Benje309

Matthew Cerrone: Do not change your team, Benje.  My wife and I agree that the Mets and Yankees are not necessarily rivals.  She, like me, sees no on-field threat, so long as the teams are in separate leagues.  So, the Yankees success does not impact me, and the Mets success does not impact her.  Sure, it was difficult in 2000, no question.  I don’t think we talked the entire Subway Series.  Today, however, we just sort of ignore the fact that the other team exists, while rooting for one another’s individual happiness.  That said, if I see her watching a Yankees game, and she claps in excitement, I get a bit irritated.  I can’t help it.  But, the dynamic of the Mets fan to the Yankees fan is a lot different than that of the Yankees fan to the Mets fan, it seems.

Mike

Matthew Cerrone: I started MetsBlog.com in 2003, so I have blogged at this same rate about Art Howe, Kaz Matsui and even Jeff Duncan.  That said, this has been a particularly exhausting season, mostly because of the drama.

The game, the players, the on-field moments, the injuries, etc., that’s easy to blog about because I love baseball.  However, the Soap Opera that circles above this organization like a buzzard has seemingly grown in volume over the last few years – whether it’s sing-a-longs or beat writers lobbying for jobs or where to the put Apple or 3 a.m. firings, among other things.  I blame me, and the new media environment, frankly, which has brought the 24–7 News Cycle to sports.  In other words, stories that may have gone to bed in years past now last a full day to be picked over all afternoon on fan blogs, Twitter, beat writer blogs, SNY and talk radio.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I love every second of it.  I just wish, one day, the Mets could win in peace – and I know you agree.

In the end, though, I see this as just another year in the long, crazy story of being a Mets fan.  So, yes, while it’s sad to see the team lose, and while I’m frustrated about the direction they may be going, I am also excited about the potential for change, tomorrow’s roller coaster, and about blogging my experience being a fan going forward, be it tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that.

Papoon

Matthew Cerrone: Like most GMs, Minaya does not always with the team – this is not exclusive to the Mets, by the way.  Additionally, Ricco has traveled with the team quite often this season, and he quite often holds press conferences with reporters to update them on injuries, transactions, etc.  Interestingly, you are not the first person today to suggest this conspiracy theory to me.  I have written Ricco’s name many times before on MetsBlog.  Instead, I believe people are simply noticing it more now, because he’s been linked in print and on radio as a possible replacement for Minaya.  Last month, if people read ‘Ricco,’ they’d think, ‘Who’s that,’ and gloss over it.  Now, they think, ‘Oh, Minaya’s replacement,’ and it has people wondering what’s up.

The good news is, it gives them an opportunity to begin working on a new plan for the future.

The problem is, I am not sure the Mets have a plan.

The sense I get, from talking to people around, in, and connected to the team, is that ownership and Omar Minaya lack a definitive road map for where this organization is going, though they all believe there is the need for major change.

This may not be a bad thing, though.  I mean, a blank slate by choice can mean new opportunities.

Frankly, I believe blame is overrated.  Trying to assign blame or punish people for what happened in the past, in my view, is wasted energy.

Instead, Mets ownership would be better suited looking forward, while creating a goal for where this organization is headed.

What does it take to be successful in New York sports?  How does a team best balance entertainment, ticket sales and wins?  What is the team’s brand?  Who are the best people available to answer these questions, and get things done?

Is Minaya the man with answers and a plan?  If so, keep him.

If he is not the right person for the job, and someone else is, move on, and go get the best person available… and so on.

Hopefully, the Mets will take advantage of this opportunity to address these questions, and then act before the off season gets cooking.

…i watched thole in spring training, and was super impressed with his swing… he hits the ball square, lots of line drives…

Thole is batting .349 with 29 extra base hits and 40 RBI in 81 games for the Double-A B-Mets.

Last season, he switched from playing mostly first base to being a regular, every-day catcher.

In July, Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog wrote:

“There are still major questions surrounding Thole’s defense, mostly about his arm.  He’s improved his receiving skills to be adequate.  However, if he can’t stick behind the plate, his value drops dramatically.  As much as I love an OBP above .400 and a hitter who walks almost as much as he strikes out, he doesn’t have the power to profile as a classic first baseman.  Working in Thole’s favor at this point is his age (22), underlying hitting ability and work ethic, as even those who question his tools praise his effort.”

Matthew Cerrone: I thought I saw on your stats that you played a little first base in the past.  Is that something you are still working on?

Josh Thole: Yeah, I’m still working on it.  It’s always good to have an extra position if something ever happens and they need somebody to fill in, it’s always good to have that in your background.  In the previous years, I had played first base, and now, I just started catching.  It’s always something good to have in your back pocket. 

Matthew Cerrone: What’s the hardest part about catching?

Josh Thole: It’s really the mental part, getting the pitchers to really trust what you are doing back there and have 100 percent faith in whatever you do.  Once you get that established, everything kind of falls in to place and makes it a lot easier. 

Matthew Cerrone:  You’ve been with the organization for, I think, five years and came up when you were 18 years old.  What kind of adjustment is that?  I know what I was doing when I was 18, but, how is that like maturing through the minor leagues?

Josh Thole:  It’s fast.  I had to learn a lot of things really fast.  I grew up in a small town; mom and dad did everything for me.  18 years old, living down in Florida for my first year, learn how to do laundry, cook and get food on your own.  It was a little bit of an adjustment for me.

Matthew Cerrone: Did the coaches look out for you? 

Josh Thole: Yeah, they did.  Even a lot of the older guys that I had on the team definitely looked out for me, always kind of led me by hand and told me what to do, what not to do, that type of thing. 

Matthew Cerrone: What was the hardest thing to get used to going from Single-A to Double-A?  What are you really working on most at this level?

Josh Thole: Defense is the biggest thing right now.  I am just trying to hone everything and lock it all up: my throwing, receiving, blocking, all that stuff.  Obviously, every day, my hitting.  I’ve got to constantly keep working on that.  Our hitting coach, Bill Masse, is working every day with me.  That’s something that I come here, keep working every day and getting better. 

Matthew Cerrone: I saw you in spring training.  You’ve got an outstanding swing.  Growing up, who did admire?  Who did you idolize?  Who did you try to emulate?

Josh Thole: It’s kind of weird.  The swing actually started last year when I was in high-A, with Tim Teufel, our manager.  I was hitting .230, and I was hitting standing straight up.  All my hits were coming on two strikes.  That’s my two-strike swing, the spread out, choked up approach, and all of a sudden he told me, just stay with that and do it with no strikes, one strike, whatever.  So, I did, and that’s kind of where I started picking up with it and then I just I ran with it.

That said, usually, their big moves tend to blindside people, or at least creep up at the last minute.

So, who knows…

Nevertheless, like I said on Twitter this morning, I have two laptops running, one is streaming WFAN, the other is streaming ESPN Radio, AIM is on, I have ESPN News on TV, while DVR’ing MLB Network, with my cell phone to my right and a coffee to my left.

Stay tuned, and I’ll keep pouring the coffee…

“Are you surprised that you don’t hear any rumors of the Mets looking to make a trade to upgrade some weak areas?  Do you think the nightmare that Omar has created for himself has distracted him from the job at hand?”

I talked to two people who know Omar well, and who spoke with recently, and, though he feels very badly about the way things went down at the press conference, he is 100 percent focused on improving the team. 

From what I can tell, his scouts and assistants are working as usual, talking with other teams, building bridges and seeing what is available.

The thing is, that’s the problem, there isn’t much available to the Mets, because, while teams like their prospects, especially Ike Davis, Brad Holt and Jennry Mejia, it appears they are inexperienced to build a deal around.  The way I understand it, right now, because of where the economy is at, teams would rather trade a player like Victor Martinez for one or two major-league ready prospects, making little money but able to contribute today, like a Clay Buchholz, as opposed to accepting a basket of young, Double-A guys, who have yet to has any sustained success and are potentially years away.

From talking to prospectors around the game, I sense the Mets may have a top rated farm system two or three years from now, because of Davis, Wilmer Flores, Mejia, Holt and other pitchers getting attention; but, for now, they may be a tab short.

As for tomorrow’s 4 pm Trade Deadline, I believe the Mets are talking, be it with the Rays, O’s or others, but I honestly have no idea what they’re trying to accomplish.  In other words, stay tuned, as it would not shock me if they made a big trade, nor would it shock me if they get boxed out, despite Minaya’s best efforts.

Frankly, it’s not rocket science: they’re making contact with the bats, running and driving in runs, they’re playing tight defense and pitching well… that’s it… it’s not complicated.

“Even before today, everybody was thinking that we’re going to make a run at this thing,” Pelfrey explained.  “Everybody is pretty confident that after Oct. 4, we’ll still be playing… We’re just playing better baseball right now.  We keep this up and we get those guys back, you watch out.  We’re going to make a run at this.”

The team looks confident.

I was on field yesterday, before the game, and they all looked comfortable, there were lots of smiles, they had their kids around, the players looked relaxed and focused, they took early infield practice, the team stretched together, and there was lots of work going on, such as Carlos Delgado working with Daniel Murphy on defense out at first base.  Talking with people around the water cooler, I sense this the team is confident and comfortable with where they’re at, and, most important, they’re starting to settle in to roles, while knowing who they are, and what they’re about… dare I say, they have a little swagger.  Good timing, since, this is basically it, these next 26 games will make or break the season.

By the way, it appears several players are doing the Playoff Beard thing, such as Omir Santos, Brian Schneider, Angel Pagan, David Wright and Jeff Francoeur, among others.  Yikes, there are 62 games left, so, these guys will be approaching 2004 Johnny Damon territory if they keep it up through September… should be interesting.

In today’s Daily News, Rubin attempts to defends himself.

I will not lie.  This is difficult for me. 

On one hand, I think Rubin is an amazing reporter; one of the smartest people covering and thinking about the team; he has inspired and motivated me, especially early on when he was a big supporter of the blog; and I hate to think he may no longer be covering the Mets. I hope he is savvy enough to use this and spring boards himself in to a being a columnist, where I think he would be more influential than he is.

On the other hand, in so many ways, and on more than one occasion, Rubin has made it known to me and people I work with that he is not fan of what I do… or at least how I do it.  I am not sure why, though I have my suspicions; either way, I try not to make it personal, and just assume it is a part of the misunderstood imbalance between blogs and newspapers.  It’s not his fault or mine, I blame it on today’s media landscape… all while admiring his work.

In other words, it is difficult for me to comment on this issue between Rubin and the Mets, because I have my own positive and negative personally-involved feelings about both sides.

Regardless, this is all obnoxious.  It is. 

I realize these sort of off-field issues are fun for talk radio hosts, and for fans who call in to their shows.  Similarly, it gives fan-only bloggers the chance to spout off about who is right and who is wrong and who is an ‘idiot,’ who should be fired and who shouldn’t, all while knowing nothing about beat reporting, running a baseball team, and knowing nothing about the personalities involved in this story – and that’s OK, in some ways this is what we do.  Print reporters will most certainly be fired up, because they had one of their own attacked.

The thing is, sports media takes itself way, way too seriously as it is, be it talk radio to me to beat guys to fan blogs, so I am sure we will all be self-aggrandizing about this, and write and write and talk about it ad nauseum – I mean, I started this post off as such.

The thing is, while I care to a point, and while it makes for interesting afternoon theater, in the end, I want to watch baseball.

For pete’s sake, I’m a baseball fan.  All I want is for this team to play hard, play smart, make good decisions upstairs, win and let me and my friends and family have fun watching it all.

Seriously, is that so much to ask?

For more on what talk show hosts, reporters and bloggers are saying, click below:

This morning on WFAN, host and former professional athlete Boomer Esiason said:

“I understand where the Mets are coming from… You don’t win when you take on the media, but I understand what Omar Minaya is doing…So here is a guy who is supposed to be covering the day to day of the team, on field… and, now he’s taking on a member of the front office… There are beat writers, and then there are columnists… Minaya felt there were personal attacks on his buddy, Bernazard, and the Mets took a shot at Rubin because he was embarrassing them publicly… I know what Omar’s thinking.  Is the reason this guy is writing these stories because I didn’t give him a job… I don’t blame Omar.”

His co-host, Craig Carton, who once was a beat reporter, said:

“When the only guy writing the story about Tony Bernazard is the same guy looking for a job from me, why wouldn’t it dawn on Minaya… Look, I have lived that life of a beat reporter, I have covered three NFL teams, it’s not the easier job in the world, especially when covering a team losing, but, you can’t do that, you can’t look for work from the team… Do I think he ever said, ‘Cam I have a job with the Mets?’  I don’t know.  But, when you take off the reporter hat and play buddies, you’re crossing the line… Of course the Mets are mad at Adam Rubin, who he had a scoop about the Mets… But, you can’t be asking if you can be the guy to replace Bernazard, come on, you can’t do that… I think it’s a pretty fair assessment by Omar, and both sides are kind of right… It’s Fundamental Reporting 101… Rubin is a fantastic reporter, but he crossed an ethical line you cannot cross, period.”

Newspaper-Reporter-turned-Blogger Murray Chass says on his blog, Murray Chass, “In my view, though, Rubin was wrong because yes, Adam, it was a conflict of interest.”

James K from Amazin Avenue essentially agrees with Chass, saying Rubin is trying to have it both ways.

Adam, the Brooklyn Met Fan, believes Minaya’s actions yesterday will be the beginning of the end for him as GM of the Mets.

In a post to Faith and Fear, Greg Prince calls this politics at its worst.

Lastly, for or more Bernazard – you know, the guy who was actually fired – read Kristie Ackert’s report in the Daily News,

The Mets begin a 10–game homestand tonight.

The first series will be four games against the Rockies, who lead the Mets by 7.5 games for the Wild Card race.

The Mets need to win this series, it’s that simple.

The thing is, it’s not just these 10 home games, it’s the next 28 games, during which 21 will be in Citi Field.

What’s more, most of the 28 games are against teams they are chasing, as well as the lowly D-Backs and Padres.

In other words, in the mode of Lloyd Christmas, there is a chance, because if the Mets can win a bulk of these next 28 games, they will also be tacking on losses for the very teams they are chasing.

“We’ve got a shot,” Jeff Francoeur told reporters yesterday evening.  “We’ve got 65 games left, and I guarantee you every person on this team will fight their asses off to the end.”

I like Francoeur’s spirit.

28 more games.

Play hard, play smart, maybe get some players back from injury, beat the teams ahead of you, and, hopefully, you can make this interesting, Frenchy.

In other words, like Johnny G would say, ‘Let’s do this.’