Friday Morning Applesauce: Larry can't retire soon enough, St. Lucie reaches championship series

We were treated to extra baseball yesterday (sort of), as the Mets had a pair of games to make up that had been pushed back during Irene. Unfortunately for us though, that just presented a pair of opportunities for Larry Jones to do what Larry typically does in NY. The doubleheader marked a pair of debuts for the club. Val Pascucci made his debut for the Mets, even though it seems he's been with the organization forever. Chris Schwinden also debut in game 1, and Mike Newman takes a little look back at some of his experiences with Schwinden. Next up for the Amazins are the Cubbies, and not many clubs are as good at curing what ails you as Chicago have been this year.

With this weekend marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I'm sure we'll see plenty of stories relating to the tragic events of 2001. Steve Popper took a look back at the role of the Mets in the aftermath.

On the injury front, not even the front office appears to be safe from harm. Jay Horwitz suffered a broken ankle that will cause him to miss some time. I'd be curious to know if he used the Mets doctors or not.

One of the Mets that has been entrusting his livelihood to the medical staff is going to be toeing the rubber today. Johan Santana will be making his rehab start in the SAL playoffs in a must win game for the Sand Gnats. I imagine the Augusta Green Jackets aren't the happiest about that. Johan's next rehab start could well be in the FSL championship series, as some clutch hitting from Jeffrey Marte allowed the Mets to advance. The Cyclones also played last night, losing 2-0 to the Yankees. That series will resume this afternoon in Staten Island.

FanGraphs takes a little look at the David Einhorn situation. This was definitely an interesting read.

The 7 train to Shea thinks the Mets need more Nick Evans next season. I tend to agree, and think he could be a cheap bench option.

Howard Megdal looks a little closer at one of the potential changes to baseball for next season...the extra wild card. I actually really like the idea of a 1 game playoff between the two wild card teams, as it would certainly give hope to the rest of the AL East.

If you're a big Star Wars buff, Tuesday night might be worth heading to the Mets game. Rumor has it that Mo Vaughn will be forcing Jason Bay to fight a Rancor during the 7th inning stretch. Would we still have to pay his contract if he loses?

Around the NL East:

The stinking Phillies won yet again yesterday. Hopefully this regular season will make it all that much sweeter to see the Phillies crash out of the playoffs.

Th Dodgers aren't a very good team, but they did manage to beat the Nats yesterday. It looks as if they'll be without Andre Eithier for the rest of this season though.

Around MLB:

Remember when Aaron Rowand and his limitless Grissionz were the answer to all the Mets problems? He's now available at the ML minimum, as both he and Miguel Tejada were released by the Giants yesterday.

BtB takes a look at some of the White Sox issues with giving away outs.

Tracy Ringolsby reminds MVP voters that pitchers are actually allowed to be included in the discussion. The fact that he even has to write this piece just seems to be further proof that maybe baseball should leave the voting for their awards and the HoF to a more qualified group of individuals.