Tonight, I was one of the selected few who was privileged enough to attend what was yet another atrocious loss for the Mets. After starting off strong, everything fell apart, and the rest is history. But hold on one second. Not everything is lost.

First of all, two positive things happened while I was in Queens. It makes me forget about the loss, and even forget about the injury to Jose Reyes. First off, while my father and I were walking to the stadium, a man wearing orange and blue non-Met clothes was walking away from the stadium with a shopping cart. He hit a dent in the curb and his cart fell over, and I laughed out loud.

I couldn’t hope but see the irony. He clearly represents the Mets’ franchise. They are in shambles and so was he. But he picked his stuff up and got going in the right direction, so hopefully, someday before I die, the Mets will figure out how to do the same.

The second thing that happened was what my father and I considered the turning point of the game. For those of you who are frequent fliers at Citi Field, you know how the Mets sing “Hands Up” while a section of idiots holds up Cocoa Butter. Tonight, I was one of those idiots, and once they handed the bottles out, the Mets took a turn for the worse. That’s gotta be the reason.

So for those of you who couldn’t find any positives about an 11-4 loss, you’re welcome for the assistance.

My father approached me yesterday with an ongoing conversation that was going on during the Joe and Evan Show on WFAN. Apparently, a fan called in and said the Mets and Rays match up on a potential blockbuster off season trade, and the hosts prepared themselves for a horrible proposal.

They wouldn’t get such a proposal though, as the fan suggested something that not only makes sense for the Mets, but it makes sense for the Rays as well.

Mets Get: B.J. Upton, Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza
Rays Get: Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and mid level prospect

From the Mets Perspective: I am not sure this is a trade I would pull the trigger on. While the deal clearly solves the Mets’ problem of not having a bonifide number two starter behind Santana, it also leaves them without the sparkplug that they have known for the last several years. The Mets would need to completely find a new identity, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for this club.

As far as losing Beltran, I would certainly not lose any sleep over it. Beltran’s contract expires after next season, and he could be a nice addition for the Rays if he still has some left in the tank.

From the Rays Perspective: The lackadaisical B.J. Upton would no longer be the Rays problem, and they would have a replacement at the top of the order for Carl Crawford. Reyes also provides the Rays with solid defense up the middle.

The known fact around baseball is that either Shields or Garza won’t be a Ray much longer, so you would figure that they would have to listen to offers.

There is no truth to this rumor. Let me know if you think the two things could maybe work something out.

For some reason that I cannot explain, I am sitting in my bedroom watching the Mets vs. Rockies game. That’s almost as crazy as what I did last night, which is attend the Mets against Ubaldo Jimenez show in person, which I still cannot believe they won. Some people say that the Mets can now wipe the slate clean and start fresh at .500, but is that the case with David Wright?

I think not.

David looks completely lost at the plate right now, and he has now had dry spells like this on many different occasions this year. What’s causing it? Do you want to blame the home run derby? I don’t, but I think the hitter we used to know as David Wright has definitely evolved into something else.

First of all, what happened to the patience? You know the Mets are in trouble when the most patient hitters on the team are Angel Pagan and Josh Thole. But Wright goes up to the plate, and his at-bats have gotten very predictable. Shall I walk you through it? Alright.

“Now batting, number five, Dayyyyyvid Wright!” If this is late in the game and there are runners in position, then the results are easy to figure out. Some version of sandstorm is on the PA System. The crowd is hyped. Everyone thinks that this is the time that Wright will get the big hit, but we all know what’s going to happen.

The first pitch is a fastball, down and away, and Wright whiffs badly while pulling his head out. The next pitch is a foot outside, and Wright generously lays off. The next pitch is off speed and Wright commits way too early, but is bailed out by a pitch that just misses. On 2-1, this is a make or break pitch for the pitcher, and Wright takes a big uppercut swing, and he fouls it back. Again, he pulls his head out. On 2-2, Wright takes a borderline pitch, which is either a called strike three or ball three. The next pitch is the payoff pitch. If the bases are loaded, the runners will be going, but Wright swings and misses at ball four to end the inning.

With over 120 strikeouts already, Wright has become inconsistent. When you say his name, a guy like Derek Bell comes to mind. While Wright is clearly the superior talent, he disappears for two weeks at a time, which is something Bell did very much as well.

I have always blamed Howard Johnson for Wright’s misgivings, but word around the team is that HoJo works with Wright often. So what’s the problem? I guess that’s the million dollar question.

He puts up numbers, but he is not the backbone that this team needs.

In just a few short days, the Mets are going to need to make a decision regarding veteran right hander Sean Green. Green, who has been doing well in the minors after being misdisagnosed in April, is finally ready to make his return. But, here’s the question. Who would go to make room for him?

I myself have never been the biggest Green fan. Although I heard good things when he was acquired as part of the JJ Putz deal, he never really materialized to much. We all thought he would be the second coming of Chad Bradford, but all he showed us was disappointment.

So who would go to make room for Green? Let’s look at some potential suspects.

First we look at the bullpen itself. We have Oliver Perez, but the Mets are not man enough to eat the money left on his contact. Cross him off the list. Elmer Dessens has been solid, so he’s staying put, as is the case with Manny Acosta. I think that means either Parnell or Valdes would go, but one could argue that Valdes is worth keeping around. If it were me, I would ignore Green and keep the bullpen as is.

Your thoughts?

The Mets season quickly spun out of control and if you break this season down, you’ll see that the number 2 has played a large part in their demise.

First let’s start by the last time the Mets actually won 2 games in a row. You have to go back all the way to a series in late June against the Detroit tigers on the 22nd and 23rd since they’ve had at least a 2 game winning streak. That’s nearly a month and a half of mediocre baseball. Fans keep hoping that this team goes on a real hot streak of winning 15 out of 20 games, maybe this team still has a run left but if they can’t put a simple 2 game winning streak together then this season is done which means that the Wilpons goal of meaningful games in September does not look 2 promising.

Next, the Mets are in a division where there are clearly 2 teams better than them this season. The Braves playing great baseball and trying to get into the playoffs to give Bobby Cox one last chance at the playoffs are 64-48 and lead the division by one game over the Phillies and 8 over the Mets as of today. The Phillies whos injuries resemble what the Mets went through last year playing without Utley, Howard, Victorino and they lost Rollins earlier in the year are still 7 games better than the Mets. Another thing the Phillies went out was make-up for the mistake of trading away Cliff Lee in the off-season and they went out and got Roy Oswalt, getting a starting pitcher, what a concept!

The Mets are second class citizens in their own city and when you share the stage with the Yankees, you’re bound to not only be over shadowed but constantly compared to big brother. The Mets are the number 2 team in NY and with the Yankees in first place they still went out during the trade deadline and got Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood and Austin Kearns, compare that with the Mets being shut out of the trade market and it’s very easy to see why the Mets continue 2 be in second place.

Two guys the Mets shouldn’t have come in to this season with were Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, yet not only did they start this season with the Mets, Perez had a spot in the rotation while Castillo batted 2nd and played a miserable 2nd base on top of being extremely limited offensively. The Mets should have cut ties with these players who are both terrible signings by Omar that should eventually cost him his job, but we all know that “as sure as the sun comes up tomorrow” Omar will have his job.

Although Jerry was a breathe of fresh air to the Mets when he took over for Willie, the Mets made a mistake in keeping him on after the 08 season. Jerry Manuel wasn’t exactly an innocent bystander in 07 when the Mets collapsed, he was Willie’s bench coach and in 08 when the Mets again didn’t make the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row choking games away again, the Mets should’ve gotten a fresh start with a new voice in the dugout. Jerry can’t be blamed for last year with all those injuries to the team but after the team was picked by SI to win the World Series, they won only 70 games and 4th in their division. The Mets have given Jerry 2 years 2 long.

Just recently the Mets brought up 2 prospects in Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez to try and inject some life in what is becoming a lifeless team, but they only have 2 consistent pitchers in Santana and not Pelfrey as Dickey has out-pitched him recently. They still have 2 stars they can continue to build around in David Wright and Jose Reyes, 2 star players in Jason Bay and Beltran that don’t look like the same players. Ultimately the Mets two most important positions they must fill this off-season will be the GM and manager slots and until that happens the Mets won’t be able to add the their 2 championships.

I was going through my email this morning, and I got a funny email from someone claiming to be Lenny Dykstra. The content of the email is below, and I figured it to be too funny to not be shared.

Dear Friends,

http://nailz4gm.blogspot.com/

Now, when I first read this, I was cracking up, but then that changed into a bit of sadness. Dykstra had this city in the palm of his hands, and now, his life has turned to shambles. He has had a history of drinking problems, and those certainly contributed to the end of his playing career.

He also tried to venture into new mediums after his baseball days were over, but all he has really done is get himself into a bigger money hole than ever. He has been so strapped for cash that he auctioned off his 1986 World Series ring. I guess it meant more to all of us as Mets’ fans than it ever meant to him.

So let’s break this down. He has won a title with the Mets, and he is now a mere shell of the person that he used to be. Knowing how the Wilpons work, that probably makes him an ideal candidate for the position if they reconsider their stance on Omar.

I’m one of the most lax Mets fans I know. It takes a ton to get me worked up over something Mets related. I’m the kind of person that still completely refuses believe that the Mets are out of it. But Jerry Manuel is really starting to grind my gears, and I may actually be the last Met fans to admit that I feel that way.

But seriously, I absolutely love a manager that knows how to smile and have a good time. I think those are great qualities in management, but now you have Jerry taking it to a whole new level. In fact, he’s cranked the clowning around-o-meter to full blast. Some of these managerial decisions are becoming too costly, especially after seeing how he mishandled Pelfrey and the pen last night.

I look back a ton of instances that Jerry impacted the team negatively, and I’m just disappointed because if somebody at the helm could make some real aggressive managerial moves, the Mets season might at least look a little different.

Out with Jerry Manuel? Well, we are certainly nearing the time for it. Is now precisely the time? Well, maybe not. Numerically, with the Mets being 7.5 games out of first, they are technically still in contention. I wouldn’t want to see a shakeup right now unless they bring in somebody in house who knows what it means to win. In that case, options are slim.

A drastic change of course at this point wouldn’t be good for the team either. The Mets right now, are what they are. They are striving for new coaching leadership; new leadership that should be brought to light very quickly in the off-season. My doctor told me that Jerry is giving me too much indigestion, and boy I’m sick of the heartburn.

Two days ago, I had the pleasure to be a part of a post-trade deadline roundtable with Frank Gray of Mets Gazette, Michael Baron of Metsblog, Kerel Cooper from On the Black, and Mack Ade from Mack’s Mets.

We talk about the Mets, and nobody holds back, especially yours truly. Check it out below.

Mets Paradise Blogger Roundtable

After I just witnessed that 13 inning debacle at Citi Field last night, I thought things could not get any worse. I was wrong. According to Fox 26 in Houston, the Astros are on the verge of sending Roy Oswalt to the Phillies.

According to the report, the players and money have been agreed upon, and the only thing left would be for Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause. Although reports have varied, Oswalt has said that he wouldn’t mind pitching on the east coast, and it looks like that might just happen.

Various media outlets are trying to confirm this report, so stay tuned.

First of all, a hat tip goes to longtime friend Jay Morgenthal for sending me this story. As he says to me, I will say to you. If you are eating something…stop, because this might make you sick.

According to ESPN, in its published vendor inspection report of Citi Field, 45 percent of inspections had critical violations, which included that “Inspectors found 20 pounds of grilled chicken registered at 70 degrees in a refrigerator, about 30 degrees warmer than allowed.”

For all of the money that we pay to go to the ball park, is it possible for regulations to be met? For those of you fans who root for that other New York baseball team, let me share. The article goes state by state and explains how each stadium did.

For those of you who think the Yankees are perfect, you are wrong. Yankee Stadium registered a 48 percent violation rate. Reported violations include “Five hot dogs registered 91 degrees in a hot-holding unit when they were supposed to be no cooler than 140. Inspectors also had a vendor dump a bottle of Chivas Regal whiskey containing dead fruit flies.”

GROSS! Fruit flies? I knew there was something wrong with those fans.

The worst you wonder? How about Madison Square Garden? 61 percent everyone, and I will leave you with the reason why. “At one stand, inspectors found “53 mouse excreta” (38 on top of a metal box underneath the cash registers in the front food-prep/service area and 15 on top of a carbonated-beverage dispensing unit).”