Mets Mess: K-Rod Goes to Brewers With Lots of Baggage

Article first published as Mets Mess: K-Rod Goes to Brewers With Lots of Baggage on Blogcritics.

Right after the end of last night's All-Star Game, The New York Mets traded "slugging" relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers for cash and two players to be named later. It could have been two turtle doves and a partridge in a pair tree as far as Mets fans are concerned; good-bye and good riddance to TKO Rod. Let's hope he took all his baggage with him on the way out the door.

The importance of the K-Rod trade is not just the fact that the team cut out a toxic element in the clubhouse, or saved lots of money on the payroll; it also says something about where GM Sandy Alderson thinks his 46-45 team is headed in the NL East: nowhere! That bodes well for impending trades of Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes by the July 31 trading deadline.

Now yes, by all accounts, K-Rod was trying to be a model citizen this year, and Beltran has never looked so thrilled to be in Flushing as he has in 2011. Also, even though now injured, Reyes was a lightning rod and had the team and its fans channeling Tug McGraw's "You Gotta Believe"  as they made their way to Citi Field. I'd hate to see his beaming smile gone from the Mets dugout, but that appears more likely now.

Alas Mets fans, reality has reared its ugly head. No matter how much little General Terry Collins has sparked this team, and no matter how well the AAA boys of Turner, Pridie, Evans, and company have played, the truth is it is going to be another "wait until next year" for the boys in blue and orange.

Sad for the team and sad for the fans, but this trade signals that mentality. Maybe now we can just sit back and enjoy the show, but there should be no illusions of a run for the wild card or even more bizarre delusions of catching the the Phillies. This trade put an end to all that.

Good bye to K-Rod and the 2011 season. Ah, just another day in the never ending Mets mess.

Photo Credit: AP

Mets Mess: Hire Martha Stewart As Manager Now!

Article first published as Mets Mess: Hire Martha Stewart As Manager Now! on Blogcritics.

If you are a fan of the New York Mets like I am, you must be steaming right about now. The organization treated the hiring of Sandy Alderson as General Manager like the second coming of Frank Cashen, but the truth be told I think they should have about as much confidence in him as the financial advice once given to them by Bernie Madoff.


Most baseball fans are familiar with the famous routine “Who's on First?” by comedians Abbott and Costello. It is an hilarious look at baseball in general and is apropos for the Mets in particular. Alderson is messing around with managerial interviews and taking forever; he should take a page from Mayor Bloomberg’s book: he fired Joel Klein and faster than you can say “Chico Escuela” he hired Cathie Black to lead our NYC public schools.

Hey, I have a great idea: Alderson should go out and hire Martha Stewart to run the Mets, and you know they could do worse. They have dissed Met favorite Wally Backman (who did a great job with the Single A Brooklyn Cyclones this year), and they are looking at everyone from Clint Hurdle to Pee Wee Herman to run the show. Come to think of it, I think Ms. Stewart would be an ideal manager. If Ms. Black can come in and run the city schools with no educational experience, surely Ms. Stewart could do the same thing with the Mets.

If we take a look at previous managers in the last twenty years - and that’s not such a great crop to be sure - the one that stands out to me is Willie Randolph. Fellow New Yorker Randolph, who grew up in Brooklyn as a Met fan, not only has the right pedigree but he is baseball smart. Now, Bobby Valentine is baseball smart too, but he also was as bad a combination with the Mets as are Bill Maher and Bill O’Reilly on their first date.

Now, back to the Abbott and Costello routine. There is no question that Alderson is putting around the green and not sinking any balls. He is obviously afraid of making a big mistake - before making an even bigger mistake of messing up the team more than it already is.

My advice is to hire Ms. Stewart and let’s get on with it. She will have the guys knitting in the clubhouse, making a mean soufflé before the game, and having tea parties after the game (don’t forget to extend those pinkies, guys). After Ms. Stewart is firmly ensconced in the field they call Citi (and I still say it should have been called Shea Stadium just the same way the Yankees called their new park by its rightful name), these are the things that need to be attended to before New Year’s Eve:

First Base: Ike Davis. Enough said.

Second Base: Let Luis Castillo and his wobbly legs go. Hire Orlando Hudson like yesterday.

Shortstop: Give Jose Reyes a chance to not lead-off and he will find himself again.

Third Base: David Wright is the Mets’ Derek Jeter. "Always and Forever." I can hear Martha singing now.

Leftfield: A guy named Carlos Beltran, who looked bad in center last year, will look pretty good out there. Give him a chance to belt 40 dingers, but please, no looking at a called strike three anymore, Carlos.

Centerfield: Angel Pagan, the little train that showed he could. Now he’s a locomotive. Chug-a-chug-a, Angel. This will be his year.

Rightfield: There’s a guy named Jason Werth out there now. Martha should send a hologram of herself to Fred Wilpon saying, “You’re my only hope, Obi-wan, get me Jason Werth.” The force is with him to be sure.

Catcher: Two words: Josh Thole. I bet that he will emerge as the Jerry Grote of this team. Now all he needs is his Tom Seaver.

Starters: Martha, get that hologram fired up again, and this time ask for Cliff Lee (a lefty Tom Seaver). The force is with him too, and this is what the Mets need to do to let the Yankees and their fans know who’s boss in this town again.

Bullpen: Sayonara, Hisanori Takahashi. You did well when we needed you, but you're headed elsewhere. Oh, and the Mets can drop Oliver Perez into the same dumpster where they put Castillo and forget about him. Also, like it or not, we are stuck with Francisco (I never met a guy I didn’t want to beat up) Rodriguez. Let’s hope he can be K-Rod again and not K-Dud.

Bench: Can we coax Lee Mazzilli and Rusty Staub out of retirement? Oh well, I guess not, but they have to find a few vets to round out the roster and come off the bench when we need a hit. Can anyone say Jeff Francoeur? Oh, Frenchy, we need you more than Sandy did in Grease. Don’t be a Mets dropout and please come home - fast!

So that’s my version of "Who’s on First?" Only in this case we have some real answers here. Now the big question is whether or not Sandy Alderson was brought in to talk a good talk or to walk the walk. Come on, Sandy, Martha is only a phone call away. She’ll drop that butternut squash soup and come running if you call. Do it now!

Good News for NY Mets Fans: K-Rod Gone with the Wind

Article first published as Good News for NY Mets Fans: K-Rod Gone with the Wind on Blogcritics.

For those of you Mets fans who are also movie buffs, do you remember that scene near the end of the classic movie Gone With the Wind, when Rhett Butler (Clarke Gable) and Scarlett O'Hara (Vivian Leigh) say their final words to each other. She asks him about what she will do without him, and Gable utters that famous line, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Well, flash forward to the drama that has unfolded with Mets closer Francisco (K-Rod) Rodriguez and his going all Joe Frazier on his poor girlfriend's father. K-Rod should have known better, probably did know better, but he was seeing red and cursing his way to a brawl as he entered the Mets' players family lounge. In front of other players' wives, children, and family members, K-Rod punched out an older man and, in the process, damaged his pitching hand.

We learned on Monday that K-Rod will be out the rest of the season because of the injury sustained during his tantrum. I was listening to talk radio here in New York yesterday, and some Mets fans were lamenting another lost season - as if K-Rod's departure is the only reason why the team is floundering - but most were happy to see him go. I count myself among them.

When the Mets signed K-Rod, there were rumors about his volatile personality. I discounted that as the usual stuff when a new guy comes to town, but as soon as he started closing for the Mets, I was less than impressed. He made Armando Benitez seem like Mariano Rivera the way he pitched, with the game almost always tediously on the brink of being lost with him on the mound. Despite his impressive save totals coming from the Angels, we didn't see him as invincible and, in fact, he seemed rather susceptible to being beaten all the time.

Now, it seems, the Mets will have a pastiche closer mechanism, judging from what Jerry Manuel had to say on SNY after Monday's game. It could be Hisanori Takahashi one night; Oliver Perez the next night, and so on. Hey, why not throw Luis Castillo in there and see what the heck he can do? The closer-by-committee version just might end up doing as good a job as K-Rod, but that's not saying much.

It is apparent that K-Rod now becomes K-Dud; he is gone and will not likely pitch for the Mets ever again. The Mets will try to void his contract based on his injury being caused as it was during a fight. The Players Association will probably take his side, but in the end we have to hope he goes someplace else and becomes a problem for another team.

The Mets and their fans know the truth and understand it has to be this way. Wouldn't be nice if K-Rod asked you, "Where will I pitch again?" to be able to answer, "Frankly, K-Dud, I don't give a damn"? Well, the Mets are going to say just that and then he can take his anger management classes in another city and drive their fans crazy with his antics. Gone with the wind never sounded so good!

Tricky Dickey Tosses 1-Hit Gem Against Phillies

Article first published as Tricky Dickey Tosses 1-Hit Gem Against Phillies on Blogcritics.

R. A. Dickey (8-5) beat the Phillies and gave the Mets their first back-to-back wins since June. In notching the one-hitter, Dickey accomplished what has been done twenty-five times previously by Mets pitchers. All who came before him -and now he - stood close to that brush with immortality, but the way things went last night, Dickey was more than happy to take the game the way it went.


Speaking on SNY after the game, Dickey was humble about the whole experience. When asked about the one hit of the game, a blooped single into right field by pitcher Cole Hamels (7-9), Dickey said, "And tonight, I am so thankful. It was a real gift. It was an outing where I didn't have a regret." He had thrown a knuckle ball to Hamels, but he hit it, and Dickey indicated that is the nature of things.

After that sixth inning single, Dickey got back to work retiring the Phillies hitters. This one-hitter is all the more satisfying because it comes against a lineup like the Phillies have, and in the minds of at least some of the players and the fans at Citi Field on Friday night, the Mets are still in the hunt in the National League East.

This second straight shutout (Johan Santana won 4-0 over the Rockies the day before) made it unnecessary to worry about the absence of Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets closer being suspended for two games for fighting with his girlfriend's father on Wednesday after the Mets dreadful 6-2 loss to the Rockies. Manager Jerry Manuel seemed happy to not have to think about who would have closed the game under different circumstances. He said of Santana and Dickey, "For those guys to take it upon themselves as starters to start and complete the game was huge for us."

It is undeniable that after the week of turmoil with Santana being accused of rape and K-Rod being arrested for assault, the Mets needed the peace that only winning can bring to the clubhouse. Those troubling things still exist in the periphery of their minds, but winning, especially over the Phillies, does heal things faster than anything else.

Now the Mets have to worry about the games yet to come, but for a brief moment on Friday night at Citi Field, there was a kind of hush over the crowd, a sensation that they were witnessing a great moment in Mets history. Even though it was not to be a no-hitter, it was an immeasurably significant win for a team that needed another win more than anything.

Will R.A. Dickey be the man to eventually get the Mets first no-hitter? Judging from last night's masterful performance, he may be just the guy to do it. Until then, the Mets and their fans finally have something to smile about.

Santana Blanks Rockies; K-Rod Does the Pokey Hokey

Article first published as Santana Blanks Rockies; K-Rod Does the Pokey Hokey on Blogcritics.

Oh, the slings and arrows of outrageous Mets fortune. Johan Santana is being accused by a woman of sexual assault, and Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) was hauled off to jail for attacking his girlfriend's father. These two guys obviously have a lot on their minds and on their plates, but Thursday's game turned out to be a good one for the Mets (57-57) as they defeated the Colorado Rockies (59-55) 4-0.

Santana was pitching like a man with a mission out there. He said after the victory that he told manager Jerry Manuel that he felt like going out and pitching ten innings. With K-Rod cooling his heels in court, suffice it to say that the Mets bullpen definitely needed a rest. Santana (10-6) scattered four hits en route to his second complete game of the season.

When reporters asked Santana about the situation with the woman who is accusing him in a civil law suit, Santana answered in his trademark calm and collected style. He said it is a matter for the courts and that was that. Whether or not he's guilty, Santana is certainly conducting himself like a gentlemen in public. Privately, if he had consensual sex with the woman (he is married) as he claims, or if he did indeed force himself on her, he is something less than gentlemanly.

Of course, everything is different with the combustible closer Rodriguez. After the Mets crushing defeat on Tuesday night, Rodriguez was apparently on a rampage. The Mets were up by a score of 2-1 in the eighth inning, but with two out and bases loaded, Manuel elected to not bring in Rodriguez and instead inserted Manny Acosta, who gave up a grand slam to ex-Met Melvin Mora. While K-Rod was right to feel slighted by this (and it proves Manuel's managing skills are severely in doubt), he tore into the clubhouse and cursed at reporters before going into the player's family lounge where he attacked his girlfriend's father.

K-Rod was released without bail on Thursday after appearing in Queens court, while a few miles away Santana was blanking the Rockies. The closer has been suspended by the team for two games, and perhaps more sanctions and punishment await him (including, perhaps, an anger management course?). A restraining order has been filed and he may not go near the house he shares with his girlfriend and her parents. All in all, it was a good day for one Mets pitcher and a very bad day for another.

Still, a fog hangs over the Mets clubhouse now. The allegations against Santana were bad enough to cause ill will with fans, but this thing with K-Rod puts things over the top. No matter how much you love the Mets - and many of us still do after everything that has happened during this disappointing year - this is straining the even most loyal fans and pushing them to the limit.

Santana and K-Rod. Is this what the Mets wanted when they signed these two guys? I know fans thought they would help bring a pennant our way, but once again that's not happening this year. It looks like legal matters are going to hound them both until the end of the season, and things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better as far as these two guys are concerned. That's the lot of Mets fans these days, and across town A-Rod must be smiling from ear-to-ear because no one seems worried about his cheating on his wife or taking steroids for three years anymore.

As they say, folks, only in New York.

The Mets Kids Are Alright

This article first appeared as The Mets Kids Are Alright on Blogcritics.

If the painful truth about another lost season started to set in around August 1 for the Mets and their fans, it took the team until August 7 to do something about it. Things were not working with the team as it was, and since no trade was made by the July 31 deadline, something had to give. It did yesterday.

The Mets released infielder Alex Cora, an all-around nice guy, good presence in the clubhouse, but batting only .207. They optioned outfielder Jesus Feliciano to Buffalo, and recalled infielder Ruben Tejada and outfielder Fernando Martinez. It seems that Martinez will get to play left field in the absence of Jason Bay (on DL with a concussion), and this could give the talented but yet to be proven player a chance to get a permanent spot on the team.

Even more good news awaited Mets fans: Luis Castillo and his two bad feet were benched, and that meant Tejada got to start at second base. Though Tejada batted only .212 when previously playing for the Mets this season, he has a great attitude and is a major improvement on defense over Castillo. With Tejada at second and Martinez in left field, the "new" look of the team is younger and certainly brighter than it was yesterday.

Meanwhile, pitcher Johan Santana (9-6) pitched a brilliant game on Saturday, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth. After Raul Ibanez struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch, Placido Polanco stroked a single up the middle to end the continuing Mets dream of getting their first no-hitter in team history.


Santana pitched very well into the eighth inning, leaving with two on base and one out. Francisco Rodriguez was then called upon for a five-out save (gulp). Luckily for the Mets and their fans, K-Rod escaped the jam in the eighth and pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 24th save.

Over all, it was a good day for the Mets in more ways than one. They won a tough game against their division rivals the Phillies, got some new blood on the field, and let it be known that they have heard the fans and are trying to do something to better the team. For this day at least, Mets fans had something to smile about for a change.