Greg from Faith and Fear in Flushing offers a medley to salute the 1999 Mets.

Meanwhile, Matt from New York Baseball Digest thinks that Josh Johnson could be cheaper in terms of dealing prospects than signing John Lackey to a free agent deal.

Joe Janish from Mets Today lists ten free agent fears for Mets fans.

Finally, Adam Salazar, the Brooklyn Met Fan, has joined Twitter, and you can follow him here.

…i think with each of the names that have been mentioned so far, the Mets aren’t just looking towards improving and contending for 2010…

Matthews says the Mets are “creating the illusion of being competitive without actually being competitive at all” by intending to spend on free agents this winter, and considering this winter’s free agent class is not that strong, the believes the Mets should change their course by “sitting this winter out” and not over-spending on sub-par free agents.

…i agree that they should not over spend on certain players, but that doesn’t they can or should stand pat…

…that said, any move that is made should be made to improve the team for the future, and the same goes for moves the team doesn’t make…i think there are better long-term opportunities on the trade market, but i don’t think acquiring a free agent like Matt Holliday or John Lackey are moves that hijack the organization’s future because they allow them to keep their top prospects in the minors and it helps to reinforce the foundation that they have with David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Johan Santana…these are four of the premier talents in baseball, and they are all on one team and each of them, when healthy, can make an immediate and positive impact, so by adding to that talent base with the key free agents that are available this year will only help this organization to succeed in 2010 and in future years…

…i know the Mets haven’t had a pretty three years, and there are no guarantees for next year but one thing that seems to be forgotten is that the Mets don’t need to make a splash and they don’t just need to spend money to give themselves credibility no matter what year it is, and that is where i agree with Mathews…the Mets are really in a transitional period right now in that they need to move on from certain players while looking to bring in some fresh faces and the goal should not just be to win in 2010 but to build a strong organization that is capable of winning for the next ten years…so, the first thing i think they need to do is ensure their current crop of players is healthy and back in shape, followed by ensuring that every member of the organization has one vision in mind, which is winning at all costs, and then adding players that share the same vision whether they are high priced or not…

For more on this, check out Newsday here.

Meanwhile, Eli from Mets Underground wonders whether or not Jerry Manuel is in trouble considering the team has hired Dave Jauss as their bench coach, and reminds us that if Jauss succeeded Manuel, it wouldn’t be the first time that has happened.

…no matter who they hire on their coaching staff, if the Mets are sluggish out of the gate next season, i think Jerry will be in trouble whether he deserves it or not…

John from Metstradamus shares a conversation between Matt Holliday, Jeff Wilpon, and Omar Minaya.

Ed from Mets Fever has found an inexpensive version of Mark DeRosa.

Finally, Ted Berg, in a post to his blog TedQuarters, talks about the future of Mets prospect Reese Havens.

According to Ladson the Nationals are interested in having Lackey serve as a mentor to John Lannan and prospects Stephen Strasburg and Ross Detwiler.

Meanwhile, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times says the Braves are among those interested in Mark De Rosa.

However, according to Hernandez, De Rosa’s agent, Keith Grunewald, says that the Braves are one of twelve teams interested, including the Mets and the Yankees.

Finally, Evan Brunell of The Hardball Times wonders if Omar Vizquel would be willing to backup Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley in Philadelphia.

According to Rosenthal, the agent for Wagner, Bean Stringfellow, says, “Teams that called are aware that he’s a Type A free agent, and they’re calling anyway.”

Meanwhile, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com says that while the Phillies have bigger fish to fry than finding a replacement for Eric Bruntlett, it’s important because they have very little depth behind Jimmy Rollins.  Zolecki says the Phillies are looking at John McDonald, Omar Vizquel, Jamey Carroll, Ronnie Belliard and Juan Uribe as possible replacements.

Finally, According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, Scott Olsen, who tore the labrum in his throwing shoulder, says his arm is 100 percent.

Olsen appeared in just 11 games and went just 2-4 with a 6.03 ERA for the Nationals in 2009 after being traded from the Marlins along with Josh Willingham last winter.

Joe from Mets Today would like prospect Jenrry Mejia to develop, as he sees “no reason to push him up the ladder”.

Joe D from Mets Merized Online prefers that the Mets John Lackey over Roy Halladay.

Finally, take a look at an in depth look at Josh Thole here.

Kerel Cooper, in a post to his blog On the Black, reviews a new book about the 1969 Mets.

Meanwhile, Tom from MetsGuide feels that trading for Roy Halladay would be a bad idea.

Andrew from The ‘Ropolitans wonders who is the most exciting Mets prospect.

Also, Syler from Amazin’ Avenue offers his unique plan for the Mets this offseason, while Drew from Mets Fans Forever analyzes the Mets infield and offers some predictions for 2010.

In a post to Mets Today, Joe Janish wonders how swapping Juan Pierre for Luis Castillo would help the Mets.

Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to my “Mets Photo of the Day” on Twitter here.

Both Feinsand and Madden say that most teams are looking to trim payroll, thus making many big names available via trade.

…at this point, it’s hard to determine what the Mets course is going to be since it’s still so early and no free agents are even available except their own, but ownership has said they will have among the highest payrolls in baseball once again…of course, they could trim payroll and still be among the highest, but i think teams like the Mets, who are in big markets and still have a lot of capital will be looking at both and trying to take advantage of some bargains that might be available via trade and free agency…

The report says players like Lance Berkman, Carl Crawford and Brandon Phillips could be made available by their respective teams.

…i’d be surprised if Crawford is traded this winter, only because i feel the Rays want to win and feel they can win, but Crawford is an integral piece to their puzzle, but if Berkman is made available, he is an interesting piece because he can play the outfield or first base, hits for power and is a good on base guy, however he will be 34 at the start of Spring Training and will probably want a contract extension beyond 2010 if he is traded…

…Phillips is ideal but only if the Mets can trade Luis Castillo…he will be 29 in June and has already established himself as a five tool player…i’d be surprised if the Mets were able to acquire him, only because at this point, i think they would be looking to use their top prospects in deals for pitching, first base or the outfield…despite hitting over .300 i think Castillo is a weak link, but when a team loses 92 games, there aren’t just a couple of problems…

For more on the trade and free agent markets, check out Feinsand and Madden’s article in the News here.

Updated by Matthew Cerrone, at 10:00 am:

…the buzz around baseball suggests teams are probably going to hold off doing anything major until around the middle of December, to see who exactly ends up being non tendered, because it is expected that there could be up as many as 100 additional free agents to hit the open market… additionally, it sounds like the Mets are very focused on that end of the market, seeing it as a way to build out the edges of the bench, bullpen, rotation, etc… in fact, every time i talk to anyone connected to the Mets, it seems they use the words non and tender at least once...

While the Nationals could leave Guzman at short stop and pursue a second baseman, Rosenthal and Morosi say the Nationals are interested in both  Alex Gonzalez and Adam Everett as defensive oriented short stops.

A potential solution for the Nationals at second base, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, could be Dan Uggla,  but there will be competition from the Giants and Orioles, and Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution says it’s possible the Braves could acquire Uggla and move him to left field.

However, Orioles General Manager Andy McPhail told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he is uncertain how Uggla might perform in the American League, and might not be interested in a short term fix at second base.

…i think Uggla is better suited in the American League where he can DH…he has great power but has glass hands at second base…he made 16 errors at second and only Felipe Lopez made more at that position in the National League…

Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes that the Phillies are looking at Placido Polanco, Mark DeRosa, and Adrian Beltre, in that order, to fill their third base vacancy.

Polanco was with the Phillies between 2002 and 2005 and just finished a four year, $18.4 million deal with the Tigers.