Jerry Manual throws his support behind Fernando Tatis, and for good reason. The Mets don't have any better options right now, and Tatis continues to defy all logic by hitting incredibly well. Ryan church *may* be back soon, and the Mets *may* trade for Raul Ibanez, but right now Tatis is the best corner outfielder they've got.

JC Bradbury takes Buzz Bissinger to task for writing a lazy article in the New York Times about how baseball players are rich and lots of folks are poor and unhealthy.

Philly.com's Paul Hagen interviews Phillies GM Pat Gillick about the forthcoming non-waiver trade deadline, though half of it is just about Jimmy Rollins' benching last week at Shea.

Over at MetsGeek, Chris McCown dissects a possible trade for Raul Ibanez.

Jorge Posada will have shoulder surgery and is done for the year

Xavier Nady is happy to be back in New York.

Mark Teixeira is officially on the block.

The Indians are in full-on sell-mode, and Beyond The Boxscore breaks down GM Mark Shapiro's recent deals.

A couple of small nuggets about Raul Ibanez, who may be the Mets' top outfield target now that Casey Blake has landed in Los Angeles and Xavier Nady was shipped to the Bronx. Jason Bay is far more attractive than Ibanez -- and is right-handed to boot -- but will be pretty expensive considering his age, track record and that he's not eligible for free agency until after 2009. It may be a moot point, though, as the Pirates are less likely to deal Bay now that they've already traded Nady.

A trio of articles about Duaner Sanchez's recent struggles, two of which point to his fastball's drop in velocity and the fact that he may be physically running out of steam after missing most of two seasons. The baseball season is a grind, we're told, and Sanchez may not be in the requisite shape to endure its rigors.

Manny Ramirez may be available, but Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Mets aren't interested.

Neil Best has a profile of SNY's Kevin Burkhardt in today's Newsday. It's a nice story about how Burkhardt went from selling cars and working at a going-nowhere radio station to running around WFAN and eventually landing his current gig with SNY.

Goose Gossage will be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame this afternoon. Great pitcher, great mustache, kind of a loudmouth douche nowadays. Like when he ran his mouth about Jose Reyes's dancing last month or about Joba Chamberlain's celebrations back in May. Congrats on the hall nod, now keep your opinions to yourself.

Some sad news from Shea, as there was another escalator incident during last night's game. A man, 26, fell 25 feet from "the box-seat level to a floor near Gate D" and was taken to a hospital. He is listed in critical condition, though he is expected to survive. This comes just three months after another man died when he lost his balance and fell from a Shea escalator. Back in May of 1985, a man fell 100 feet to his death at Shea. That man was trying to slide down the railing of a non-working escalator.

I mentioned it yesterday, but Brandon Knight is making his first big league start tonight against the Cardinals in place of Pedro Martinez, who is on the bereavement list after the death of his father. Knight was out of baseball last season before his wife convinced him to take a spot pitching in the Independent League. The Mets signed him to a minor league deal in May and he has been dominant in five starts (eleven appearances overall), striking out 49 and walking just ten in 39.1 innings, notching a 1.60 ERA. Now, Triple-A isn't quite Quadruple-A (read: Tampa Bay pre-2008), which isn't quite the major leagues, but it's a good story and we all love good stories, right?

Ryan Church has begun light conditioning, but could still be a week or two away from returning. Jerry Manuel says Church will need upwards of seven rehab starts once he's ready to go, though Church is taking "the under" on that one. With the trade market thin and pricey, a Church return would be a huge addition to the Mets' offense. Names like Raul Ibanez and Casey Blake are out there and they'd definitely be upgrades over Chavez and Tatis, but would like cost at least a B-level prospect and the Mets don't have too many of those lying around. Larry Brooks at The Post has more on this.

Mark Hale on Mike Pelfrey's awesomeness.

Newsday's Jim Baumbach caught up with Dwight Gooden after an autograph show yesterday and god an update on where Doc is at right now. Something you may not have known: Gooden has six kids between the ages of 3 and 21.

Steve Popper at The Record takes a look at the Mets' Double-A team in Binghamton, where the Mets have started to stockpile a decent set of players. An interesting tidbit in the middle of the article: "GM Omar Minaya said Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro told him that he had the pieces to get C.C. Sabathia."

In case you missed it last night, the Yankees acquired Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates for four "prospects": Jose Tabata, George Kontos, Russ Ross Ohlendorf and Phil Coke. More coverage at Bucs Dugout and Pinstripe Alley.

As with any link dump, I encourage you to add your own links in the comments.