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Good thing that Pagan beat it out or Ralph might have exploded.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Maybe we should just have him killed. You'd think that would save money but the Wilpons would give the remainder of his contract to his estate and spend to build a giant "75" in the Rotunda.

Excellent post Edgy. Are we witnessing the end of the Pedro Feliciano era or is he just tired (which is understandable)?

Edgy DC wrote: If they're going to make a move, it's got to be for offense. A worthwhile thought but Howie recently talked about how the Mets can't improve the offense because they're locked in, perhaps unwillingly, at each position. E.g., I'd love to get more offense at 2d but they can't move Castillo. They certainly could use more offense in LF but they're paying Bay a zillion dollars to do that. Is Omar creative enough to swing a deal for Prince Fielder (and would you be upset to move Ike)?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think the young guy we get for F Rodriguez, whoever it is, is gonna be huge. JCL: I was thinking that way, too. Tampa?

Edgy DC wrote: Trading for another starter, a la Ted Lilly, would likely hurt more than it helps. That's a reasonable position. And while he's not a "difference maker", he's an improvement (again, others might differ). I'd rather see Lily than Takahashi as a SP (I like him in the 'pen) or another Tim Redding/Brian Lawrence type.

Meanwhile, Joel Sherman says that the Mets won't get Ted Lily. Some teams improve, some teams are stagnant (that's not an endorsement of "Zambrano for Kazmir" but doing something to get a 5th starter).

Ugh. The August 15th game, Phillies at Mets, has been moved to 8:05 for ESPN. Maybe Gary, Keith and Ron cheer since they'll get a day off but I can't think of anybody else that will be happy about this move. And it doesn't help the Mets who have to travel to Houston for a game on Monday night (meanwhile, the Phillies have that Monday off).

Coors: "the ban-quit beer."

Stan Musial is on the cover on the new SI.

Rubin says that Turner might be back on Tuesday to play 3B. Nothing against Turner but how about giving Hessman a shot?

Hard to believe, yes, but thanks for the info. Maybe it'll showcase him for KC.

By all means sit the #8 hitter in BA in the NL. Jerry said yesterday that he wanted to give Wright a day off today or Tuesday (so he'd have two straight days off). If he sticks with that, it'll be Tuesday but who plays 3d? Cora? Maybe they'll make a move (Barajas to the DL?) and call up Hessman.

METS: Reyes-SS Castillo-2B Wright-3B Beltran-CF Bay-LF Davis-1B Francoeur-RF Thole-C Dickey-RHP Dodgers: Paul 7 Carroll 6 Loney 3 Kemp 8 Ethier 9 Blake 5 DeWitt 4 Martin 2 Kershaw 1

Above I noted that the Mets are 0-6 in the first game of their last 6 series. Does that fall on the manager for not preparing the team or is it just a coincidence?

Since the start of the Puerto Rico series, assuming that they lose tonight, the Mets are 6-12. During that time frame, they've lost the first game of each series (0-6).

Pre-game Jerry: Castillo back tomorrow. When Ollie returns, he goes to the pen Takahashi starts on Thursday Thole probably down after catching R.A. on Tuesday. http://proxy.espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/6943/manuel-castillo-returns-monday

Hello from San Francisco. And a lousy time was had by all, at least those rooting for the Mets. The highlight of the night was meeting Gwreck and Caryn. I ended up seeing them three times, twice by chance (Gwreck rocking the Pelfrey shirt stood out). The ballpark is nice enough but I was in no mood to give praise to a facility with such obnoxious home fans. The big guy to my right leaned over the arm rest as soon as I started cheering the Mets. The senile guy in front kept standing up to block my view. When I said that I traveled across the country for the game, he said "we don't want you here." Nice. I've been treated nicer in Philadelphia. We didn't get a bobblehead because the choice was an hour in line or seeing the place. The corridors are way too narrow--it was difficult to walk around in the early innings. The food choices are too esoteric; I wanted to get my son ice cream (despite the cold) and there was only one place and the line was too long. The setting is nice and yes, it gets cold. The in-house wi-fi, the first in the country, is overrated. You can go to a website on your mobile, select the food you want and it says where the closest sections are. That's a nice feature, but the highlights sent directly to a special website are the same ones on the excellent scoreboard. They stop fans from walking down the aisle during an at bat and that's very good (Nats Park should do that). Also good: an employee comes around to collect recyclables in the 8th inning. The fans are stupid: the wave; the medium fly balls that are cheered in anticipation of a home run; and when Tejada was beaned, the woman behind me said "does he want his mommy?" The caper on the evening was on the escalator as we left. Kid yells "go home Yankees" and his Dad says "Mets." The kid goes "Mets" and the Dad says "same difference." And just try to get a cab after the game.

Bonus: Hughes gets the loss. I'm in Vegas. I put 20 on the NL to win. Made 22.

I'll be in SF on the 17th and LA on the 22d.

When I saw Billy Crystal's "700 Sundays", the pre-show introduction was a tape of Bob Sheppard saying, "Your attention please ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, the part of Billy Crystal will be played by the Reverend Al Sharpton. If you're going to have a hard candy, please unwrap it now."

Great way to go into the break. I'm happy for all the CPF'ers in the crowd. And us too! Frankie must have read G-Fafif's latest column as he records a Ideal Save.

Well done Zvon.

METS: Pagan-CF Cora-2B Wright-3B Davis-1B Francoeur-RF Carter-LF Barajas-C Tejada-SS Santana-LHP Braves: 1. Prado 2B 2. Infante RF 3. L. Jones 3B 4. Glaus 1B 5. McCann C 6. Diaz LF 7. Escobar SS 8. Cabrera CF 9. Lowe RH