If your getting home and wondering if you missed any Mets News today here is some of today’s Mets highlights.

Baseball America released their Top 100 List and 4 Mets made the Top 100.

• 56 Jennry Mejia, rhp, Mets
• 62 Ike Davis, 1b, Mets
• 77 Fernando Martinez, of, Mets
• 88 Wilmer Flores, ss, Mets

Staying with Baseball America they also help a online chat session with Ike Davis. One of the questions asked was “Who were your favorite players coming up as a young kid? And who’s game do you try to pattern yourself after?” he replied, “Growing up I liked to watch Mark Grace, John Olerud, Bonds, Steve Finley, and Chipper Jones. I loved watching power hitters that were at the top of their game.”

Noah K. Murray of the The Star-Ledger gave us this interesting photo of Fred Wilpon and Omar Minaya. Looks like Wilpon doesn’t want to buy what Minaya is selling.

Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News reports that “A Mets official said the team would sign a remaining free agent LHP to complement Pedro Feliciano if Joe Beimel would accept a Rod Barajas-type contract (one year, $1 million).”

Jason Bay arrived today at Mets camp and sat down and did a 15 minute interview with reporters that Brian Costa of The Star-Ledger made available here. One of the questions he answered was,

Do you get a bad rap as a defensive player?
“Ah, people have their opinions. There’s some numbers that put me in a good light and obviously some that don’t. I’ve said it 100 times, I know I’m not Torii Hunter out there, but I feel like I’m an above-average outfielder, I feel like I can get to the balls that I’m supposed to get to, I know my limitations, I know my strengths, and I play to them.”

Frenchy asks the best question toward the end of the interview. “How bout that USA hockey team!”

Finally if you want to see Mejia throw off a mound SNY has a field reporter that provided video footage.

Well there is something in the air in Port St. Lucie - and it was not the smell of Tony Tarasco’s bong pipe! From the media accounts that I have read, Tradition Field was buzzing with positive attitudes and healthy personnel. First off it is great to see that we will have a true front line catcher with the recently signed Rob Barajas. This is not meant to be a slight at Omir Santos, he did a valiant job as the main backstop for the majority of last season, but lets face it he was more than likely playing well over his head, and he will probably be nothing more than a AAAA caliber player. Oliver Perez seems to be a lot more focused than he was last year, and from all reports it show. His control is back and once again there is life on his fastball. Kelvim Escobar even made a appearance although he was only doing some light tossing , he was at least gripping the ball which might mean that the extent of his soreness has been greatly exaggerated. And owner Fred Wilpon came out of his coffin to give his thoughts and views on everything from this past off season ( torturous), the Mets money situation ( they still are loaded) and the Mets medical staff being the best in baseball ( delusional). So I freely admit that I am now extremely excited and can’t wait for the season to start ! By the way single game tickets are to go on sale on March 7th.

                                             ” Lets hope the 2010 Mets  prove the detractors wrong !!”

And now …. ON WITH THE INFAMY !!!!

Today would have been third baseman, Joe Foy’s 67th birthday (1943) . Til this day, Foy has been maligned by many Mets fans because he was traded for future superstar Amos Otis, and for the fact that he was a butcher at third base .He played in 99 games for the Mets during the ‘70 season, hitting .236 with six homers and 37 r.b.i.s. He was left exposed during the ‘70 draft and was picked up by the Washington Senators. It was speculated that Foy had a hardcore drug habit that led to his poor showing as a Met.

Sadly on this date two original Mets passed away, starting pitcher, Vinegar Bend Mizell in 1999 and relief pitcher Sherman Jones in 2007.

New York Mets signed free agent Joe Orsulak on February 21, 1998. This was to have been Joe’s second go round with the Mets, but he didn’t make the team out of spring training and retired soon after.

New York Mets traded pitching prospect Corey Brittan to the Colorado Rockies for Kane Davis on February 21, 2002. Davis was putrid in the half a season that he pitched for the Mets. He went 1-1 with a E.R.A. of 7.07 in sixteen games with the Mets, before being demoted.

And don’t forget - There are just 43 days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News had conducted a interview with mets owner Fred Wilpon which you can read here http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/

I found the interview with Fred to be very insightful. He seems to care about the Mets and called this past off season ” torture”. He also claims he is a Mets fans and feels the frustration of the common fan, But where Fred loses me is when he said that the Mets have ” one of the best medical staffs in all of baseball “. I don’t know if he was referring to the Hospital for Special Surgery or the Mets training staff itself, but Fred comes across as being a bit delusional on that topic in my opinion. I also have to take Fred’s noncommittal answer to the security of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel’s jobs as being a subtle way of saying if this is a repeat of last season then they are gone.

                 ” Fred sez the Mets will be owned by the Wilpons for future generations  - OY !”

Well it looks like Fred Wilpon , just like Staten Island Chuck made his once a year trek out of his bunker at Citi Field to help rechristen the former Keyspan park as the newly named Municipal Credit Union Park ( the names kinda catchy huh?) While Good old Fred  was expounding on the newly formed partnership with another banking institution ( remember Citi Field), he was asked  about the coming Mets season

Mets owner Fred Wilpon took the opportunity to drum up hope for next season after a dismal 2009 was followed by a disappointing off-season.

“This is going to be a comeback year,” he said. “We filled those positions we feel are important. These guys want to prove last year was an aberration and it’s not going to happen again… so I’m very optimistic.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_brooklyn_cyclones_keyspan_park_renamed_mcu_park.html#ixzz0ekxAqOPv

Oh Freddie my boy I hope you are right  but just in case let me know what kind of meds you have been taking so we can have a very mellow summer together if this season tanks as early as last years did !

                                        ” Fred Wilpon  in one of his more lucid states.”

And with that said …. ON WITH THE INFAMY !!!

This deal you could say is a draw in terms of Mets infamy -New York Mets traded pitchers  A.J.  Burnett,and Jesus Sanchez and one time top prospect ,outfielder Robert Stratton to the Florida Marlins for ace pitcher Al Leiter and utility infielder Ralph Milliard on February 6, 1998. Al Leiter was the upper eschalon pitcher that helped propel the Mets into the ‘99 & ‘00 post seasons, while Burnett has gone on to earn three World Series  rings with the Marlins and last year with the New York Yankees.

New York Mets signed free agent pitcher Nelson” Figgy !”  Figueroa on February 6, 2008. Nelson has proven to be an adequate spot starter/ reliever, but it just seems this organization has little confidence in his pitching abilities.

And while you are digging out from today’s storm - Just remember that there are only  more 58 days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

I have seen lately a lot of discussion around how much of the problems with the Mets falls on Omar Minaya
and how much falls on the current ownership. How much how little or who is to blame exactly? Tough questions indeed.

There are signs that suggest Minaya is more of a puppet who unlike Pinocchio who had no strings to call his own Minaya’s strings are being pulled by Jeff Wilpon. For example John Ricco holding a conference call to discuss events that only Omar Minaya was privy to that only resulted in making things worse with Ricco at times pleading the 5th when asked certain questions. Some speculate if the lack of moves this off season is more to Minaya having his hands tied by ownership. A notion that let’s face it is almost impossible to prove.

Since Fred Wilpon became the sole owner of the Mets back on August 23, 2002 the Mets are 581 - 586 that is
a .497 win percentage. Here are some highlights.

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Starting in 2003 Wilpon’s team improved every year going from 5th/2003, 4th/2004, 3rd/2005, and finally 1st in 2006.
Is that rise due to ownership? Maybe it has more to do with the rise of Jose Reyes and David Wright. Reyes and Wright came on the scene and renewed hope in a franchise that the future was bright. Even though Omar Minaya would not become GM till 2005 he may have helped plant the seeds that was Wright & Reyes.
Omar Minaya was assistant GM and in charge of International Scouting under then GM Steve Phillips when Jose Reyes signed with the Mets in 1999. Omar Minaya was also Senior assistant GM and in charge of International Scouting under then GM Steve Phillips when David Wright was drafted back in 2001. How much of an influence if any at all Minaya had in the signing of Wright & Reyes I don’t know I tried to find more info and was unsuccessful.

When Omar Minaya became GM in 2005 he signed Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez. The “New” New York Mets era began. Minaya’s Mets finished 3rd in 2005 and in 2006 with Minaya having traded for slugger 1st baseman Carlos Delgado the Mets finished in 1st place for the 1st time in the division since 1988.

Since 2006 the Mets have had 2 (or 1 depending on your view) epic collapses in 2007, 2008. A poorly handled west coast managerial firing. A total meltdown accusing a member of the media with publishing stories painting longtime friend Tony Bernazard in a negative light to further his career with the Mets and probably the most injuries ever in a single season to affect a team’s star players in 2009 and if that wasn’t enough it was compounded by reports of multiple medical misdiagnosis of star players or the perception at least that the Front Office just was not on the same page with their medical staff. Add to the mix what was Citi Fields inaugural season, complaints from fans that there was not enough done celebrating Mets history and too much done to celebrate the late Great Jackie Robinson.

Who is to blame for 2009? Take your pick
A. Ownership
B. Minaya
C. Manuel
D. World Baseball Classic
E. Medical Staff
F. None of the above
G. All of the above
H. other

I am sure that I only scratched the surface but the thing is when you look at all this I find it hard to say it’s just one person’s fault. Is ownership not allowing Minaya to sign players? Does Minaya simply see little value out there in the free agent market and is holding back on trades to give the farm system a chance to grow? These are all plausible scenarios.

Personally I lost faith in Minaya in 2009 not because I blame him for the injuries but because I felt his wait for the cavalry approach in waiting for the players to get back  rather than going out and trying to find Wright help especially when Beltran went down was the wrong approach plus add allowing your manager to publicly express this idea that there wasn’t much you can do without your horses. I’ve had many say they don’t agree with my views and while I respect their opinion I still stand by mine. Maybe Minaya is but a puppet and the blame should lie with ownership. I admit lately I am beginning to wonder if that is just the case. If it is ownership what then? It’s been reported the Wilpons do not intend on selling the team anytime soon so what can we do to show our dissatisfaction? I leave that for you to decide. Time will tell I guess who is to blame but for now I’ll continue to stand by my opinions. What is good about that is it’s just an opinion.

Now Opening Day fast approaches and there is a feeling that the winds of change are blowing and both Minaya and Manuel’s future depends on how well the team performs in 2010.

Here’s to hoping 2010 the Mets fortunes turn in their favor.

Well I have had a full day to digest yesterdays trade that sent Brian Stokes to the Angels for Gary Matthews Jr and honestly it is as far from a no brainer as was Willie Randolph leaving Aaron Heilman in against Yadier Molina on that fateful October night back in ‘06. The question that I keep asking myself is if Matthews Jr ends up being a bust will it go down as Omars biggest debacle? The answer is no. Omars biggest debacle is two-fold. First was signing an aging Luis Castillio to a frighteningly bad four year contract worth 32 million dollars. This deal has pretty much rendered him untradeable as we have seen for the past two seasons (when Matthews is traded before Slappy does, you know that he is seen as a pariah). The second deal that will lead ultimately to Omar’s downfall is the signing of perennial headcase, Oliver Perez. Omar committed 34 million dollars to Oliver last year, after Oliver had a mediocre at best season. The Mets expected to sign Derek Lowe, by waiting out the market . They used the same tactic this off season with Bengie Molina and Joel Pinero and as we all know they signed elsewhere when the first opportunity to sign elsewhere came to fruition. These two moves have essentially have hogtied this organizations ability to sign top notch talent, while staying within budget constraints that The Wilpons have drawn up.
I can’t blame Omar for not overspending, and as I have written before that I really didn’t want either Molina or Pinero, especially at a inflated price. But Omar has problem with gauging the free agent market. So if the Mets get off to an abysmal start , I expect both Omar and Jerry to be run out of town on the next Delta Airlines flight that goes to Siberia.

And with that said - HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!

                                             “Will there be a big severance package in Omar’s future?”

Today would have been Bob Moorhead 72nd Birthday.(1938) Moorehead was reliever for the Mets from ‘62 - 65 with his biggest distinction as being the second pitcher to ever appear in a game for the Mets.
Reserve catcher for the ‘96 team, Charlie Greene is 39 today (1971) .

New York Mets released pitcher Rich Sauveur on January 23, 1992.

The Philadelphia Phillies signed reliever Yorkis Perez of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 23, 1998.

The Houston Astros signed reliever John Franco of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 23, 2005. It was a bittersweet time for us Mets fans, Franco was one of the most reliable Mets closers ever- but it sadly was his time to close the books on his Mets playing career.

New York Mets signed free agent pitcher Ricardo Rincon on January 23, 2008. I believe he appeared in just one game for the Mets in ‘08 and was never utilized again.

While you are finding ways to keep your self occupied today - just remember there are only 72 days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.