smg58

Reyes has an $11M team option or a buyout. As he missed most of last year, he's not even a Type B right now, so there'd be no compensation if the Mets let him go. There are a few factors to weigh concerning him, not the least of which is that he's still young and has upside. But I do think that $11M is a bit more than he's currently worth.

Meanwhile, Lucas Duda has 40 extra base hits in 234 AB's for Buffalo.

Cohoon just had his third straight quality start, after having none in his first eight tries at AA. His line for his last 3 games: 3-0, 20 IP, 15 H, 2 BB, 18 K, 1 HR, 4 ER. The caveat is that all three of these games came on more than five days rest, but it's definitely an encouraging sign.

Well presumably the Mets know if they approach bases-loaded situations differently than other situations, and if they do, they should probably stop.

It would seem that some sort of objective definition of what a player needs to do to "fail, refuse or neglect to conform his personal conduct to the standards of good citizenship" ought to be established.

I'm sorry that there is still some controversy around the home run. But you can't love baseball and not love Hodges' call.

The contract mandates lost pay for an off-the-field injury, so at least the Mets save money. It's poetic justice, if nothing else.

Kevin Towers. He put the current Padres team together with no budget, and now his successor is reaping all the benefits.

Gload is nursing an injury as well and is day-to-day.

record (before tonight's game): 63-50, 2.5 games behind the Braves injury update: Shane Victorino was activated today and should see action this weekend. Ross Gload and recent acquisition Mike Sweeney are filling in for Howard at first base. Ex-Met Wilson Valdez has been playing second. His .640 OPS won't make anybody miss Utley, but would be an upgrade for us. team stats: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?c_id=phi Their best hitter has been Jayson Werth, with a .302/.395/.528 line. Otherwise Howard has been Howard, and Rollins and Utley have actually been a bit disappointing. Halladay has been the pitcher they paid for, and Hamels has been decent. Oswalt has had two good starts and one mediocre one since the trade. But I look at their pen and think I'd rather have ours. the matchups: Friday: Hamels vs. Dickey Saturday: Halladay vs. ? Sunday: Kendrick vs. Pelfrey I hope we see Misch on Saturday, as Ollie vs. Halladay would not be particularly entertaining. I'm confident Dickey will bounce back, and who knows maybe he'll even get some run support. I'm more than a little worried about Pelfrey coming off a season-high 122 pitches the other night, given his recent form otherwise, but hopefully he can prove me wrong.

As dicey as K-Rod has been at times, he's not getting paid all that money to watch Manny Acosta pitch with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth. Just out of curiosity, is there a reason Elmer Dessens hasn't pitched in ten days?

So in a stunning development, Francoeur's agents are lobbying for what would best suit their client's long-term financial interests. It's strictly business, and if I'm going to be angry at Francoeur it will be over the fact that he's played his way onto the bench. I suppose I'd oblige him if another team gave me a reason to, but what are the chances?

Cohoon had his first strong outing at AA last night, going seven innings and allowing one run on three hits with a 5/0 K/BB ratio. He's been struggling at Binghamton to the tune of a 5.80 ERA (even after last night), but considering that the jump from high A to AA is considered to be the hardest in the minors and he was promoted from low A, it's reasonable to cut him some slack.

We have lots of reasons to root for Beltran to return to some semblance of form, and only some of them have to do with next year. That being said, I think the Mets need Angel Pagan to be their starting centerfielder in 2011.

Why am I betting that Martino was the first sportswriter to get mad at Reyes for celebrating too much in the dugout, or whatever it was that we were supposed to be mad at him for?

Wouldn't Martinez and Tejada have to clear waivers?

Losing can become demoralizing. Certainly going into July in good position knowing that the team was getting it's full arsenal back for the first time in over a year, and ending July where they are now, hurts psychologically. But there seems to be an implicit blame of Minaya for the team's emotional state, and that's bogus. You have to earn the right to be buyers, and if the team failed to do that they can look in the mirror for blame. (And I'm sure the players understand that.) On the other hand, the manager has to find a way to convince the team that they're still in it if they get their acts together if the players are struggling to convince themselves.

There's no good reason to keep Cora. The union can't really complain when the player's performance justifies the release, contract or not. $2M may not look like much at face value, but it could have gotten us Lopez or Kelly Johnson this past year. Assuming a similar market, and that the Mets offseason spending cash is limited, that $2M needs to be spent elsewhere.

If Berkman can get fully healthy in two months of DHing, that will be a great pickup for the Yankees. Unfortunately.

Lucas Duda would have been the inspired call-up.

I'd consider a glazed doughnut sufficient value in return for Jacobs.

So the Astros pair up a big bat with a dubious glove and an all-glove, no-bat shortstop. Interesting. The key to this deal for Houston is Happ, though. If he's 100% by the start of next year, the trade will work out well for them. The people who've called this deal lopsided have forgotten that Happ's ERA was below 3 last year, while Oswalt's was above 4.

Miguel Tejada is packing for San Diego.

Jorge Cantu rumored to be heading to Texas.

So it looks like the primary prospect in this deal is not Singleton but speedster Anthony Gose. In the bizarre synchronicity department, Gose is rumored to be shipped out immediately to Toronto for Brett Wallace, who had previously been acquired from Oakland in exchange for Michael Taylor, who the Jays shipped out immediately after acquiring him from Philadelphia in the Halladay deal.