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Afternoon tweets from Heyman and Hubbuch: The Mets are out on Chapman--the MFYs are the front-runners. The Mets won't go after Lackey and will only spend big on a LF. The Mets are trying to refinance debt and will have to cut payroll. Acta to the Indians. If the Mets are saying that they are only interested in a LF, then a) they've driven up the cost for Holliday and Bay as their agents know that the Mets are interested and desperate because they don't have a back-up plan to improve the team.

I'm not discounting the idea--it doesn't take much to upgrade the Mets LF spot--but he strikes out 150 times a year. With Francoeur in right, don't the Mets have enough big K guys? http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/camermi01.shtml?redir Also, can he play LF? He hasn't played a corner OF spot since he was a Met (and we know what happened in SD).

Rained out tonight. The series drags on and on.

If Jeter walks on the cracks, they will magically seal.

The UFL game was moved from CF to Hofstra. During an event at CF, does the waiter pull a hammy?

The book was by Mike Freeman who writes for CBS Sportsline. According to the statements signed by Phillips, his wife, and their son, she's way more than "stalky", she's borderline Glenn Close. What I can't figure out is why Reynolds got fired for hugging when others have done far more.

From Adam Rubin: Forty-year-old rookie reliever Ken Takahashi won't return to the Mets in 2010. The Mets released the lefthander Tuesday. Takahashi was 0-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 28 relief appearances. He said at the end of the season that he intended to pitch next year, but that it might be back in Japan.

As tweeted by Bill Simmons, from today's game

I'm surprised that the runner managed to touch home. Way to go Angels!

It's just like watching the Mets. Bone-headed base running, lack of timely hitting.

Pat Sajak is allowed to root, isn't he? He's standing there w/his big head and not cheering.

http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/1050espnradio/archive?id=2693958

I just listened to the podcast of Gammons' appearance. As much as I like Gammons, he has consistently been a Minaya apologist. If Minaya wants us to believe that he's only the GM on paper, then it will make it easier for him to have an excuse and get a new job down the road. (A non-Mets story was when Gammons said that Joe Torre's life with the Dodgers was a "living hell", even worse than with the MFYs, and that "a lot" will come out about this.)

If you're staring out the window and waiting for spring training, here is an incomplete look at the Grapefruit League schedule: http://www.springtrainingonline.com/features/master-schedule.htm Lots of Cardinals and Marlins for the Mets. (And another game with Michigan!)

Papelbon yesterday, Street today. Makes you wonder if it's worth giving any closer, other than Rivera (sorry), big money.

What's surprising is that CB Bucknor and Angel Hernandez are umping in the post-season and neither made that lousy call.

Papelbon was never the same after the Santos homerun.

From a Phillies blog (which I swear I got to from a Mets site, not directly). What a bunch of cry babies! Didn't the Mets have a playoff game in Arizona that started at 10 PM our time? At least they can see or hear the game at work. (bolding added, below): ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The baseball gods threw hard-working Phillies fans a buzz-killing curve this week. But they sure were smiling on those with free afternoons or a propensity to fake a sniffle in the heat of a pennant race. The defending world champions play the Colorado Rockies today and Thursday beginning at 2:37 p.m., a time slot that has created a rare buyer�s market for the opening round of the Phillies� latest playoff march. Ticket-holders with job commitments are scrambling to sell. The ticket-less with time off or no qualms about playing hooky are capitalizing. In one case, 10 � count �em, 10 � tickets were available for $75 a pop, a bargain compared with those going for hundreds. �My friend and his family were supposed to go, but because the game is so early they can�t,� said Lisa Moise of Philadelphia, who advertised those 10 tickets on Craigslist for a friend who was stuck in the office Tuesday. �Literally, no one can get off. And I know they�re not the only ones.� That appeared to be an understatement. Tickets that have been hard to come by all season � the Phils broke an attendance record this season by selling out 72 of their 81 home games, including the final 41 � suddenly are ripe for the buying. During lunch hour on Tuesday, StubHub.com had 1,096 seats available for today�s game and nearly 1,200 for Thursday�s game. Prices were starting around $51 and went up to $2,000. One shrewd Craigslist poster was looking to take advantage of the unexpected supply: �Don�t have a lot of cash so looking for best ticket at lowest price.� For some, the early start times were a sobering blow to business. Take Gino Capobianchi. Following last year�s title run, the Philadelphia man bought season tickets for this year, specifically to sell them and make some money. He also guaranteed himself playoff tickets, which normally translate into a big payday on the open market. Capobianchi, who is 48 and unemployed, put a pair of tickets up on Craigslist for $400 apiece Saturday. By Tuesday, the asking price was down to $280 and heading south. �So far, nobody called because it�s a bad time,� Capobianchi said. �I�ll just lower the price until somebody calls.� He finds himself in an enviable win-win situation . If he doesn�t sell, he�ll make the 20-minute trip to Citizens Bank Park for the game. �I can still go,� he said. �When you�re out of work like half the city, you don�t have a schedule.� Brian Michael, the 28-year-old founder of http://www.philliesnation.com , has a schedule he has to keep. He had to reluctantly turn down offers for tickets to today�s game because of his job as a Web site manager and political fundraiser. He said some Phillies Nation followers were voicing their displeasure over Major League Baseball�s perceived mistreatment of the Phillies. �Obviously, because people can�t go, they feel the Phillies have been disrespected as the defending world champions,� he said. Faust Ruggiero, executive director of The Phillies Fan Union, a fan club that says it has 140,000 members, said he was getting mixed reviews on the game times and ticket sales. �Most of our members feel that the reigning World Series champions should have a prime time start for the first game,� he wrote in an e-mail. �We�re not hearing that very many are selling their tickets, though. Phillies fans tend to be more hard-core than that.� Mike Smith, a 25-year-old banker from Wilmington, Del., has eight tickets for today�s game and put six up for sale, four on StubHub.com and a pair on Craigslist. As of noon Tuesday, he sold one pair for $70 apiece � face value was $50 � and was expecting to get more bites on the others. �I couldn�t find any friends to go because they�re all working,� he said, adding he made more money on last year�s tickets. �Whoever is making the decisions is making the decisions based on viewership in the whole United States. I don�t think [the Phillies] deserve anything better just because they�re the World Series champions.� So what happens if sellers don�t get any takers? �I have no idea,� Moise said. �We�ll probably start giving them away.� http://www.philliesnation.com/archives/2009/10/day-games-leave-phillies-fans-who-have-tickets-and-commitments-desperately-trying-to-sell/

What a come down for Ron Darling to work with a MORON like Chip Carey after working with Gary Cohen.

I was there, too (we should have met somewhere BG). It was Castillo (of course) who stopped because he wasn't sure if the ball was trapped.

Based upon realistic expectations of what the player is capable of (you can't grade Sullivan the same way you'd grade Beltran): Omir Santos B Daniel Murphy C Luis Castillo# D Alex Cora* C David Wright B Gary Sheffield B Carlos Beltran# INC Jeff Francoeur B Fernando Tatis B Angel Pagan# B Brian Schneider* F Jeremy Reed* C Jose Reyes# INC Cory Sullivan* B Anderson Hernandez# F Carlos Delgado* INC Fernando Martinez* F Wilson Valdez B Nick Evans INC Josh Thole* B Ramon Martinez F (I don't even remember him) Angel Berroa F Argenis Reyes# F Emil Brown F Andy Green C (only for getting a walk that inspired a FAFIF column) Robinson Cancel F Mike Pelfrey C Johan Santana* B Tim Redding C John Maine INC Nelson Figueroa B Oliver Perez* F Patrick Misch* B Bobby Parnell B (as a reliever), D (as a starter) Fernando Nieve B Jonathon Niese* B Ken Takahashi* C Sean Green C Brian Stokes C Pedro Feliciano* A Tobi Stoner INC Lance Broadway C J.J. Putz INC Elmer Dessens C Frankie Rodriguez C

Well done and timely, Edgy.