Amazin' Stories

Who's No. 1?

J erry Manuel put it out there in the open during pregame today - the Yankees are No. 1 in New York and the Mets are No. 2.

"Well, the Yankees have won (26) championships," he said. "They’ve been here longer. I think that the teams merged and did all that kind of stuff. But that’s just the way it is. That’s just my opinion now. I don’t speak for everybody else. That’s my opinion. Being a baseball person all these years, from the outside, I’ve seen it that way. In Chicago, if you asked me what was the favorite team in New York, I would have to say the Yankees.

"I don’t have a problem with that. I love playing them. I don’t have a problem, in Chicago, with saying that the Cubs, even though they never won; they were the team. Heck, I don’t have a problem with that. Use it as motivation. If you want to be first? Win. Win some world championships. Not just be first just by popularity or who wears what jersey, whatever...win some championships and then you can claim first. I don’t have a problem with that. I might have some people in my office when I get out of here. They might just be lined up: ‘Hey, I need to talk to you Jerry. What are you talking about?'"

While his point may be undisputed in popularity, are the Yankees No. 1 where it counts - on the field? Over at www.northjersey.com/forums we have a poll up. Let us know what you think.

Wrapping it up

J.P. Pelzman finishing up the doubleheader for Steve. Just call me Billy Wagner, although I don't own a New England Patriots cap [which is just as well considering I'll be at Jets' training camp starting next month]. I suppose Friday's day-night doubleheader perfectly epitomized the Mets' inconsistency.

A nine-run victory followed by a nine-run loss. Very symmetrical, yet still puzzling. The Mets had Sidney Ponson on the ropes in the first three innings, but Jose Reyes had a terrible at-bat with one out and the bases loaded in the second, swinging at the first pitch and popping to short. That was a situation in which Reyes needed to be disciplined and obviously wasn't.

About the split, he said, 'that's baseball. You never know what's going to happen. We're just happy to win one game out of two.' Well, maybe that's the problem right there.

Carlos Delgado, who was 0-for-2 with two walks after his nine-RBI outburst in the opener, said that Ponson 'changed speeds and kept the ball down. He made some good pitches and he got some big outs.'

David Wright, as per usual, spoke the truth, saying, 'we had our opportunities early. We kind of let him of the hook.'

One good thing about the second game was an unusual musical selection on the Shea P.A. It's been a long time since I've heard 'In My House' by the Mary Jane Girls, but after this loss, the Mets are only 21-17 in their house this season. That's just not good enough.

Let's Play Two

Maybe the oddest sight of the season - okay, odder was hanging in the lobby of the Westin outside of Anaheim waiting for a glimpse of Willie Randolph and seeing a mother-daughter set of Paris Hilton wanna-be's walk past the waiting cameras repeatedly hoping to be discovered - but back to this odd sighting was this one...

The Mets rolling into Yankee Stadium this morning, all dressed in their uniforms, for Game One of this day-night city-to-city doubleheader. One by one they walked in, looking more like a high school team than a $140 million payroll major league squad.

Oddly, even Mike Pelfrey, the starting pitcher for the game, was part of the bus ride. Asked why he didn't just get a car service ahead, one Mets official said that everyone was dressing at Shea. Seems a little odd. But it also seems to be working so far - with three strikeouts in the first inning (a run scored on a pair of flares) and another in the second.

I guess the odder sight will be their police-escorted departure for the ride back to Shea. The Mets will leave here in uniform - waiting until they get to their home clubhouse to shower and change.

Manuel labor

J.P. Pelzman in for Steve tonight. Jerry Manuel had his pitchers and infielders out for a little bit of remedial fielding practice this afternoon, such as the first baseman-to-pitcher flip. He said it was something that had been planned since Willie Randolph was still the manager, but that the Mets hadn't been able to get to it with all their West Coast trips. Fair point, but it is interesting that it was done the day after an 11-0 loss to a last-place team.

Manuel also wants all of his players to stretch at the same time in the name of 'team unity.' He certainly has some different ideas, and the Mets do have eight runs through four innings the night after he questioned the hitting approach, but this team still has plenty of issues and it won't be easy to correct them all quickly.

As for news, Ryan Church will begin a rehab assignment in Brooklyn tomorrow and could play against the Yankees by Saturday if all goes well. The seemingly perpetually hobbling Luis Castillo again is in the lineup and said he hopes to play as many games as he can this season.

And Robinson Cancel might want to savor tonight's game, because the third-string catcher could be DFAed by Friday to make room for IF Andy Phillips, who was claimed on waivers three days after being DFAed by the Reds. Phillips will join the team for the first game of the day-night, two-venue doubleheader Friday. I think he'll be able to find his way to the Bronx.

Manuel said he's hoping for an apology from umpire Brian Runge, who clearly bumped Manuel Tuesday night before ejecting him. He said he wouldn't want to see him suspended. That's a nice sentiment from Manuel, who is well-versed in the works of Gandhi, but I disagree. I think Runge needs to be suspended just as Mike Winters was last September for picking a fight with Milton Bradley. Umpires shouldn't make contact with players, managers and coaches and should refrain from being the instigators. Runge obviously was the instigator Tuesday.

Mets Fans Are...

...Not what you might be hearing today.

In some corners a fuss has been made - making me pretty happy that I'm here in Denver International Airport awaiting my delayed flight home rather than listening to the radio back home - about a comment made by Jerry Manuel Sunday morning.

The quote made my story, but not the way it was played in certain places. Here is the quote in question in its entirety:

“I’m going to say this and I hope you all don’t take this wrong,” he said. “I know you’re going to run out of here with something crazy on this. It’s very, very fertile ground for growth in Shea Stadium. It’s fertile ground for a teams growth and development.

“Sometimes fertile ground has fertilizer. Fertilizer is a good thing. It’s a good thing. You get the greatest results, get the most beautiful plants, when you put it in that type of fertile soil. That’s what we have the opportunity to do.”

The quote was in response to a question about how the reaction has been at Shea from the fans - and in particular how Aaron Heilman has responded to it.

Now, I think that Manuel might have been better served by simply saying, "It's been tough there, deservedly so, but I think Aaron and the rest of the team will turn the opinion by earning cheers. You make it through this - you know, if you can make it there you can make it anywhere."

He didn't. He used a thoughtful metaphor. One thing that certainly has been misconstrued - watch the tape, listen to the audio - he was not angry and not ripping the fans.

Well, the roundabout point of this is that he had his say and some places have had their say - the Post, WFAN. Now it's your chance. At the Record we have started a new forum for fans - not for me, not for our columnists - to vent, discuss and have their say.

This is the site: http://forums.northjersey.com/

Or you can simply  click here. 

Some fans have jumped in already and maybe you've seen it because I see a lot of views on the topics. So please feel free to comment on their - just as we love you to on this blog - so that we can see what your thoughts are.

Thanks as always.

Steve Popper

Aloha Alou

Moises Alou is currently working on his rehabilitation - again. But Jerry Manuel acknowledged that he is preparing for the possibility that Alou will never return.

"I probably have to plan that way," Manuel said. "But I would hope differently because he's such a tremendous hitter. I can't plan that that bat will be back in the fifth or sixth spot or fourth spot or wherever you put him in. But I can always hope for that to happen and that would be a tremendous pleasant surprise if it manifests that he's back in the lineup for an extended period of time."

Alou began this season by hoping for 500 at-bats, convinced that he was in prime health despite being 41 years old. But he suffered a hernia at the start of spring and didn't return until May 2. He got 47 at bats in, hitting .340 - like he always does. But he went down again, this time with a strained left calf.

Another stint on the DL brought him back June 10 - and after two at-bats he was feeling it again and was back on the DL. Manuel said he hasn't heard it from Alou or based it on medical evidence, but he believes that the frustration must be driving him to the end of his career.

"It's just that Moises, the tremendous warrior that he is, wants to play and I know how frustrating it is," Manuel said. "I've known him for a long time and how frustrating it's been for him. And there's got to be some thoughts of, 'I've had enough. This is to the point where it's not fun for me,' and somewhat embarrassing for him. That's why I have to think along the lines of him not being there. But I hope and encourage him that I've love to see you in there. I think Moises can probably hit until he's probably about 65 years old. Whether he can run now is a different thing.

"I think he's determined to get back. I think he wants to get back, but I do believe that if this happens in the fashion that it happened before, I think he'll have some serious problems, and he'll head to the house."

Mets Add Krivsky

The Mets made a front office move official Saturday, but no, it's not Omar Minaya departing or Tony Bernazard taking over. The team named Wayne Krivsky, recently bounced by the Reds where he was GM for two-plus seasons, as a Special Assistant to Minaya.

The two worked together in Texas and he will be responsible for major league scouting. The press release follows below:

This is Easy

By STEVE POPPER

STAFF WRITER

DENVER – The Mets have never had a chance to play two series at Coors Field in one season, but after the way the first one went you can’t blame them for appreciating the opportunity for a second chance.

The last time the Mets were here, less than one month ago, the trip included a cross-country flight by Omar Minaya to announce his support for Willie Randolph, a lifeless performance with a meeting between Randolph and ownership awaiting him on the way back, a groggy Ryan Church and for good measure, a lights out performance by Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook.

This time, Minaya has already made his trip and neither he nor Randolph was around. The lingering cloud of would Randolph survive was gone, in his place on the bench Jerry Manuel. And the only thing left to amend was facing Cook.

Like everything else, it changed. The Mets rocked Cook for 12 hits as they coasted to an easy 7-2 victory over the Rockies. Coupled with a loss by the Phillies, the Mets crept within 4 ½ games in the NL East.

Is it all as easy as changing managers, changing the mood with the move, too? Actually, Manuel doesn’t want to make it look quite that easy.

“Three years, Jeff and Fred (Wilpon),” he said with a laugh, joking about a contract extension necessary to make it all work. “I need three years.”

The Mets were actually playing better under Randolph in recent weeks despite the cloud that seemed to hover over the team. They had won the night he was fired and taken two of three from Texas before they boarded the plane for this trip.

Manuel has tinkered a bit, getting some of the players on the field early for extra batting practice and cutting back time from the regular sessions of BP. Considering that Cook shut them down in a complete game, four-hitter last time and they rocked him this time, maybe it works.

“When you change philosophies, even when you change people in this position and results happen early you feel good about it,” Manuel said. “The players, with the program we put in place, they feel good. When you get results early it’s a big boost for you, not only your confidence as an instructor but their confidence, too.”

“Jerry knows what he’s doing,” David Wright said. “He’s a great baseball mind. He’s got a plan for everything. I like how involved he’s getting, both with the hitters and the pitchers. He’s in every hitters meeting, every pitchers meeting. He’s out there throwing batting practice to us. I like that he’s been around the game a long time. He knows what he’s talking about.

“It’s good to be able to just focus on baseball, but at the same time it’s a lot more fun to win. The atmosphere is going to be more loose when we win and play complete games like today.”

The Mets turned this game early. John Maine, after surrendering a first-inning two-run homer, shut down the Rockies. And a five-run second inning, highlighted by a two-run blast by Carlos Delgado, was all the Mets needed. They strung together seven hits in that second inning, continuing to pile on after Delgado tied the score with his opposite field blast.

“It was huge,” Manuel said of the five-run outburst right after the Rockies had jumped in front, “Because Mr. Cook had shut us down the last time. He actually just dominated us. When they put up those two runs he had to feel pretty good that it was going to be a long night for us.”

Maine didn’t allow another run in going 6 2/3 innings, scattering four hits, although he was bothered at times by a blister on the middle finger of his right hand.

Manuel was asked just how long it would be before he felt that he could put his stamp on this club, he laughed.

“Let's see,” he said. “I need about a three-year deal. By the end I think I'll have it figured out, what about that?”

E-mail: popper@northjersey.com

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Punch The Clock

For the second straight game the Mets have a contingent of early arrivals working out - David Wright and Brian Schneider are repeat participants and are joined by Carlos Delgado, Ramon Castro and Fernando Tatis. Jerry Manuel is on the mound with the Mets coaching staff scattered around the outfield.

The Mets might need the extra work. They were shut down by Aaron Cook, who hurled a complete game four-hit, one-run effort against them on May 25, and he's on the mound again tonight against John Maine.

Whodunnit?

It seems that the blame game has found a cycle - Omar Minaya first, Jeff Wilpon next and then Tony Bernanzard - for who pushed Willie Randolph out.

I will say this: if Randolph was fired a week earlier that person might have been able to run for governor of New York. A clumsy handling (is there any other kind at Shea?) of the situation went so awry that it served to make Randolph a sympathetic figure among Mets fans, which is hard to believe considering Randolph couldn't make a pitching change without being serenaded with boos by the home crowd.

So my point is this, whoever pushed him out, it's done, over and it's time to move on. Did Minaya handle it well? Of course not. Did Wilpon clear the way for the ouster? Certainly. And was Bernazard easy to decipher as pushing Randolph out? Not a doubt.

The more pressing concern though isn't what Willie's friends think (seems like there are a lot more of them now than when he really needed them). The Mets had better figure out a way to thrive post-Willie or the reputation of the trio at the top will continue to sport a black eye.

That means figuring out what's wrong with this roster. Who stays? Who goes? Can the Mets win as presently constituted? The manager doesn't make nearly the difference that players do. It's time for the players to step forward - or step out.