Monday Morning Mets Newsstand

Saturday was Keith Hernandez's birthday and Babes Love Baseball gave our favorite mustachioed microphone jockey a fitting tribute.

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In yesterday's Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch took at look at what Joe Torre's departure means for the Yankees' free agents, specifically Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. The Mets would likely be interested in each of those guys were they to hit the open market, though the likelihood of actually signing any of them remains to be seen. Rivera and Pettitte in particular were known to be very loyal to Torre and could make life difficult for the Yankees once the World Series draws to a close.

The best fit for the Mets is likely Posada, the best catcher available at a position the Mets need to fill. He is one of the elite hitting backstops in baseball and has plenty of experience playing in New York, whatever that's worth. He isn't spectacular defensively but he isn't likely to kill you behind the plate, either.

Pettitte would be the next best fit, a very good left-handed starter who has a $16 million player option with the Yanks for 2007. He has a history of elbow problems but was very healthy in 2006 and could probably get a three-year deal somewhere.

Rivera isn't likely to sign anywhere he isn't guaranteed to be the closer, and Billy Wagner is just as unlikely to step aside for anyone, even Rivera. While using two terrific closers during the regular season would keep them well-rested as the year wears on, it's hard to conceive of a realistic scenario where it would actually work out.

Rodriguez's potential arrival in Queens faces numerous obstacles, including money, years, and defensive positioning. The Mets have no need for a player at either position Rodriguez has ever played, and imagining A-Rod playing second base or the outfield is a considerable stretch, to say the least.

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Uhh... I'm kinda confused by this. Our SBNation Nats' blogger seems to have an axe to grind with us in a series he calls the "TOP 5 Reasons YOU Can STILL Hate THE METS!!". If you can get beyond the bizarre capitalization in the title, here are the four reasons posted so far (we'll have to wait patiently for reason #1):

2. The Mets fans
3. The Mets WANT to steal the Flat-Brimmed Closer from DC.
4. New York steals "The Kid"...(and now Gary Carter is remembered by most, but not all, as a Met).
5. What the Mets did to Jose Guillen. (An Argument in Six Parts).

This is all weird to me, to say the least. It's an interesting list so far, but it seems like this cat's hatred for the Mets goes beyond what I could have thought possible of a Nationals' fan. For a moment I thought I was living in a vaccuum; had I completely missed the many obvious reasons that an Expos-cum-Nationals fan might hate the Mets? I checked with my girl Kristen from We've Got Heart and she seemed as dumbfounded as I was.

I mean, the third biggest reason to hate the Mets is that they wanted to acquire Chad Cordero last year? Really? Someone explain this to me. The whole things seems a tad dramatic.

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If you're a fan of the New York Hockey Rangers, go check out Blueshirt Buzz, a Rangers blog penned by my sister, Carolyn. We may not see eye-to-eye with respect to our team loyalties (I'm a Devils' fan), but she knows what she's talking about when it comes to the boys from Broadway.