The early buzz from New York is that Perez will initially seek a five-year deal worth more than $10 million per season, while eventually settling on a three– or four-year deal later in the off-season. 

I suspect the Mets will make a reasonable offer, which Perez will not accept, and then the Mets will move on – as they should.

Perez was 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA last season.

He had a great stretch during July and most of August.  Otherwise, he was all over the road, i.e., great start, bad start, good start, bad start, and so on, just as he had been the previous few seasons.

This off-season’s buzzword has to be ‘reliability,’ ‘consistency,’ etc., and Perez is anything but that, which is why I bet the Mets do not work hard to retain him.

As for Easley, he has a fan in Jerry Manuel, and he has a strong presence in the clubhouse, from what I can gather, so I would not be surprised to see him return on a one-year deal.

Easley is a good baseball player, who knows his role.  He struggled to hit from the bench this season, but did do well as a starter.  However, the Mets need to move forward and cut bait with people, to move on from the last two seasons, and if it’s not from the bench and bullpen, where will those cuts be made?

…thanks to Nate for the info, i guess…

Naturally, according to the same post, the best second baseman in baseball was Phillies 2B Chase Utley, followed by Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia and O’s 2B Brian Roberts.

In a recent report for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal wrote that the O’s could look to trade Roberts if the two sides do not reach agreement on a contract extension.

Omar Minaya:  They were hitting really well, but the reality is that Easley had a very good year.  I mean, we’ve got a really good bench.  And the fact that a lot of our guys were hurt, early those guys were hurt, we had injuries, and guys like Fernando Tatis – as a bench player – were outstanding, Easley as a bench player was outstanding.  Castro as a bench player did a very good job.  Those guys, though they may have numbers that look good in Triple A, still they have never been proven guys in the major leagues and you can’t take Triple-A numbers and correlate them to Major Leagues numbers.

Question 4, during which we talk about ‘gritty players,’ and how you scout such a player, will post at 12 pm.

To read a full transcript of this entire interview, click here.

Instead, Easley is still only able to be used as a ‘spot pinch hitter.’

Meanwhile, Luis Castillo is batting .200 in 15 games since returning from the disabled list, and Argenis Reyes has just one hit in his last 26 bats.

Regarding second base in general, Manuel said, “Yeah, we’ve got some issues, we’ve got some things we’ve got to deal with.”

Like I wrote last night, and like Manuel even said himself last week, Reyes, despite his issues at the plate, has an energy about him that is good for this team.  Plus, he is a more lively, more reliable defensive second baseman.

Look, for whatever reason, whether coincidence or not, the Mets play better when Reyes is in the lineup – or so it seems.

This should not be ignored, especially with just six games left.

Easley said he still feels pain in his quad when he walks, sits and gets up from sitting.

“Until I can get past that stage,” Easley told the New York Post, “It’s useless me trying to do anything.”

Jerry Manuel told WFAN prior to last night’s game that Easley’s quad muscle is still ‘tender,’ and he will likely remain unavailable until the weekend.

Easley told reporters that he hopes to take batting practice later this week.

For what it’s worth, the Mets are 5–4 in games started by Luis Castillo since he returned from the disabled list in late August, during which he is batting .200.

He also said that while Luis Ayala is ‘the guy,’ with regards to the ninth inning, he will not hesitate to pull him if he need be, though he does believe Ayala matches up well against the Nationals – as does Aaron Heilman.

According to a report in the Daily News, Easley said he felt a ‘pop,’ in the quad, during Saturday’s double header.

Today, in Newsday, although he quotes Easley as saying the injury is ‘pretty minor,’ Jim Baumbach writes, “It’s not clear when – or even if - Easley will return.”

For what it’s worth, Luis Castillo, who was 1 for 9 as the team’s starting second baseman this weekend, is batting .176 in 10 games since returning from the disabled list.

As a result, Castillo was booed heavily while walking off the field during yesterday’s loss to the Braves.

Manuel, as quoted by the New York Post:

“Castillo’s just a couple hits away from winning them back.  That’s all you’ve got to do to win the crowd back – get a big hit, make a great play.  They want you to do well.  He’s a good enough player that he can turn that around, and given the opportunity, I think he will.”

The thing is, I’d be willing to bet that they’re not just booing Castillo’s failures, but they’re also booing Omar Minaya for giving this guy a four-year deal – and rightfully so.

Meanwhile, Argenis Reyes is batting .211 against left-handed pitching, and just .247 against righties – so, it’s not like he’s that much better of a hitter.

Like SNY’s Ted Berg just said to me, the answer may be to finally put Daniel Murphy at second, put both Castillo and Reyes on the bench, and let Fernando Tatis start every day in left, which Manuel seemingly wants to do anyway.

According to a report in the Daily News, Easley said he felt a ‘pop,’ in the quad, during yesterday’s double header.

Tonight, Tatis will start in left field, instead of Evans, against LHP Jaime Moyer, because, according to Manuel, Tatis is better suited to face the ‘crafty,’ veteran.

…in other words, while murphy will most certainly play every day against right-handed pitchers, against whom he is batting .321, manuel will consider the night’s left-handed starting pitcher when debating evans, who is batting .340 against lefties, and tatis, who is batting .316 against lefties…

…jeez, jerry, that’s a lot to keep track of…

Also, Damion Easley will start at second base tonight, instead of Luis Castillo, suggesting they, too, are in a lefty-righty platoon.

For what it’s worth, Castillo is hitting .268 against right-handed pitching, compared to .227 against lefties, while Easley is batting .271 against left-handed pitching and .257 against righties.

…Update…

Later, during his nightly interview during WFAN’s pre-game show, Manuel said, of the 30 games that are left, Castillo will start ‘the bulk’ of them.

According to Manuel, Castillo is simply getting tonight ‘off.’