Has Sandy Alderson Been Reading My Blog?

Tonight, Jon Heyman tweeted that the Rangers have interest in Beltran and K Rod. In the same tweet, he says other RH relievers will be available at the deadline. Is my plan coming together? Could Sandy be contemplating a K Rod deal, while re-acquiring Bell, at a much more reasonable price? And more importantly, freeing up money to pay Jose? Hmm....

How about the Mets over the weekend? Going into the series against Texas, you had to figure the only way to win was to keep the scores low and out-pitch the Rangers. Well, the Mets went down there and OUT HIT the Rangers. Yes, Texas slugged 7 HRs to none for the Mets, but the Mets pounded out 39 hits in 3 games, stole bases, and played great D. The pitching was decent, not great.

Now, the schedule remains rough. Three with Detroit and three with the NYY, before a west coast swing. BTW, speaking of the NYY, what an organization of douche bags. At Old Timers' Day, they refer to Gooden, Strawberry, and Mazzilli as "our own". Yeah, right. Why is that organization obsessed with needling the Mets at every opportunity? The clowns in the booth do it, too. Screw them, I'm enjoying being .500.

Boras is near, watch your wallet

It's amazing, really. Certain names strike fear in the hearts of baseball fans. Among them would be Lee, Halladay, Gonzalez, Pujols, Rivera to name a few. These guys wear the double knits, and they can hurt your team in a big way. Then, there's a guy who wear an Armani suit, and he can kill your team. He's Scott Boras, and now his sights are set on Jose Reyes and our Mets.

Boras has a history of getting top dollar for his clients (which is his job), and refuses to accept the notions of home-town discounts, loyalty, fan interest...The guy is all business. And now he's thinking of representing Jose Reyes, and if that happens, the chances of Reyes returning to the Mets go down. First, Boras will demand that Reyes go FA. Now there's a bidding war. The Mets can't win one of those. So our hole card is sentiment, and his wanting to remain a Met. Boras will laugh at that. If Boras does represent Jose, it is not a death knell, but a severe body blow, for sure.

The above said, I propose the following. Let's say Reyes stays with Greenberg as his agent, and will consider talking to the Mets during the season. Reyes will want some serious Benjamins, and I have an idea to free some up. How about dealing Frankie (whom I like) to a team that will accept him and figure out that $17.5 MM thing. That SAME DAY, the Mets re-acquire Heath Bell, who is an FA to be, on a team going nowhere, and has expressed a desire to be a Met again. Bell, I believe, is making about $6MM. The Mets lose nothing at closer, are free of Frankie's contract, and can re-sign Bell much more economically than bringing Frankie back.

I have spoken. Thoughts??

Things are looking up

31-32 on June 11th. The Mets, in my opinion, are doing exactly what they should be doing. I said in spring training that this was a .500 team, and look where they are. Yes, the path there has been strange. On April 19th, the Mets were 5-13 and looked lost. Since, they've had a six-game winning streak, a managerial explosion, numerous blown eighth inning leads, a $66 million benching, injuries to key players...you get the point. Teams with .500 talent generally end up .500. That's why you play 162, so you end up where you should be. One thing that no one will question-this team is infinitely easier to watch than Jerry's gang of the last 2.5 years.

Other things:

While it has quieted somewhat, there's still MSM talk of demolishing the team at the deadline. The latest all-knowing baseball swami, John Harper, proposes K Rod to the NYY. Yes, this would shed a potential $17.5 million, and free even more money to sign Reyes. But, who would close? How do you sell an angry fan base a team with no closer?

Santana is targeting late July for a comeback. Wow, is it me, or does it seem like JS last chucked a ball for the Mets in 1999? Maybe it's because of the excellent starting pitching. In their last 14 games, the Mets have gotten outstanding starting pitching in 13 of them (and they won the one game where Pelfrey pooped the bed).

To me, the DFA of Nick Evans is more than the releasing of a lousy player. It shows that the new regime has no tolerance for no-tool players. Why was Evans in the major leagues? Which of the five tools did he actually have? No one says you need all of them (not everyone's name is Reyes), but shouldn't a player have one or two? Evans had NONE. I can imagine Collins and Alderson watching this guy, and being perplexed as to why he was in the organization. They gave Evans a shot, thinking there must be something they're not seeing. Nope. Bye, Nick. AMEN!

Here's a refreshing thought. When Wright and Davis come back, which two players go? How do you structure this team for optimal starting and bench talent? What would you do?

PAY THE MAN

It's time. If anyone needed any proof that Reyes is THE KEY to this team, look no farther than this week. With Reyes in the DR for the funeral of his grandmother, the Mets scored 1 run Tuesday, and 2 runs on Wednesday. Yesterday, with Reyes, the Mets score 9. What did Reyes have to do with it, you ask? Forgotten in the stirring comeback was Jose 2-out single in the third, that led to Beltran's HR. That HR is regarded as the turning point. Jose enabled it by keeping the inning alive. Tonight is "Don't Trade Reyes" night. I like it. If Sandy needs to hear it from the fans ( and I hope he does not), make sure he hears it loud and clear.

So, DW has a clause that makes his option NOT kick in for 2013 if he's traded. Therefore, he's less valuable to another team, as if the Mets did trade him, the other team would have DW locked up for one vs. two years. I have said all along, regardless of what the all-knowing MSM says, Reyes and DW will be here next year.

Beltran has been great. I do think he'll be dealt, to save a few dollars. I think another key to the retention of Wright and Reyes may be the trading for K Rod. That's a shame. Yes, if it has to be, then let it be. But who would close? If they trade K Rod to save money, logic tells you they won't spend on an established closer. Do they go to Parnell? Yikes. Let's take one step at a time, though. I'm feeling a growing momentum for keeping Reyes, and this is a good thing. We'll worry about collateral roster damage next year.