The New York Mets are in a bit of a quandary as the waivers-free trade deadline nears.
This big budget team has been riddled by injuries this year, yet it lingers on the fringe of the playoff race.
The team seems too good to sell off players – especially with the cross-town Yankees rolling – but not good enough to trade its way back up the National League East ladder.
The streaking Phillies just made a big play for Roy Oswalt and the Braves seem determined to send manager Bobby Cox out a winner.
How can the Mets hope to catch the division leaders with their current team?
Should this team add a pitcher like Ted Lilly to bolster the rotation -- or just forget about it?
Manager Jerry Manuel is just trying to make the most of what he has. He seems like a pleasant fellow, but he could take the fall if the Mets miss postseason play again.
A big comeback victory Wednesday might have sent a positive signal to upper management and fans . . . but the Mets fell in 13 innings to the persistent Cardinals.
New York Post columnist Larry Brooks argued that the Mets showed enough fight to merit further investment this season:
“The result notwithstanding, last night is why you don't look at the percentages and determine that the Mets are just too much of a long shot for ownership to grant GM Omar Minaya the funds necessary to make a move by Saturday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. Because the chances of the Mets overcoming a 7½-game deficit in the East or a 6½-game deficit in the wild-card sweepstakes surely are no worse than the team's chances of coming back from the 6-0 deficit they faced against the Cardinals after the worst first inning of Johan Santana's career.”
But New York Daily News columnist Filip Bondy argued that the situation is hopeless.
“With the trade deadline looming on Saturday, there's nothing wrong with this club that two simple deals wouldn't fix: First, the Mets need to trade the Yankees to Kansas City, where their rivals would be less imposing. Then, they need to exchange MLB's playoff system with the ones in the NHL, NBA or NFL, where mediocrity is accepted as a viable credential for postseason participation.”
KNOWING YOUR PLACE ON THE FOOD CHAIN
Nationals pitcher Miguel Batista understood the negative fan reaction he received in Washington D.C. while filling in for injured hurler Stephen Strasburg.
“Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe,” he said, “then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos.”
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering what, exactly, happened to Santana Wednesday night:
How did Santana retire Albert Pujols twice in one inning, but let Jaime Garcia tag him for a key hit?
Will trade talks stalling, with Blake Hawksworth make the most of today’s start? Will he send the right message to management and his teammates?
Aren't press conferences more fun when put to a nice beat?
How come major league promotional nights aren't as much fun as minor league promotional nights?
Should Shaquille O'Neal go out on tour with Justin Bieber?
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Jay Mariotti, FanHouse: “For a moment there, you had to laugh out loud. Rick Pitino sat in a crowded courtroom Wednesday and testified that this Karen Cunagin Sypher woman whispered to him, unsnapped his pants in a booth at an otherwise empty Italian restaurant and proceeded to have sex with him. ‘Very briefly,’ he said. Oh, and we're all supposed to feel better now because he says the session was brief. It doesn't really matter, of course, whether Pitino used the entire shot clock or fired prematurely. Sex in a restaurant is sex in a restaurant, a particularly tacky and mindless act in any context, much less that involving a married man who is the most visible face of the University of Louisville.”
Mike Freeman, CBSSports.com: “No hitters are now like gumballs. They're everywhere. Rod Blagojevich's hair just threw one. No-hitters were once beautiful oddities, the rarest of sightings, like the Loch Ness monster or Tiger Woods' virginity. Now, many throw them: Lilliputians, the dude from Mad Men, the Prince of Wales. Brett Favre pitched a no-hitter after initially deciding not to. Even she threw one. This won't be a popular statement but it's true: The no-hitter is no longer truly special. It can't be when mostly average pitchers (not all, but mostly) are throwing so many this season while often making it look ridiculously easy. The no-hitter has lost its aura.”
Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports, on Joe Mauer playing hurt: “Mauer embodies the Twins in the same fashion Albert Pujols does the Cardinals, and Pujols has played with a torn ligament in his throwing elbow for seven years now. Part of the superstar ethos is commitment beyond reason. For Pujols, that means girding his elbow in ice and never drawing attention to it, even in the midst of a slump. And for Mauer, it necessitates his presence in the No. 3 hole for a Twins team lost without him.”
Jim Caple, ESPN.com: “I was listening to an NPR report about summer concert dates being canceled thanks to poor ticket sales. I have two thoughts. One, if ticket sales are low, perhaps the bands and promoters might want to consider lowering prices. Two, why do low ticket sales give the bands/promoters the right to cancel the show? Don't they still have an obligation to their fans? So they're not going to make quite as much money as they expected. Tough. Whatever happened to ‘The show must go on’? Suck it up, guys, and play. For crying out loud, if poor ticket sales were grounds for cancellations in baseball, the Pirates, Marlins and Athletics would never play a home game after Opening Day.”
MEGAPHONE
“Not much separates us right now. At least this season, there's more parity than in the past when teams were dominating. There are a lot of good teams, but nothing great.”
Mets manager Jerry Manuel, on the NL pennant race.
ELSEWHERE ON STLTODAY.COM
Why the Cards ought to trade for Astros pitcher Brett Myers.
