According to multiple reports the A’s have traded C Jason Kendall to the Cubs for C Rob Bowen and Double-A LHP Jerry Blevins.
The former All-Star Kendall is hitting .226 with 2 HR and 22 RBI this season for the A’s.
Bowen is hitting .212 with 2 HR and 13 RBI in 113 at-bats this season for [...]

The Game:
The Mets
(51-40) kick off a west coast swing with the first of three vs. the Padres (50-40) this evening at Petco Park, starting at 10:05 pm
EDT.
The Lineup:
Jose Reyes leads off, followed in order by Lastings Milledge, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Shawn Green, Jose Valentin and starting pitcher Jorge Sosa.The [...]

Just a reminder that you can still vote for the shortstop and third
baseman you want for MetsBlog’s All-Time Mets 25-Man Roster. The shortstop
vote is here and third base vote is here.
The polls will remain open until 11:59pm on Sunday, July 22.
We at MetsBlog thank you in advance for participating.

Vote for the third baseman to start for MetsBlog’s All-Time Mets 25-Man Roster.

…interesting…on WFAN, Mike Francesa speculates that because Omar Minaya wanted to fire Rick Down, who Willie Randolph hoped would stay, the two reached a compromise in which minaya would fire down, while willie’s request to release Julio Franco, omar’s guy, would happen as well…like i said, interesting…
…of course, there is no evidence of this, but [...]

Mets OF Moises Alou was the DH for the GCL Mets in a rehab game this afternoon, going 2-for-3 including a solo home run, a single and a walk.
…Elvis and Bigfoot were also in attendance…
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…hahahaha…very good, dj…
…actually, the word from florida is that alou is essentially major-league
ready, and after having visited [...]

Vote for the shortstop to start for MetsBlog’s All-Time Mets 25-Man Roster.

This season, at the beginning of each series, MetsBlog will attempt to
get the perspective of the opposition and their fans. From this, we
hope to be better educated on the opposition going into a series. It
also gives us a fine opportunity to highlight some of our favorite team
blogs.As the Mets head westward, we catch up with [...]

Mets GM Omar Minaya will be speaking at the Learning Annex in New York City on Wednesday, July 18, during attendees will have a chance to ask questions one-on-one and get autographs. 
According to the Learning Annex, Minaya will share his honest thoughts on the current team, as well as past teams and past stars; he’ll share what goes [...]

Tonight, the Mets begin a three-game series in San Diego against the Padres, then travel to Los Angeles for four games against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers have won the most games of any team in the National League, including four in a row, while the Padres have one less win than the Mets.
Meanwhile, the Braves face the last-place Reds [...]

Tomorrow, I will be talking with Mets OF Lastings Milledge during The MetsBlog Podcast.
Milledge and I will discuss how he deals with media, the pressure of being a ‘prospect,’ and his thoughts on loyalty.
During Wednesday’s and Thursday’s Podcast, Anthony and I will conduct a Blogger’s Roundtable and answer listener phone calls.
To leave a voice mail message [...]

Peter, from New York, among many, many other readers, sent in the following e-mail asking…
“Why not look at Griffey Junior…solid clubhouse presence, wouldn’t rock chemistry - still above average corner outfielder and his bat would take pressure off the middle of the lineup…What would it take?”

…griffey looks great this season, no doubt…
In 85 injury-free games for the [...]

…i’m back from my 10–day hiatus…it was a fun week…my wife and i went to las vegas and spent a day the grand canyon, which was amazing…every photo i have ever seen does not do it any justice…you just can’t grab the scope and scale of it until you are standing there…truly surreal…
…nevertheless, back to [...]

In an article for the Daily News, Mike Lupica tracks Ruben Gotay’s journey from relative obscurity to playing on the big stage of New York.
Lupica writes:
“When nobody wanted him in the spring, he went to New Orleans, the Mets’
Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. Then things started to
happen, because they always do in baseball.”

“I’m [...]

Yesterday, Billy Wagner allowed no runs, no runs and did not walk a batter in one inning against the Reds.
Wagner has not allowed a run since June 13 in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano each pitched a scoreless inning in yesterday’s win, as well.
Since June 9, Heilman has allowed a run to score [...]