The Mets are interested in Martinez, but I do not believe any hard offer was ever on the table – though this, again, may just be a matter of semantics.

The thing is, the Red Sox and Rays like Martinez as well.

“The Mets are trying to be creative, because they refuse to trade those top guys,” someone close to the team told me, which I assume means Brad Holt, Fernando Martinez, Jennry Mejia, Ike Davis and Wilmer Flores.

For what it’s worth, I believe the Indians might accept Jon Niese, Flores and Holt for Martinez, but that is an educated guess.

In the end, from what I can tell, the Mets do not feel pressure to make a trade before tomorrow’s 4 pm deadline.

They are confident in their prospects, and they’re also confident they will get Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner back during August, which is a lot more than any other team will acquire in trade.  Plus, they seem comfortable with what the waiver wire might make available in August.

Basically, having talked with people around the team, I believe the Mets are buyers and are looking for a creative way to get a bat, i.e., the in-season, offense version of last December’s three-way trade that brought on J.J. Putz.

In short, the Mets seem to have no interest in over-paying with top prospects when they are essentially set to acquire four All Stars in August.

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.’

“Each afternoon, eight players were immersed in card games as they waited for BP.  Another group was behind closed doors in the theater room watching concert videos, the music thumping so loudly through the walls that it could be heard clearly in the manager’s office as Jerry Manuel gave his daily media briefing – on camera… For the five or so players actually in the clubhouse, three were hunched over a laptop laughing over videos – presumably not of that night’s starting pitcher for the Nationals.”

…this sort of story was inevitable it seems… why is it the Mets can never just lose… there always has to be controversy, stories of apathy, poker and upheaval in management… i sometimes think it is just a product of a 24–hour news cycle in a city with dozens of reporters, media and columnists, talk radio, etc., flocking around the teams in need of something to talk and write about… i can’t imagine the Royals or Pirates deal with the same pressure and dynamic… at the same time, there is controversy, stories of apathy, poker and upheaval in management, and so it must be reported, it’s disheartening to hear, and it must be dealt with…

“They suck.  It’s like being in love with an alcoholic.  It’s like, you constantly defend her, and people are like, ‘Dude, your alcoholic friend is a mess,’ and you’re like, ‘Nah, you don’t know her like I do.’”

To listen to Breuer’s comments, go to Hugging Harold Reynolds.

“Privately, nearly everyone in the Mets clubhouse has come to the realization that they don’t have the horses to compete.”

…publicly, this is how most fans seem to feel, as well…

The Mets are 10–36 once trailing 1–0.

They are 4–35 when trailing at the end of the sixth inning.

…on one hand, i know the Mets are just seven losses back of the Wild Card, which is not at all insurmountable… it can and probably has been done, especially with 68 games left to be played, all with a handful of players likely to return from the disabled list…

…on the other hand, the clock is ticking, and, to win the Wild Card, the Mets would need to outplay seven other teams, and will probably need to go roughly 46–22… the thing is, nothing about the way this team is playing makes me think they can got on that sort of hot streak…

…pineiro was rocking a nasty slider, and was seemingly always ahead in the count… the Mets just kept topping it over and over again, all night… in fact, of the 29 batters the Mets sent to the plate, 21 hit the ball on the ground… incredible… i mean, he put on a ground-ball clinic, basically, and i hope Mike Pelfrey was watching…

“I know I’m going to throw the sinker,” Pineiro said, as quoted by the Post-Dispatch.  “If I have that pitch working, it’s going to make the slider better, the changeup better… That’s what Dave Duncan says before every game, ‘Have a good sinker. Keep it down.’”

…exactly… did you get that, mike…

“The sinker, that’s what he threw, here it is, hit it,” Daniel Murphy explained to reporters after the game.  “And we didn’t do a very good job.  I know personally, I didn’t.  I had four ABs that looked just like each other, and not in a good way… We just didn’t attack him the right way today.”

Following the game, David Wright said:

“When you’ve got a sinker-ball guy, who’s throwing the ball where he wants to and keeping it down, it’s tough to elevate and really tough to do a lot with… It’s tough to make adjustments when he’s got a game plan and he’s sticking to it, and he’s executing it… There’s nothing we could have done more other than try to find some holes, and that wasn’t happening tonight… When a sinker-ball pitcher is on you beat it in to the ground and hope for the best.”

…the Mets had a tough time against pineiro in April, too, as he executed the same game plan then… so, clearly, the Mets have a hard time with this guy… add him to the list of Mets Killers…

In case you missed last night’s game…

Click here, to watch SNY.TV’s Post Game Extra from last night’s loss to the Cardinals, featuring clips from the game; quotes from Jerry Manuel, and analysis from Ron, Keith and Gary.

“We’re not doing too many things right,” David Wright said, following yesterday’s loss to the Rayes.  “When you look at the standings, we’re in striking distance, but we’re concerned about how we’re playing right now.”

Fortunately, The Phillies went 1-8 on their just-completed home-stand.

“We’ll be fine,” Shane Victorino said, according to the News Journal.  “We’re defending champs, and we’re not defending champs for no reason.  At the end of the day, I’m walking out of this place,
and we’re still in first place.  That’s how you’ve got to look at it.”

In fact, the Mets are 3–8 since June 10, but have actually gained a game on the Phillies during that time.

I am afraid of roller coasters, mostly because of the heights and because I don’t like to be upside down.  However, it appears I can get the same rush of the up-and-down thrills, without the heights, all by simply rooting for the Mets.

The sad thing is, I feel like I’ve been on this ride for two years.

This season, I feel like the Mets have the parts and pieces to win games, but they just can’t get it together.  I mean, short of one hot week in May, the Mets have been all over the road.

Johan Santana is dominant, but John Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez struggle… Then, Pelfrey gets it together, and Santana falls apart… David Wright hits .350, but strikes out a ton… The starters are good, the bullpen stinks… The bullpen turns it on, the starters all get hurt… The team hits, but guys make base-running mistakes… The ball is fielded cleanly, then air-mailed over first… One guy comes off the disabled list, another guy goes on… He’s healthy today, then needs an MRI… and so on, and so on.

The Mets have 20 games between now and the All-Star break, 19 of which are against teams at or above .500, including the Dodgers  and Phillies.

The Dodgers, Mets and Phillies have all been linked in rumor to Penny so far this season.

Meanwhile, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, OF Jeremy Hermida is drawing a lot of interest from other teams, “but the offers haven’t been enticing.”

The 26–year-old Hermida is batting .276 with eight HR and 29 RBI in 63 games for the Marlins this season.

Hermida is arbitration eligible through 2011.

Jackson also reports that the Braves offered Jeff Francoeur to the Marlins for OF Cody Ross, but the Marlins turned it down.

This morning, on WFAN, Evan Roberts wondered if this would interest the Mets in swapping Ryan Church and a minor leaguer for  Francoeur, who is eligible to be a free agent after 2011.

Francoeur is batting .250 with four HR and 29 RBI for the Braves.

…i don’t understand why frenchy would be a better or worse option that church… i mean, all these guys are around the same caliber player…

Meanwhile, the Indians are asking more and more for infielder Mark DeRosa with every day that passes, it seems, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Indians have won seven of their last 11 games and are now six games out of first place.

The O’s will welcome the Mets this weekend in Baltimore.

According to Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com, the O’s are getting lots of interest in 1B-OF Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott.

…honestly, the sense i get is that the league is in lock down right now, with most teams waiting, watching and assessing their budgets and position in the league, and no trade is imminent… it sounds like no team is willing to take on serious money, yet few teams want to part with top prospects, except the Phillies… plus, there are only two, maybe three, teams who truly believe there is little chance they’ll make the playoffs… every one else still believes there is a chance, or, at least the chance of a run, which would keep fans interested enough to buy a few more tickets and stay tuned on TV…

…in other words, i really don’t think there will be a substantive up tick in trade rumors until after the All-Star break, which is a few weeks before the deadline…

“Modell’s Sporting Goods is looking for a dynamic duo of local Mets fans to represent the Mo’s Zone (sections 101 & 102 at Citi Field) for the remainder of the season!  If you think you’ve got the chops, come to the Modell’s Sporting Goods store located in Queens Center Mall on Tuesday, June 16th, from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. to show us what you’ve got. The first 20 duos to audition automatically win a pair of Mets tickets!”

…if you enter, good luck… and let us know how you do…

In the Bergen Record, Jeff Roberts takes a closer look at this rivalry, talking specifically with Phillies OF Shane Victorino, who said:

“In a way it’s good because it brings that electricity. Fans come into the stadium, they bring electricity.  As athletes, when you walk out onto the field, you hear that. You sense the energy, the feel… That’s what these two teams have. When you walk out on the field, it’s like, ‘Let’s get it on.’ It’s not that you want to fight, but you want to play the game hard.”

According to Roberts, “Victorino said Mets infielder Alex Cora told him the rivalry surpasses the Yankees-Red Sox feud.”

Victorino, however, later told reporters that the feud between the Mets and Phillies is more a product fans and reporters.

…i don’t know, shane, you look pretty cocky in these games, clapping your hands, taunting the Mets, and i swear i heard you and your teammates laughing, not celebrating, but laughing, on camera last night when Raul Ibanez drove in the go-ahead runs…

…by the way, now that Greg Maddux is out of baseball, i think victorino is my least favorite player in the league… seeing his face physically makes me mad…

Last off season, when asked if the Phillies believe the Mets are ‘choke artists,’ Cole Hamels told WFAN, “That’s kind of what we believe and what we’re gonna always believe until they prove us wrong.”

On Wednesday, when asked to respond, Carlos Beltran said, “I have better things to worry about in my life than to worry about Cole Hamels.”

Nevertheless, in post to Brooklyn Met Fan, Adam Salazar writes, “I hate to say it, but the Phillies are a better team than us right now.  We could give them a solid run for their money with Delgado and Reyes but without them it’s just not a fair fight.”

…i feel the same way, i think, and i like that… i like being the underdog, i like that the Mets are the team doing the chasing, because, honestly, playing from ahead the last two seasons didn’t work out so well…

By the way, to vote for this week’s Fan Confidence Rating, click here.