The big news of the day for Mets fans had to be the changes to the coaching staff. Chip Hale, Mookie Wilson, Ken Oberkfell, and Jon Debus were allowed to leave the organization. Tim Teufel and Ricky Bones are the first replacements announced, with the others expected to be named in the coming weeks. Hale didn't have time to file for unemployment though, as he quickly latched on to the Oakland A's with a two year deal to become their bench coach.
One real positive about Jose Reyes reaching free agency this winter is that we've likely reached the natural end to the media speculating that we'll be traiding him anytime in the near future. While some media outlets have foolish ideas about whether or not we should retain him, our approach to him will pretty much set to rest the future of Reyes with the club as a story. The next step in the traid the core storyline has to become David Wright. Luckily for us, the speculation has already begun in Denver.
The always excellent Patrick Flood had his predictions for the 2012 season up at his blog. It's definitely worth reading if you have the time.
The Playoffs
The AL had the night off last night as the Yankees prepared for today's deciding game 5. They'll be sending Ivan Nova to the mound to face Doug Fister in the game that might be the last of the Yankees season. I'd have loved to hear the New York talking heads if you told them this development prior to opening day of this season.
Like the Yankees, the Phillies are also sitting on the brink of elimination. The Cardinals defeated them by a score of 5-3 last night, putting the season just 27 outs from ending for both squads. Hopefully the Cardinals can muster up one more fantastic showing tomorrow night so that all Mets fans can go to bed with a smile.
In the other NL series, the Brewers were defeated 10-6 by the Diamondbacks. That series is also tied at 2 games apiece with the finale scheduled for Friday. What looked like it may be a very dull end to the season on September 1st has quickly turned into one of the best baseball finishes I can remember.