Over at MetsGeek, Alex Nelson looks at the pitchers the Mets will face in Atlanta this weekend.
Billy Wagner is recovering from successful Tommy John surgery, and has accepted the fact that he has probably pitched his last game as a Met. There is an outside shot he could recover in time to pitch next September, and the Mets do have an $8 million option for 2010, though that would be an awful lot of money to spend on a reclamation project. I could see them bringing him back at that time on a make-good deal, though Wagner may be more interested in a closer's job anywhere.
Wallace Matthews thinks the Mets should extend Jerry Manuel beyond this year. Actually, he thinks they should have already done so by now. Just as other managers are judged by the on-field success of their respective teams, so will Manuel be given a lot of the credit for the Mets' turnaround since Willie Randolph's ouster. Surely Manuel deserves some credit, and if the Mets hold on and make the postseason this year I have a hard time believing the Mets will go in a different direction for 2009.
At The Sun, Tim Marchman breaks down Francisco Rodriguez's season, correctly asserting that his soon-to-be saves record is almost entirely an achievement of context and not of actual performance. Not that K-Rod has been bad, mind you, it's just that, well, who cares about the saves record? The Estate of Bobby Thigpen? Do you know who held the saves record before Thigpen broke it in 1990? Dave Righetti.
Also at The Sun, Steven Goldman looks at the terrific seasons of Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, all of which have been overshadowed by Carlos Delgado's second half. This note struck me in particular:
But more importantly, Beltran has played at this high level while simply being there. He's been playing every day as the Mets outfield has disintegrated around him. There have been days this season when the Mets started an outfield of Brady Clark, Beltran, and Angel Pagan; Marlon Anderson, Beltran, and Endy Chavez; Damion Easley, Beltran, and Chavez; Anderson, Beltran, and Trot Nixon.
Gah! Marlon Anderson and Trot Nixon? We've come a long way.
The Mets are considering buying an MLS franchise to play in a separate venue from Citi Field.