Didn’t Miss a Thing
I was gone for a few days, visiting Seattle and its beautiful Safeco Field (I’ll have a big posting on stadiums coming up soon). I missed Sunday’s 18-5 offensive outburst, but fortunately I was back in time to see Monday’s 13-3 embarrassment at the hands of the lowly Nationals. What a game it was — anytime Oliver Perez and Sean Green pitch in the same game, you know the outcome will not be a good one.
I thought for sure Jerry Manuel would be fired while I was gone. I can’t believe he still has a job, especially after losing five of seven to the Braves and Cubs. Maybe if they get swept in Washington, the Wilpons will finally pull the trigger. It really doesn’t matter, anyway. The season has been done for some time now.
Hopefully the Mets will play out the string with an eye towards the future — seeing if Josh Thole can be the starting catcher in 2011, determining if Ruben Tejada will be able to hit well enough to handle second base next year, and if Bobby Parnell can be the closer if the Mets are successful in voiding Francisco Rodriguez’s contract.
Perhaps most importantly, Carlos Beltran needs to show he is healthy. If he can, I think the Mets have a good chance of trading him. Many writers say no one will take a chance on Beltran. But I disagree. It’s only a one-year commitment, and $20 million isn’t a crazy salary for him if indeed he is healthy. The Mets might have to eat a little of that, but getting rid of the bulk of his contract is the only way the Mets can begin to rebuild this badly constructed team.