are having solid seasons at Winter Ball.

Adam Rubin sees Turner as a sleeper. The 26-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Orioles in May at the suggestion of Wayne Krivsky. In Triple-A with the Orioles and Mets, Turner hit a combined .316 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in 396 at-bats, although he was snubbed for a September call-up, despite going 6-for-6 and hitting for the cycle on the final day of Buffalo’s season. 

Today Ken Rosenthal reported that the Brewers would listen to offers regarding several players, one of those players is Rickie Weeks.  Weeks has one year left on his contract.  In 2010 Rickie Weeks will be making $2.75 million dollars.  The Mets we know need someone at second base as it’s highly likely that Castillo won’t be playing full time if at all for the Mets in 2010.  Also I believe that Ruben Tejada would benefit another year in Triple A.

2010 was a great year for Rickie Weeks.  In Weeks hitting out of the leadoff spot hit 29 home-runs, he had 83 RBI’s and scored 112 runs.  The 112 runs scored were second in the league to Albert Pujols.  Weeks played in 160 Games, a career high for the 2nd baseman.  Weeks also had an OBP of .355.  Weeks walked 76 times last season but he did strikeout a lot, in fact it was 184 times, just missing a Brewers club record. His stolen bases were the lowest of his career, except in 2009 but he only played in 37 games that season.  Weeks would upgrade the lineup immediately.  Imagine top 3 in the lineup consisting of Jose Reyes, Rickie Weeks and Angel Pagan?  Weeks is also not bad defensively.  Weeks posted a fielding percentage of .980 playing 159 games at second base.  He has excellent range and would make a great double play partner with Jose Reyes.

The problem with trading for Weeks is what the Brewers want in return.  Rosenthal reports that the Brewers would want a top of the rotation stater and they don’t want the 4th or 5th pitcher in the rotation.  As good as Weeks is and would help the Mets I don’t see the Mets being able to pull it off and I’m not sure I want them to trade a top of the rotation starter.  Also I’m sure Weeks is going to want to test free agency in 2012 so he would theoretically be a rental.  I’m guessing if the Mets would be willing to trade say Jon Niese that would help get the deal done but that I think would be wrong.  Niese had a great year last year and I don’t want to lose him for a possible rental.  Also the Mets in 2012 have a lot of money coming off the payroll, they’re going to need a second baseman and might just decide to wait until then to sign Weeks.

Of course we know the Mets have a couple of good pitching prospects such as Jenrry Mejia and Dillion Gee but I doubt the Brewers would want to trade Weeks for Mejia who has had control issues not to mention minor injury problems.  Dillion Gee looked good in his cup of coffee but with a player the caliber of Weeks I don’t think he would do for the Brewers.

Right now the Brewers want a 1, 2 or 3 pitcher and if they do want to trade Weeks bad enough those demands could come down a bit as the Hot Stove season heats up.  The Mets should keep their ears and eyes open for a possible trade with the Brewers.

Hopefully Alderson will finally cut loose the dead weight  that is Luis Castillo.  The Mets should have signed Hudson in 2009, but instead they let him go to the Dodgers.  Once again the Mets had another chance earlier this year to sign Hudson, but Omar didn’t.  Since things are supposed to be different now that the great and powerful Sandy Alderson is the General Manage,r hopefully this is the year Orlando Hudson will finally wear a Mets jersey.

Hudson is a 4 time gold glove winner.  Hudson is a career .280 hitter with a career on base percentage of .346.  Another great thing about Hudson is that he actually wants to be on the Mets. I can’t say that about too many players these days.

Hudson is a solid player who is also known to be a great clubhouse presence.

Hudson can still field which is something that cannot be said for our current second baseman Luis Castillo. Hudson can also hit and get on base which is something defensive-minded Ruben Tejada can’t do very well.  Hudson will also be a leader on a team that needs some real leadership.

Now I know Sandy Alderson doesn’t expect to be active in free agency, but this is a move that won’t cost much and needs to be made.  The lack of defense up the middle has really hurt the Mets the last several years.  I think Hudson will also be a great influence on Jose Reyes and I would love to see Hudson and Reyes turn some double plays next season.

Last season he played for the division winning Twins, and the season before that the first place Dodgers. His final season with the D’Backs saw them finish in second place in 2008, but they have finished last two straight  seasons since the O-Dog left.

Unfortunately, I’m sure Hudson will sign on with another team and have another good season while we’re left with Ruben Tejada, who really should spend more time seasoning in AAA , but maybe Alderson will prove me wrong.

1) The Ballpark: Citi Field is just too big! I know we’ve been saying that for the last 2 seasons but the Wilpons refuse to bring in the fences.  All you look at what happened to David Wright in his the first season at Citi Field.  His power numbers were down and the last 2 seasons his strikeouts have been on the rise.  Wright’s power at Shea was to the right center.  Citi Field’s right center is about 45-50 feet deeper than Shea’s and it has affected Wright negatively.  Some called it a fluke but then look at Jason Bay’s horrific first season.  The park took away his power. Citi Field without a doubt robbed Bay realistically of 5 homeruns and probably more.  The great fence of Flushing needs to go down too while we’re at it.  It’s time to admit the size of this park was a mistake and change it.

2) Coaching Staff: The entire coaching staff needs to go.  Howard Johnson has been a horrible hitting coach.  The situational hitting since Hojo took over has been non-existent.  It seems like Hojo would rather be their friends than a coach.  I get it he’s an 86 Met and the Wilpons are reluctant to fire him.  The Mets should just give Hojo a job with a nice title and a good payday and let him go away.  Dan Warthen also needs to go.  I know the pitching was better than expected this season but I don’t like all the injuries to our pitchers under his reign as pitching coach.  I didn’t like that in 2009 he didn’t know about Johan’s latest injury and he didn’t know that Santana was skipping side sessions.  I also didn’t like him calling Maine a habitual liar to the press. That’s just something you don’t say.  Razor Shines just needs to go.  Chip Hale seems to be a decent to good coach but at the same time Ron Darling mentioned many times throughout the season that Hale had been working with Wright and changing his defense.  Wright’s defense this year was pretty bad. He committed 20 errors and at times was slow in turning a double play.

3) The 3 Poisons (Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo): Once the Mets finally do hire a general manager that GM (Alderson) must find a way to get these three off this team! Castillo is done, he can’t hit and he has absolutely no range at 2nd base.  Castillo brings nothing to the New York Mets, time to cut ties with him. Oliver Perez should not be on this team, he has done nothing for the Mets since signing that contract.  Perez cares more about himself than the team as he repeatedly refused to go to the minor leagues.  He didn’t win 1 game in 2010!  If you look at the way the Mets played before the all-star break and after the break there’s a huge difference.  Carlos Beltran decided to finally grace the team with his presence and was supposed to be the spark for this team but unfortunately did nothing other than make outs at the plate and miss balls hit to center on defense. Beltran refused to move over to right field to allow the better player Angle Pagan to play center and help the team.  Let’s not forget that these guys also refused to go visit wounded soldiers with the rest of their team.  These guys are not team players, they’re hurting this team and it’s time to get rid of them.

The new GM when he/she is finally hired has a lot of work to do and a lot changes to make.  Without these changes we can expect another losing season.

Picture it this way: would bloggers, local writers, fans, etc. be up in arms had it been, I don’t know, David Wright, Ike Davis and Jon Niese who didn’t attend?  Let’s say David Wright had to attend to a school opening in rural Virginia that he was responsible for, Ike Davis said he didn’t have to speak about non-baseball issues and Jon Niese, being a young guy, said veterans made him “uncomfortable.”

I think some of us would roll our eyes and go about our business, but because it happened to include Castillo, Perez, and Beltran — three Mets players who were not as much “prominent” as some writers suggested but under fire for underperformance in particular — THEN it became a story.  Chances are, if Wright, Davis or Niese didn’t attend, most of us would shrug and say, “Meh, whatever.  It wasn’t mandatory.”  My guess is we’d have never heard about the great things that Fred Wilpon and particularly Sterling Enterprises do for veterans, if at all.  It would have quietly been kept under wraps, as most charitable works are.  Which is sad, because the team really is getting one thing right, at least on the paying-it-forward department.

What really gets my goat here is the timing.  Far be it for me to defend Castillo or Perez, but I happen to think Beltran has been taking too much criticism these days.  Anyway, the whole propaganda about three Mets who are recently being called into question for various reasons are being thrown under the bus once again for being non-patriotic, or seemingly so.  I have even heard some fans say, “Well they are not citizens,” or “they are not FROM here.”  Well, technically, they aren’t “from here” but Beltran is most definitely a U.S. citizen.  You know what is sad about this whole situation?  That the 30 players who DID make the trip, some of them not U.S. born, were not mentioned.  The good that came out of the Mets players’ visits to the veterans’ morale.  That is what is missing in these stories.  But no, because it was the Mets, because it happened to center around these two players, I guess the press saw a GOLD MINE of material.

There are two very big reasons why these three were called into question  One is that we are two days away from the saddest day in U.S. history.  New Yorkers, in general, are incredibly sensitive to any perceived anti-patriotism, especially so close to home.  The general feeling is, these three guys are given the opportunity to make exorbitant amounts of money in this very country, and they can’t even take an hour or two out of their schedule to visit soldiers who fight for their right to make said money (among other things).

The other reason is something anyone with any working senses can get: the Mets want these guys to be as uncomfortable as possible.  In the same town where Dick Young had a hand (or “underhand”) in driving The Franchise out of town, the Mets are doing the same by planting seeds that these guys don’t support our country, our troops and don’t support YOU, the tax-paying citizens who keep this country great.  So let’s make their lives as miserable as possible so they no longer want to play here, that they “retire” or “quit” on their own.  Although that won’t happen, my feeling is this is more directed at Beltran, with his backloaded contract, the Mets I’m sure would like nothing more than to have him waive his no-trade clause and wave bye-bye to New York.

Just merely an observation that I’ve made.

Don’t get me wrong.  I get the discord, I get why people are upset.  What I don’t get is the vitriol behind it.  The New York media of course is ALL OVER this like white on rice because of the significant heart-string impact it will make.  Not only with the timing of a sensitive historical event but because Mets fans have made it clear that these three guys are the bane of their existence.

Of course I recognize these guys have not made a good case for themselves with this particular visit.  Beltran is the only player who has somewhat taken the high road, saying that he had visited veterans with Fred Wilpon (who should be applauded for his support of these worthy causes), but he had to attend to personal business with his charities in Puerto Rico.  With that logic, shouldn’t we call Carlos Beltran PATRIOTIC for using his wealth and philanthropy for the common good in his native land?

Castillo and Perez did not help their case with their excuses.  Castillo gets “squeamish?”  You know what makes me squeamish?  Watching you try to catch a routine pop-up, Louie.  As for Perez, that is such a scripted Boras answer, it’s not even funny.  However, to play devil’s advocate, I do want to point out they didn’t HAVE to attend.  What I will say is…Luis.  There is this great saying and it goes like this: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

Far be it for me to defend these guys though, but this is a non-issue, a story on an off-day that the press is all over.  The local press members don’t have to read several blogs to know that these three particular players are on the doo-doo list of most fans (not to mention the team’s management).  This was SO EASY to do.  Cast these guys is as unappealing light as possible, then let the vitriol commence.

This was a case of cheap and schlock journalism.  If we don’t see that, then we are part of the problem, too.

My friend Dave Singer over at NY Sports Dog possibly said it best today: the veterans at Walter Reed fought for personal freedom and choice.  Like it or not, Beltran, Castillo and Perez did what was within their rights.  Deal with it.

The Mets this season have fielded about 15 players who have actually contributed – a far cry from the normal 25 man roster. Let’s reminisce and go back to early Spring – Port St. Lucie – when hope was abundant – when we all thought Oliver Perez was rip roaring and ready to hit the ground at CitiField running, repaired “injured” knee and all.

The Mets were unable – or unwilling – to land a starting pitcher this past off season. The Mets were forced to enter the 2010 season with Johan Santana leading a staff of Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Jon Niese or as I always liked to call it – One man and a little hazy.

How pathetic in retrospect is that rotation? Santana aside, Pelfrey and Niese were the only two usable arms in that cadre and as the year progressed we had the opportunity to see Hisanori Takahashi start as well as the emergence of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Even with the surprisingly productive year of Dickey, the Mets at times this year, were just getting by with 3 reliable arms – sometimes even less.

The lineup envisioned by the powers that be included the bats of Rod Barajas, Luis Castillo, Jason Bay, Jeff Francouer and returning from injuries Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran.

At times this season, Jerry Manuel’s lineup card might as well been partially left blank since more times than not there were at least four slots in the Mets lineup virtually unproductive. No team can compete for a championship with a handicap like that.

Take Rod Barajas who started the season on a torrid pace blasting 11 homeruns in his first month in Queens alone. After that glorious month, a picture of Rod Barajas’ Louisville slugger found it’s way on the side of milk cartons in local area bodegas. He hit an appalling .225 with 12 home runs, 34 RBI and a .677 OPS until being claimed off waivers by Los Angeles.

Luis Castillo. What can we say about Louie that hasn’t been already? He’s regressed worse than Chevy Chase’s career with a decaying range at second base that at this rate I bet Betty White can out-field our second baseman – but he found the stones to demand a trade for lack of playing time. Good idea Louie Louie and we gotta go, hey hey hey hey.

The outfield for the Mets this year has been a mishmash of players getting and returning from injury. Francoeur, a former “Natural” standout player with a great personality that has unfortunately seen his best days pass him – was sent packing from Atlanta last year and recently was traded to Texas. Francoeur’s numbers as a Met – .225 BA, 10 HR, 41 RBI, and a .836 OPS. A good guy who gave 110% – too bad it was 110% of Jeff Francouer baseball. There was a reason Bobby Cox let him go. Still doubt his baseball acumen?

Jason Bay was brought in with the intention of powering the offense. A poor man’s Matt Holliday – if you want to call a $66 million dollar contract poor – Bay has never seemed quite comfortable in the confines of CitiField. An assessment of Bay’s production last year showed that the majority of his round trippers were dead pull shots at Fenway. Considering left field at Citi fares no worse than Fenway- in fact slightly better considering the lack of the Green Monster – it was safe to assume Bay would do quite well at CitiField.

Of course Jason decided to become more of a gap hitter at Citifield thus ending that assumption. Bay’s numbers this year, .259 BA, 6 HR, 47 RBI and a .749 OPS. To add injury to insult, Bay ingloriously ended (perhaps?) his 2010 season when he slammed his head into the outfield fence in L.A., catching a fly ball, earning a concussion. Somewhere Ryan Church is popping an Excederin in solidarity.

Here is a list of players whom the Mets could have simply gotten by without –

1. Luis Castillo

2. Rod Barajas

3. Fernando Tatis

4. Alex Cora

5. Mike Jacobs

6. Gary Matthews Jr.

7. Jeff Francoeur

8. Jason Bay

9. John Maine

And last but certainly not least in all our hearts….

10. Oliver Perez

So Mets fans, stand up and give your team some credit here.  With the group of players ownership has given them to work with this year it’s absolutely a shock that the Mets have the respectable (albeit losing) record they have – so far.  Here’s to finding the silver lining and to hoping that the Mets keep bucking the trend through the remainder of the season.  Hopefully they can salvage what little baseball is left for them.

After a shaky end to a solid R.A. Dickey outing, the Mets showed some fight, coming from behind late to defeat the Marlins 6-5.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey had a solid outing today, and everything was going smoothly until the seventh inning. In that inning, R.A. allowed the first two hitters he faced to reach, and after a ground-out fielders choice and a pop-out, he allowed a three-run home run to Gaby Sanchez. Dickey’s final line misleads – he went seven innings, allowing five runs on ten hits, walking none and striking out a career-high tying eight batters. After the first two innings, Dickey found his groove.

The bullpen came through today in a major way, holding their ground for two innings giving the offense a chance to save Dickey. Bobby Parnell and came out throwing the usual flames going one inning and striking out one. Parnell’s success ultimately depends on his location, his movement and the ability for his slider to be an effective second pitch. Hisanori Takahashi came out in the ninth, and after a scare with a double to Hanley Ramirez, he got out of trouble.

The Mets offense was great today in terms of plate discipline, knocking Josh Johnson out after five innings, drawing four walks on a pitcher who walked 38 batters on the season to that point. Jeff Francoeur had some good at bats, turning them into two sacrifice flies. Angel Pagan was absurd today, going 4-5 with three runs scored and a stolen base. For those keeping track, Mr. Pagan has stolen 31 bases and been caught only SIX times. Carlos Beltran was 2-3 with two walks, a run and two RBI’s – he may be turning the corner.

Ruben Tejada – 0-1, with a walk and was hit by a pitch. His offense struggles, but right now its either Ruben’s promise and great defense, including a running catch into shallow right field and a liner that he caught to his left that was inches off the ground. Or Luis Castillo’s decaying hitting ability, speed and range.

Ike Davis, 1-4 with a walk and two strikeouts looking. Ike was definitely irritated at the strike zone today and it showed.

David Wright, 2-5 with two strikeouts and a run. He should’ve been credited with another hit and an RBI on a ball that handcuffed Wes Helms, but it was scored an error.

Turning Point

When Angel Pagan took an extra base in the bottom of the eighth inning with two-outs. What could have been bad put him into scoring position and Carlos Beltran knocked him in for the tying run.

Game Ball

Angel Pagan. He just barely missed a home-run by about 10 feet as well as his insane stat line. Also, as much as i dislike Luis Castillo and his slap-hitting, he was the man who had the game-winning hit

On Deck

The Mets will send Pat Misch to the mound to face-off against Alex Sanabia. Game Time is 7:10

About 2 weeks ago principal owner Fred Wilpon was asked about Omar Minaya’s job status after the 2010 season.  Clueless Fred responded by saying:

“Is the sun coming up tomorrow?”

I cannot understand where this vote of confidence is coming from.  Omar Minaya has been the General Manager since the end of the 2004 season.  In that time Omar has built a team that went to the playoffs ONCE!  As we all know in 2007 and 2008 the teams that Omar Minaya built collapsed in September.  2009 was an embarrassment as the injuries mounted, resulting in the Mets finishing in 4th place.  If the season was a week longer there was a real possibility that the Nationals could have finished about the Mets.

Omar was given up to 150 million dollars and could not put a championship team together.  Omar gave Pedro Martinez a contract that in all honesty he didn’t deserve.  Pedro was actually coming off the worst season of his career. I liked Pedro and was happy to have him on the team but there was a reason why Boston didn’t want to sign him that long.  Pedro eas injured for most of his contract and did not help the Mets win a championship.  Omar has given guys like Carlos Beltran and Frankie “Punchy” Rodriguez contracts that they didn’t deserve because they were coming off of career years.  For some reason Omar felt the need to give Luis Castillo a 4 year deal even though he was clearly on a decline.  Omar bid against himself and signed Oliver Perez to a contract that he flat out didn’t deserve.

Omar has been a horrible in season General Manager.  The Mets have needed help every year at the trade deadline but Omar except for trading for Castillo in 2007 has done nothing.  Every Mets fan knows that when July 31 is over the Mets will not make a single trade.

Last year he embarrassed the team by accusing then Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin of lobbying for a job within in the organization because Rubin exposed the inexcusable behavior of Omar’s buddy Tony Bernazard.  Omar gave an apology that made K-Rod’s seem heartfelt.  Whenever he gives a statement it turns into a downright disaster.

Now I know Omar has made the Wilpon’s a lot of money.  Remember the Wilpon’s never said their goal was to win a World Series, it was just to play “meaningful baseball in September.”  From 2005-2008 Omar’s teams accomplished that goal.  Omar has done a pitiful job as the GM.  He has not developed an impact player, he has let prospects come up way too early and he has brought guys in just because of their nationality.  Anybody who has run a organization like this should be shown the door, but this team gives him a vote of confidence.  Only the Mets.

Back in 2007, the Mets were desperate for some stability at second base after using the likes of Jose Valentin, Damion Easley and Ruben Gotay at the position. Therefore, in a move made at the trade deadline, the Mets sent Dustin Martin and Drew Butera to the Twins for Luis Castillo. In 50 games following the trade, Castillo hit .296, scoring 37 runs and stealing 10 bases. The Mets got what they expected from Castillo. In those 50 games, he gave them stability, a nice batting average, run-scoring ability and some stolen bases.

However, look at who the Twins accepted for him in the deal. Two no-names with limited futures in Martin (who dat?) and Butera (do I know you?). Three years later, Martin has still not played in the major leagues and Butera finally got called up this year for a 96 at-bat tryout in which he hit .208 for the Twins. Doesn’t it look like the Twins knew Castillo was already past his prime and was not worth re-signing when he became a free agent at the end of the ’07 season? If they thought he was truly valuable, wouldn’t they have asked for more than “Who Dat?” and “Do I Know You?”?

Obviously, the Mets were satisfied with Castillo’s performance in those 50 games with the team. Not liking any of the other free agent second basemen, they signed Castillo to a four-year, $25 million contract to be Jose Reyes’ double play partner until 2011. At the time, Castillo was already 32 years old. Did the Mets really think Mr. Gimpy would play four full seasons for the team and be productive each year?

In the three years prior to signing what should be his last multi-year deal, Castillo hit .299, and averaged 82 runs and 18 stolen bases per season. Those numbers were good, but were a far cry from his numbers with the Marlins, when he hit .300 or better on four occasions, scored 90 or more runs thrice and stole at least 48 bases three times, including 2000 and 2002, when he led the league in steals both times.

It should have been clear to the Mets that they were getting a player on the downside of his career, but good ol’ Mr. Minaya felt that Castillo was worthy of a contract that was as long as a presidential term.

So what have the Mets gotten in return for their investment? In 292 games with the Mets under his new contract, Castillo has hit .272 (well below his .291 career average) and has only scored 143 runs, while stealing 44 bases. The man who was supposed to be a tablesetter for the Mets, along with Jose Reyes, has averaged less than 50 runs scored per season since he joined the team and is stealing as many bases as Jason Bay. He is nothing more than a station-to-station player now, who rarely collects extra-base hits (only four doubles and two triples this season in 200 at-bats.)

How much do the Mets dislike using Castillo now? They’d rather give the second base position to Ruben Tejada, who would lose a batting title to Bob Uecker and Mario Mendoza right now with his .180 batting average. Yes, Harry Doyle himself can out-hit the Mets’ second basemen.

Now we have the news that Castillo wants out of New York. He’s even trying to make it look like he has something to contribute to this team. Let’s look at some of his quotes on the subject.

“I came here to be an everyday player and I know it’s been hard with the injuries I’ve had, but I feel good now and thought I was playing well.  I’ve been playing for 14 years and I’ve never gone through anything like this.”

Never gone through anything like that? In his 12 full seasons in the majors, Castillo has missed at least 20 games in eight of them. He has been hurt more times than Oliver Perez has recorded a three-pitch strikeout. Also, after batting a career-high .334 in 2000, he dipped to .263 in 2001, striking out a career-high 90 times in the process. He’s never gone through that before? Think again, Luis. You have. More than once.

“If they think (Tejada’s) the best player, that’s OK.  I just don’t want to be a backup when I’ve been playing every day for my whole career.”

Again, how does a man who’s missed a total of 361 games over the past 11+ seasons (averaging a little over 30 games missed per season over that span) consider himself an everyday player? Having Luis Castillo on the team means you’re going to need a capable backup who’s going to end up playing for a least a month’s worth of games every year. Perhaps Luis Castillo needs to go on the disabled list for his memory loss.

“I can’t be here anymore.  I know I’m not going to be here next year.”

Considering Luis Castillo’s track record with saying things that just aren’t true, I wish he wouldn’t have uttered the above quote. Does that mean we’re going to have to stick it out for another year of an occasional single here and there, more whining and an eventual trip or three to the disabled list?

Castillo is so unwanted that according to Jon Heyman, the Cubs didn’t want to trade clubhouse cancer Carlos Zambrano to the Mets in exchange for Oliver Perez and Castillo.  It wasn’t because the Mets were throwing in El Perez-idente.  It was because Castillo was included in the deal.

So Luis Castillo wants out of New York. The feeling is mutual, my non-friend. Somehow you convinced the Mets that you were the best available second baseman on the market following the 2007 season. Now you’re trying to convince them that you can still play every day. I think it’s time to update your passport picture because you certainly won’t be playing in the major leagues after your contract expires next year. Perhaps a team in the Far East will take you. Maybe Guam has open tryouts.

One thing is for sure. Luis Castillo has been with the Mets for a little over three years now.  In that time, he has worn out his welcome in New York, a welcome I don’t recall ever giving him in the first place.  He “endeared” himself to Mets fans with his one-armed bandit routine when he dropped the pop-up last year in an excruciating loss at Yankee Stadium.  Now let’s see him try to hit the jackpot again when his contract expires after the 2011 season.  Surely, Lady Luck will not be smiling upon him then.

You want out of New York, Luis Castillo?  You got it.  Just let any one of the millions of Mets fans out there know what day you need a ride to the airport and they’ll be more than happy to take you there.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Mets rightfielder Jeff Francoeur has cleared waivers and can now be dealt to any organization.

Trading Francoeur does make sense, but I’m not so sure we will get much for him.

 Some rumors are floating that Fernando Martinez may have been called up to showcase him for a potential offseason trade. It sounds like pure speculation and conjecture to me.

Original Post 12:00 PM

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets placed Jesus Feliciano, Mike Hessman, Luis Castillo, and Oliver Perez on trade waivers this past Thursday.

According to an industry source, the Mets placed Jesus Feliciano, Mike Hessman, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo on trade waivers Thursday. Those waivers expire Monday.

Any of those players who pass through waivers could conceivably be traded to any team.

However, if any player is claimed, the Mets can pull the player back or trade him to the team that claimed him.

I think both Castillo and Perez will pass through waivers without any claim, at which point the Mets will probably keep them, or surprise us all and release them.  Wishful thinking on my part…

Jon Heyman of SI.com just tweeted that the Mets are not currently involved in any trade talks and that nothing is forthcoming.

Likewise, some fans are lamenting trades that never happened or were close to happening at the deadline.  We talk mostly about the “core” and the parts of the team who are “untouchable.”  It was rumored that in the Houston Astros’ quest to find a suitor for pitcher Roy Oswalt, the Mets would have had to relinquish Jon Niese, one lovely surprise this season.  In other rumored trades, Josh Thole or Ike Davis were the “major league ready” talent at the very least.  According to the writers and sources “close to the Mets,” the major league ready talent were classified as “untouchable.”

Let’s think about that word for a minute.  Untouchable. One Webster Dictionary definition of “untouchable” means “not to be handled.”  In the baseball world, and in Mets terms, there are players who will not be moved around despite anything that happens to that player or the team while the player is there.

To a spectator, the core has been construed as Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana, with supportive “home grown” players Davis, Thole and Niese (Mike Pelfrey to a lesser extent, since who knows what happened to him recently).  Let’s take a look at two members of this core: Jose Reyes and David Wright.  These two young guys are under contract for a few more years, and are incredibly cheap by most standards (especially by Mets standards, who have demonstrated the ability to overpay for unsubstantiated talent).  Wright made his debut in 2004, Reyes in 2003.  By most accounts, these two were the cornerstones, the future franchises, the Mets’ position player versions of our own franchise pitcher, Tom Seaver.

In the years they’ve been here, the team has been plagued with management-turnover and instability issues (Art Howe, Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel have all been skippers of the team in those years), leadership issues (Carlos Delgado was considered the leader with his bat, yet would disappear after abysmal performances, setting up comments by teammates who noticed as well) and veteran presence (Cliff Floyd and Moises Alou, who were both prone to injury, and “Captain Red Ass” Paul LoDuca).

However, in the years since the Boy Wonders signed their extensions, the Mets went on an improbable run in 2006, making it to Game 7 in the NLCS, monumentally collapsing in 2007, falling apart at the end of 2008, no comment on 2009, to now: playing .500 ball 2/3 of the way into the season, which does not leave a huge margin of error down the stretch.  If you noticed, heartbreak is a more common theme than actual triumph in those years.

The only true “constant” they’ve had is that Omar Minaya has been the General Manager most of their years with the Mets and Jeff Wilpon has been around all those years.  It was Minaya himself who signed the “Dynamic Duo,” as they were heralded, to extensions in 2006, guaranteeing they would be Mets for several more years.

The Mets are projected to be a .500 team going down the stretch, and were so predicted by computers in the preseason.  The Mets also boast the fifth highest payroll in Major League Baseball at $132.7 million, and the third highest in the National League behind the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies.  Clearly, payroll isn’t everything, since the Cubs are having their own nightmare of a season, and the Phillies are being bit by the same injury bug that plagued the Mets in 2009 (but they are still executing).

The Mets have been underachieving and accepting of it since, oh I would say June 2007.   It’s one thing to make moves and act like a big market team, which is clear they try to project on the ownership and management side.  However, getting the least out of the players and parts you have is another story.

I believe it’s a bit shortsighted of management to at least not consider offers for under contract players who are the supposed cornerstones of the franchise.  If ownership is truly committed to win and not by pure profit, then studying moves would be necessary to initiate a WINNING CULTURE.  Fans are getting restless, and I have to believe the players are as well.  They come to New York for fame, money and championships.  The current Mets may not exactly be the “Worst Team Money Can Buy,” but it’s certainly the most mediocre and blase team one can buy.

For $130-plus million, it can achieve a lot more.  Come October 3, 2010, this team may need to be reevaluated for those purposes.  If the players are the problem, and they are not executing, it’s time to get rid of them.  I want to state for the record: I am not advocating trades of Reyes or Wright.  Beltran has a no-trade clause; I’d also like to point out that Roy Oswalt did as well and waived it.  Moving right along, Johan Santana is a great “problem” to have.  For the record that I was not exactly “supportive” of trading away Niese or Thole or Davis for half-year rentals or even under-contract injuries-waiting-to-happen at the deadline.  However, if the Mets truly end up as a .500 team this season, why would there be so many untouchable pieces?  I am not saying a vanity move of trading Jeff Francoeur, who would not net a lot in return.  Cutting Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo outright would speak volumes; again, don’t see it happening.

I have to wonder what ownership is thinking these days.  Reporters need their “headlines,” and who better to talk to than Mr. Money Bags himself, Fred Wilpon.  Wilpon suggested that Minaya was safe for 2011 and that he believed Jeff Wilpon to be doing an “excellent” job.  Seriously, was Fred going to say something scandalous by suggesting Minaya could be on his way out or that he thought his son was doing a terrible job of managing the baseball operations?  However, it does bring me pause in the elder Wilpon’s thinking that if he believes things are going swimmingly, we can all expect more of the same in 2011.

MMO’s own Tie Dyed wrote a passionate piece on David Wright recently, projecting that if he walked, it could be devastating to the franchise like Tom Seaver’s trade was.  I see the comparison, but it would be a different environment since it would be contractual and not via trade.  Minaya is terrible at evaluating, dollars-wise, major league talent, what’s to say he would get anything of value for these guys anyway?  Perhaps it was luck that the Mets parted with such little in the Johan Santana trade (however, that was more Minaya overvaluing his own prospects…I digress).

All of this is hypothetical.  The Mets could possibly turn it on and go 44-14 in this next stretch and surprise us all.  Jeff Wilpon could say that Omar Minaya is being reassigned within the organization at the end of 2010, and that Howard Megdal is taking over the General Manager operations.  Come Opening Day 2011, we could all be high-fiving each other during the ring ceremony (yes, I still have a bit of Kool-Aid left).

If the path of .500 is enough to warrant that any player, no matter how good, is “untouchable,” then this team is in more trouble than the standings can ever point out.

Mike Pelfrey was ineffective yet again today, and the Mets lost the game and the series to the Braves, falling today 8-3.

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey was hit hard today, not even making it out of the fifth inning. Big Pelf was a Big Letdown today, giving up five runs, with only three being earned thanks to some errors. Pelf struck out one and walked two, and gave up eight hits including two home runs in his four and two-third innings. Something is wrong with Pelfrey, and it isn’t mechanically or health wise. He was revving up the fastball to 96, but he was making too many mistakes, and the majority of them to lefties.

Hisanori Takahashi came out, and pitched one and one-third innings, giving up one hit and two unearned runs, striking out one. Raul Valdes pitched the last two innings, and gave up a run on two hits including a home run while walking one and striking out one. Valdes may be on his way out of the Mets clubhouse anytime soon, with Sean Green, Ryota Igarashi, Pat Misch and a handful of others waiting in the wings with fresh arms ready to alleviate some of the burden

The Mets offense had limited punch today and had absolutely no ability to get on base consistently.Luis Castillo knocked in Josh Thole on a single to center, Jose Reyes scored on a Carlos Beltran groundout and Angel Pagan hit a sacrifice fly that scored Chris Carter. When you manage 6 hits for a whole game, and Luis Castillo has two of them, you’ll have a problem

David Wright, 0-4. 0-15 slump right now.

The defense committed FOUR errors today, with THREE on throwing errors by the left-side of the infield.

Turning Point

The Pelfrey fifth inning eruption

Game Ball

*shrugs* Luis Castillo. 2-3, 1 RBI. He’s a slap hitter, and if that ball isn’t hit down the lines or up the middle, he won’t be doing much good.

On Deck

The Mets have a whole day to marinate on this stagnant performance and will face off against the Phillies on Friday at 7:35 P.M. Jon Niese will face-off against Joe Blanton.

In Doug’s Dugout today we discuss, Anger,the disliked trio of Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, and Carlos Beltran, and Packing Materials. 

If you are an avid Mets fan you should be angry today. Seething actually. Angry your GM, Omar Minaya waved the White Flag at the trading deadline; a team with numerous holes couldn’t fill any of them?

(Maybe he was in a cave and didn’t see what the rest of his division rivals did at the deadline.)

Angry that your club was shellacked by one of the worse teams in baseball, Arizona, 14-1 on Sunday. Angered and upset that the D-Backs took 5-6 from a team that’s clock is about to strike midnight.

And angry that once double digits over .500, are now at .500, and sinking fast into Flushing Bay like a dead body with a cinder block attached to it’s leg.

Finally, if your frustration meter wasn’t pinned this weekend, last night should’ve done the trick. Against nemesis’, Atlanta, in their little shop of horrors, with no time to spare and the season on the line, the Mets had the audacity to come out flat.

And fall behind in the very first frame and then proceed to curl up in the fetal position and lose 4-1. Sometimes a game’s pivotal moment comes early in the contest. On a night their manager, Jerry Manuel threw down the gauntlet to his fading team that they needed to play flawless baseball they failed to execute a routine double play.

The extra out is often received with gratitude by good teams and the Braves obliged, adding two runs on a Rick Ankiel single. The same player acquired at the deadline from KC paid immediate dividends for the shrewd Braves.

Funny how the Braves rarely make a mistake on trades, whether they are moving someone or bringing them into the fold. On the other end of the spectrum there are the Mets. Who seem to sign more Jason Bay’s than R.A. Dickey’s, and a knuckle-baller pitches on borrowed time.

How is that the bankrupt Texas Rangers, or the Dodgers, whose owner has frozen assets due to a nasty divorce, can practically remake their teams and the Mets cannot pull the trigger on one transaction? How do the Yankees consistently add talent but never give up their blue chippers?

Maybe other teams know they will be rebuffed by Brian Cashman. However, when Omar is on the other end of the line, rival GM’s look to fleece him for Ike Davis and Jon Niese. I guess if you are the talent purveyor who once traded Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Grady Sizemore for an obese Bartolo Colon, they feel you are a sap for life.

Suddenly, a 1-0 game became expanded to 3-0 when Castillo, who has become a liability in all facets of the game, but we must play him because we must pay him, could not make a routine turn. However, with nearly three hours of ballgame left, the Mets shrunk like an over-Martinized suit at the local cleaners.

I’ve seen more fight from toddlers at daycare refusing to lay down on their cots for 45 minutes. The Mets have no problem laying down.

So, Mets fans should be angry that their team is gutless. Watching Jose Reyes single and go into his handshake gyrations with the overfed first base coach, although trailing on the board to their arch rivals, said it all. The Mets are a Broadway Play that should close after one performance.

It’s hard to root for a team that shows little moxie, or a player that has plenty of moxie but little production. (I’m looking at you Jeff Franceour). Which brings me to my next point about Castillo, Beltran, and Perez. Three players with a negative aura around them and a personal agenda to match. Isn’t it ironic and coincidental that when the second half began the tiresome trio was back in the picture, and the losses began to mount.

You can blame management for wanting to get their money’s worth even if it costs the team in the standings. Most respectably run franchises own up to their mistakes and close the books. They don’t clog up a roster spot or run out a second baseman who can’t run anymore. Or hit or has less range than most American Idol contestants.

The problem is the parsimonious Mets owe them boatloads of money and damn the chemistry. How long would George Steinbrenner have put up with the Ollie’s Follies? About two seconds. “Hey, he’s gonna get his money anyway, at least get his sickening presence out of my clubhouse.”

The only solution is to root for five more loses on this road trip and then fumigate the front office. It’s time to call Terminex already. Start dumping bad contracts and live to fight another season.

When Omar sat on his hands at the trade deadline he sent a clear message that the fans were on Revis Island without Darrell. Talent wise the Mets are inferior to the rising Nationals and the next stop is the basement.

Instead of buying a player or two, Omar was spotted at Staples with a cart full of bubble wrap and packing tape. He was off to the grocery store to sift through the discarded boxes. It’s time to pack and no one likes to move.

I’ll help you Omar. I’ll even pay for the rental van. Maybe that will get my mind off what an awful team you have constructed.