Jul 15

Would sweeping the Phillies make a difference regarding Beltran?

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Even should the Mets sweep the Phillies, I’m not buying it will have a great impact on what Sandy Alderson does  with Carlos Beltran. If he gets a deal, he’ll take it, regardless of where the Mets are in the standings.

Make no mistake, the Mets are in the rebuilding mode Alderson vowed when he came to town. The Mets are playing better than anticipated, which has shed a different light on things in the eyes of the fans, but hasn’t altered Alderson’s plan.

The trade of Francisco Rodriguez, and the possible trading of Beltran, has been met with more resistance than expected largely because of the Mets playing .500 ball and Jose Reyes’ strong first half. Those two things have given the impression of the Mets being a contender, but they still have the same issues as they had coming out of spring training.

Jul 15

Today in Mets’ History: Weis, Gentry beat Cubs.

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When the Mets surged into relevance in 1969, the impetus was bookend series against the Chicago Cubs in July.

On this date at Wrigley Field, Al Weis hit a three-run homer in the fourth and Ken Boswell homered in the fifth to back Gary Gentry’s solid pitching to give the Mets a 5-4 victory.

Gentry, the third starter on the staff behind Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, gave up four runs in 7.2 innings. Ron Taylor closed the game for the save.

BOX SCORE

AL WEIS CAREER

 

Jul 14

Reading the tea leaves on dealing Beltran.

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Sandy Alderson is working the phones this afternoon about Carlos Beltran. There’s a chance he could be taking more calls than making them.

“Carlos’ situation is well-known, and it’s not surprising given his situation and performance this year that a lot of interest has been expressed,’’ Alderson said. “We have not pursued that interest in great length to this point.’’

BELTRAN: Attracting interest.

As an All-Star, Beltran is probably the premier outfielder and bat in the trade market, so the Mets aren’t completely without leverage.

Where the Mets don’t have leverage, is that Beltran’s contract precludes him from being offered arbitration so they won’t get any compensatory draft picks.

The balance of Beltran’s contract is for roughly $8 million, so the Mets must decide if that’s worth the price to pay to gamble on staying in contention.

Unless the Mets are bowled over, Alderson said he’s willing to ride this out until the trade deadline, and even longer.

While the trade deadline is July 31, the Mets can move Beltran after that in a waiver deal. In that situation, Beltran must clear waivers before he can be traded.

Alderson’s stance is actually a good negotiating ploy. Everybody knew the Mets were desperate to deal Rodriguez, but by showing a willingness to wait on Beltran it’s possible he could force some general manager to blink and offer up a better prospect.

The Giants and Red Sox are the teams reported to have the most interest in Beltran. ESPN reported the Tigers might be players for Beltran.

As far as the Yankees, their primary objective is pitching.  Even with Alex Rodriguez out for at least a month, the belief is the Yankees still have enough offense.

If the Mets go all out in the trade market, they have several pieces that could prove attractive to a contender, including Chris Capuano, Jason Isringhausen, Tim Byrdak, Scott Hairston and Willie Harris.

All have served a purpose for the Mets this season, but all can be replaced in the winter.

 

Jul 14

Today in Mets’ History: Bobby V. wins 1,000th game as manager.

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I never covered him full time, but always recognized Bobby Valentine held a special place with Mets’ fans.

VALENTINE: A fixture in Mets lore.

Maybe it had nothing to do with the fake moustache, but perhaps that act is what endeared him to the Shea partisans. It was spontaneous, funny and above all, human. We all know ejected managers hide in the runway or somehow send messages to the dugout. Valentine was just brash in his approach.

Valentine guided the Mets to the playoffs and World Series in 2000, but his teams ran out of steam and his feud with then general manager Steve Phillips became draining.

On this date in 1971, Valentine registered his 1,000th career victory when Glendon Rusch and Armando Benitez combined to throw a one-hit shutout of the Red Sox, 2-0.

VALENTINE’s CAREER

Valentine managed Texas and the Mets, as well as two stints in Japan. He currently works for ESPN, but is constantly being mentioned when managerial openings occur.

 

Jul 13

Alderson dances around trade and future.

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What else was Sandy Alderson going to say?

In a classic case of GM-Speak, Alderson said today in a conference call, “I certainly wouldn’t draw any conclusions from this transaction,’’ regarding this morning’s trade of Francisco Rodriguez to Milwaukee.

ALDERSON: Dances the dance.

 

 

He might be the only one.

This was about dumping salary, totally understandable considering the Mets didn’t want to pick up Rodriguez’s $17.5 million option. How well the Mets have played was irrelevant because clearing themselves of the option was their primary objective, although Alderson downplayed this issue.

He wasn’t believable.

Alderson insisted the Mets’ goal the rest of the way will be winning games, but that’s a tough sell considering he just traded their closer, and is actively looking to move Carlos Beltran, and wouldn’t say no to anybody asking about Jose Reyes.

Trading Rodriguez offers payroll flexibility, but realistically we’re only talking about 2012, and Reyes reportedly will seek six or seven years.

Alderson said there’s no connection between Rodriguez and possibly trading Beltran, but what other conclusion can you make? The Mets want to shave payroll and aren’t a realistic contender, so the fire sale seems the only realistic way for this season to play itself out.

Anybody can see that, so why can’t Alderson just admit it and spare us the GM-Speak?