It is several hours till the trading deadline. The Mets will likely not be big players. This season has been like no other in recent years. The team has been decimated by injuries which has knocked the playoff train off the rails. And this week, the general manager embarrassed the entire franchise and the fan base with his misguided attempt to blame Adam Rubin for the firing of Tony Bernazard.

As August descends on the baseball season, the Mets find themselves 6.5 games back of the wild card and with hopes of catching the Phillies for the division an unrealistic fantasy. Although the Mets have been playing better lately, and there are signs the big players will be back sooner than later, realistically, hope of making the playoffs is a long shot.

Bob Klapish has written an excellent piece in the Bergen Record. In the article Klapish reports on the chances of Omar Minaya continuing to be the Mets GM beyond this season.

There was one line in the article I found most intriguing. It was a quote from COO Jeff Wilpon, son of CEO Fred, who said the Mets have been going “in the wrong direction” for years. Specifically, the Mets have been going in the wrong direction since a curveball broke over the plate freezing Carlos Beltran ending the Mets 2006 season.

The fact that Jeff Wilpon feels this way speaks volumes. Through much of the last three seasons, Omar Minaya has been the voice, as inarticulate as it is, of the franchise. The owners behind the scenes have been relatively quiet. Recently, the only time you heard from Fred was when he was waxing poetic about the days of going to Ebbets Field with his Dad as Citi Field was preparing to open. Jeff was a bit more available but not much, not until this week that is.

After Omar’s meltdown on Monday when every Mets fan must have thought the rudder had come completely off the ship, it was Jeff Wilpon who came out before game time and apologized to the media. Unlike Omar, Jeff appeared to understand immediately what fire control was needed. It must have been interesting behind the scenes as the first press conference unfolded. I could just imagine the cringing in Jeff’s office as Omar opened his mouth to change feet.

The impression one gets reading Klapish’s article is that Minaya is not safe. He likely will not return as Mets GM regardless of his contract extension. While many feel the Mets can’t eat his contract, they can move him to another less volatile position within the organization.

Many Mets fans have implied that Jeff Wilpon is just the spoiled son of billionaire Fred. That is a gross mischaracterization.  Jeff has worked in the family real estate development business for over 25 years and had a huge hand in the development, design, and construction of Citi Field. Now that Fred is older, Jeff has more responsibilities in the day to day operation of the baseball team and realistically is the owner of the franchise.

The good news for Mets fans is that he may be more like us than we think. His comment in regards to the Mets heading in the wrong direction may hint that he is as frustrated with the club as we are. But of course he can do something about it while we cannot. We don’t know what kind of owner Jeff will be but he grew up as a Mets fan. There were no Brooklyn Dodgers when Jeff was born. His focus may be much more Mets centric than Fred’s ever was. Time will tell but at least it is something positive to consider during a season filled with so much frustration and disappointment.

With the non-waiver trade deadline only 24 hours away, here is a list of Mets trades made at or just prior to the July 31 trade deadline for the last 10 years. After reviewing these deals you can see that the deadline is rarely as exciting as it is cracked up to be.

2008 - No deadline deals

2007—

7/30 Mets trade catcher Drew Butera and outfielder Dustin Martin to Twins for second baseman Luis Castillo.

2006—

7/31 Mets traded outfielder Xavier Nady to Pirates for right handed pitcher Roberto Hernandez and left handed pitcher Oliver Perez.

2005 – No deadline trades

2004—

7/30 Mets trade left handed pitcher Scott Kasmir and right handed pitcher Joselo Diaz to Tampa Bay for right handed pitchers Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato. Mets also traded infielder Ty Wigginton, outfielder Jose Bautista, and right handed pitcher Matt Peterson to the Pirates in exchange for right handed pitcher Kris Benson and second baseman Jeff Keppinger

7/31 Mets trade right handed pitcher Scott Erickson to the Rangers for Josh Hoffpauir.

2003—

7/28 Mets trade left handed pitcher Graeme Lloyd to the Royals for right handed pitcher Jeremy Hill.

7/29 Mets trade shortstop Rey Sanchez to the Mariners for outfielder Kenny Kelly.

There was a flurry of trades made earlier in July ’03 that included sending Armando Benitez to the Yankees, Jeromy Burnitz to the Dodgers, and Roberto Alomar to the White Sox.

2002—

7/31 Mets trade left handed pitcher Bobby M. Jones, outfielder Jason Bay, and right handed pitcher Josh Reynolds to the Padres for right handed pitchers Jason Middlebrook and Steve Reed. Mets also traded right handed pitcher Mark Corey, and outfielders Jay Payton and Robert Stratton to the Rockies for right handed pitcher John Thompson and outfielder Mark Little.

2001—

7/30 Mets trade right handed pitcher Rick Read to the Twins for outfielder Matt Lawton.

7/27 Mets trade right handed pitcher Turk Wendell and left handed pitcher Dennis Cook to the Phillies for left handed pitchers Bruce Chen and Adam Walker. A few days earlier catcher and 1999 NLDS hero Todd Pratt was traded to the Phillies for Gary Bennett.

2000—

7/28 Mets trade shortstop Melvin Mora, utility player Mike Kinkade, and right handed pitchers Lesli Brea and Pat Gorman to the Orioles for shortstop Mike Bordick. The Mets also traded right handed pitcher Paul Wilson and outfielder Jason Tyner to the Devil Rays for outfielder Bubba Trammell and right handed pitcher Rick White.

1999—

7/31 Mets traded utility player Craig Paquette to the Cardinals for outfielder Shawon Dunston.  The Mets also traded right handed pitchers Jason Isringhausen and Greg McMichael to the A’s for right handed pitcher Billy Taylor. A third trade on this date also saw outfielders Brian McRae and Tom Johnson, plus left handed pitcher Rigo Beltran go to the Rockies for outfielder Darryl Hamilton and left handed pitcher Chuck McElroy.

7/25 Mets trade outfielder Terrance Long and pitcher Leonor Vasquez to the A’s for left handed pitcher Kenny Rogers.

As you can see, there really were no block busters on the trade deadline. Mike Piazza was acquired in May of 1998, two months before the deadline. The worst trade at the deadline in recent history has to be the Kazmir disaster of 2004. In 06’ the Mets acquisition of Oliver Perez proved to be an excellent deal even though it cost them Xavier Nady. Without Perez, the Mets would not have reached as deep into the playoffs as they did that season.

The best trade at the deadline in Mets history had to be in 1983 when the Mets acquired first baseman Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. The worst trade was undoubtedly 6 years earlier when the Mets sent the Franchise, Tom Seaver to the Reds for pitcher Pat Zachery, second baseman Doug Flynn, and outfielders Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. Both trades occurred on June 15 which was the trading deadline back then.

So if you think the Mets will make a blockbuster deal before the trade deadline expires at 4:00PM Eastern on Friday, history shows the odds are against it.

Well just when you thought if couldn't get any crazier than it all ready is at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 126th street, it did.

While attempting to douse the flames on one controversy, the Mets began a new one with Omar Minaya in the center ring. While attempting to explain why he wanted to have a full investigation, Omar stuck his foot in his mouth when he more or less (mostly more) accused Adam Rubin of creating the story about Tony Bernazard because Rubin had wanted a job in the Mets player development department.

It was really one of the most embarrassing moments in Mets history, perhaps even more embarrassing than anything that happened in 1962. This event far outweighed Ryan Church missing the bag in Los Angeles or Luis Castillo dropping Alex Rodriguez's pop up.

If the Mets were run by a functional group, Omar would likely have been fired right after the press conference. But later, Jeff Wilpon and Omar attempted to do some damage control by admitting what Omar did was simply stupid. Although, Omar did not retract what he said, just where he said it.

There is no excuse for Omar's petty behavior today. He declared war on the media and it's a war the Mets can't win. The Mets would likely win the World Series before they could defeat the media.

Now I always try to be fair. There are always two sides of the story. Nothing is as plain as it seems. In terms of Adam Rubin, I have nothing but respect for his writing and his professionalism. His reports are never biased. He calls it like it is. That's what you want from a beat reporter. That's what Rubin did in the story of Tony Bernazard tongue lashing the AA squad and threatening to fight them for staying out late and drinking.

You cannot fault Bernazard and the message he was trying to get across to his players but how he did so is the problem. And of course many other stories have come out about Bernazard's temper and short fuse that often erupted into arguments with co workers and club house attendants. And who can forget how Bernazard’s name popped up when Willie Randolph was in the process of being ousted. And one unnamed veteran referred to Bernazard as a cancer in the clubhouse.

It's hard to know if the report Rubin wrote was 100 percent accurate. But apparently, and according to Minaya, an investigation was already underway by the Mets HR department (funny the Mets have an HR department but the fewest home runs in the Majors. Sorry I couldn’t resist). If that's true, then it makes the press conference that much more bizarre.

So why did Omar do it? I think it’s very clear. He likes Tony Bernazard and did not want to fire him. But because of the reports in the Daily News, Minaya had no choice. It’s plain and simple.

I’m sure the pressure has been building. Injuries have derailed the Mets chances of a post season this year. Once the Mets started to lose, the press descended on them like a pack of wolves on a fallen doe. That is the nature of the media these days. Gone are the days of protecting a Jack Kennedy as he snuck in and out of the White House with a starlet or two as the press winked to each other as if they were in some sort of fraternity. Just ask Bill Clinton. Or ask A-Rod who can’t even sun bathe in Central Park without him being on the front page of the New York Post.

Once the Mets started to lose, all the cracks were exposed and it became fair game for the media. If it wasn’t the bench players who could not perform then it was the minor league system that could not deliver a prospect or two to come close to the production of Beltran or Delgado. 

When the Bernazard story broke, that may have been the last straw. I’m sure Omar wasn’t too pleased with an article Rubin wrote in regards to his performance as GM a couple of weeks back either. So today was the day that Minaya decided to get even. He showed a temper today, so angry that he risked his own position as head of baseball operations.

Are Omar’s feelings understandable? Yes, to a point. Is Omar justified for his actions in regards to Rubin? Absolutely not. Omar appeared so paranoid, that I would have not been surprised if he had asked those in attendance if they had taken the strawberries out of the food locker while he rolled marbles in his hand.

What I find so disturbing is that Omar’s anger indicates he was forced to fire a friend that Human Resources reported his actions were not inline with the values of the organization. In other words, had the article not come out, Minaya would have turned the other cheek allowing the abuse of many within the organization to continue. That’s what I find so distasteful and why I think Minaya should be let go.

Jeff Wilpon will keep Minaya though. They owe him for three years and aren’t going to eat that contract. Wilpon probably is angry at the media too and although he said the right things before the game, he probably agrees with Omar.

This has been one of the strangest Mets seasons ever in all aspects. It has been so strange that you wonder if the Mets just might pull off something incredible this year. While everything points to that not happening, I say watch out. When things as weird as today happen, I leave all possibilities on the table.

Bill Madden of the New York Daily News is calling for a complete house cleaning at Citi Field. In Saturday’s article, he calls for the Wilpons to fire General Manager Omar Minaya, Tony Bernazard, and Ramon Pena who he concludes are “so-called talent evaluators”.  Madden makes a lot of excellent points in terms of Omar having no plan. But is he completely accurate?

One of Madden’s claims is that the Mets farm has a dearth of talent.  Well, I guess that’s true if you assume that the Mets should have been able to bring up MLB ready players to take over and produce exactly like Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado. You might also assume so since they were unable to replace J.J. Putz or Oliver Perez with pitchers ready to come up and win the Rookie of the Year award.  But the question I ask is what organization can do that?

I have been critical of the Mets brass too but I always like to look at both sides of the argument.  To say the Mets farm system is dearth of talent is unfair. Do the Mets have one of the best farms in baseball? No. Do they have one of the worst? No to that also.

What makes the Mets farm system look so bad this year is their collective minor league record. It is dreadful. But that does not mean they have no prospects. It just means they don’t have enough prospects or their prospects are not blossoming as fast as anticipated.  Baseball America rates the Mets system as 17th overall, not great but not horrible either.

Jonathan Neise is a young Mets prospect who has pitched in the majors on and off since last year. Recently, he pitched so well at Buffalo, the Mets called him up to pitch at Houston where he threw seven solid innings giving up just one run. Bobby Parnell has contributed at the major league level too, another Mets prospect with a bright future who has hit the radar gun at 100mph. Daniel Murphy has struggled this year when compared to what he did last season. But he has shown signs of getting his hitting stoke back and has fielded better than anticipated at first.  And didn’t the Mets obtain ace pitcher Johan Santana by dealing four prospects to Minnesota? Plus the Mets currently still have Fernando Martinez, Josh Thole, Ike Davie, Tobi Stoner, Nick Evans, and others.

I’m not trying to protect Minaya, Bernazard, and Pena. I kind of agree with Madden. But I’m simply trying to be fair and point out that while the Mets have suffered unbelievable injuries this season, everything else is being overly scrutinized as a result.

Madden points out many bad trades Minaya has made. Omar brought in Luis Castillo for a four year 25 million dollar contract when they did not need to offer him so many years. But in fairness, Castillo has played remarkably well this season and is now hitting over .300. We all can’t forget the dropped pop up in Yankee Stadium but other than that he has been as solid a second baseman as there is in baseball.

Madden cites Julio Franco, Orlando Hernandez, and Moises Alou as terrible signings. I agree except for El-Duque who produced at least for a while. And if you are going to criticize these signings, you have to applaud the signings of Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez (he did have a good year and a half and everyone knew he was a gamble), Billy Wagner, Paul LoDuca, and Francisco Rodriguez. And on the trade front, he brought in Xavier Nady who netted Oliver Perez (regardless of what you think now, Perez pitched great in the 2006 playoffs). He traded for John Maine, Carlos Delgado, J.J Putz and the above mentioned Santana. And so far, the Jeff Francoeur deal is looking good but it’s still too early to tell.

So is Omar really the worst GM in baseball? No. Is he somewhat of a pretender? Perhaps at times. I do agree with Madden in that the Mets really do not seem to have a plan. Madden points out that Omar should have obtained Jason Marquis, who they could have acquired for next to nothing and wanted to come to the Mets. Marquis currently leads the NL in wins. He also points out the Mets could have really used Raul Ibanez’s bat too. You will get no argument from me on both fronts. Even lefty Randy Wolf, who is pitching well with the Dodgers, would have been a better signing then Perez last winter.

Another problem for the Mets is that they are a big market team in New York. They are expected to go out and sign the big free agent which they do and they are also expected to have one of the best farms in baseball. You must realize that when a team signs a type A free agent, they forfeit draft picks in the first round the following draft season. If the Mets kept their draft picks and built their farm more quickly, then everyone would complain they are too cheap to sign free agents. It’s hard to play both sides of this record.

As I mentioned the other day, the big fault with the Wilpons is their dedication to their employees. Normally I would consider that an attribute. But if they are not able to tell if their employees are doing the job or not, that’s a problem.  The problem with the Mets currently is there are too many chefs.  It does not seem clear that Omar is really in charge with all the allegations that Tony Bernazard has the Wilpons’ ear.  That scares me because all reports indicate that Bernazard is a bit of a hot head with an attitude, even if the Binghamton story was blown out of proportion.

Ultimately, I think Omar is safe because he has a three year extension and I don’t think Fred and Jeff want to pay him to stay home. It’s unclear what the Mets will do in regards to Bernazard and Pena. I doubt they will lose their jobs though. The best we can hope is the Mets get healthy and make a run at the wild card this year. At least it will put all these side bar stories to rest for a while.

They are unwatchable. The season has become a disaster. I know it’s not right to use a word like disaster when there really are disasters in the world that affect people’s lives. But in terms of the world of baseball, that’s what the Mets are, a disaster.

And it’s not just one or a couple of facets, it’s everything. It’s the injuries, the players that are left, and the front office. In the past, when the Mets were bad, I would at least follow the minor league players and teams. But this season, they are bad too.

In light of the Tony Bernazard situation, it is clear that the hierarchy of the Mets is completely dysfunctional. They are not bad people. They just do not appear to know how to run a baseball team.

It’s hard to feel anything positive about these Mets right now. We can hide behind the injury card all we want but they should be better than this, even with so many players on the DL. The organization we root for is in such a shambles, the cry for “wait till next year” gives me no comfort.

One of the conditions that Omar Minaya wanted when he was hired was that of autonomy.  He did not want to run the team by committee as was done when Jim Duquette was the GM. But the Bernazard flap and all that has been reported prove nothing much has changed in how the Mets are run.

It seems apparent that there are many players at all levels within the Mets who do not like Bernazard. Just recently Francisco Rodriguez and Bernazard got into a shouting match on the team bus in Atlanta. An anonymous veteran on the major league roster called Bernazard a cancer in the clubhouse. Bernazard chewed out an employee in front of the paying customers in the seats behind the plate at Citi Field. And of course there is the now famous ripping off the shirt incident in Binghamton.

What message does the Mets hierarchy send to the fan base, other Mets employees, and the players if Bernazard is not fired? How does this behavior get rewarded? It makes no sense. If the Mets do not fire Bernazard, they will continue to erode an already angry fan base.

Personally, I do not feel like devoting much time to this club through the midst of all this. How does that translate? It means I will not be buying tickets to a game any time soon, and will spend much less time watching on TV. There is only so much abuse a fan can take.

The one fact that I have read in many places really scares me. It has been written that owner Jeff Wilpon is very close with Bernazard. If that is the case, it is likely Bernazard will not be fired. In that regard, the message will be sent that truly the inmates are running the asylum. 

I, as well as other Mets fans, will be watching closely. I have gotten to the point where I question my devotion to this club. Historically it has always been more losses than wins. I thought that would change when Minaya took over. It looked like it had until September of 2007. Now here we are again, watching a losing team wondering what will it take to right the ship.  Frankly, I’m sick of it and I know I’m not alone.

One gets the impression that things within the Mets hierarchy are a bit unsettled. It is probably not much different than most typical corporate settings. But when it’s your baseball team you root for, where the entire season has completely unraveled, it becomes a bit frustrating to begin reading that things aren’t so rosy inside the Mets front office.

Who actually is in charge anyway? We assume Omar Minaya is in charge of baseball operations but is that true? We hear more and more about Tony Bernazard, vice president of player development, who at least on the surface, seems to wield unbridled power.

Bernazard apparently was influential in getting Willie Randolph fired. It has been rumored more recently that Bernazard may be laying groundwork to undermine Jerry Manual. It’s hard to know what the real story with this guy is but Adam Rubin reported an incident that happened at Citi Field a few weeks ago that makes you wonder if the inmates are in fact running the asylum.

In today’s Daily News, Rubin recounts an incident where Bernazard went ballistic in the stands behind home plate over a seating arrangement with some scouts. People sitting nearby were aghast, as Adam put it, at Bernazard’s behavior.

Yet anytime in the past when Tony Bernazard’s meddling has been questioned, everyone in the organization defends him. There is no hint of any animosity. Even when Randolph was fired, Willie did not threw Bernazard under the bus. I guess he didn’t want to burn any bridges or perhaps Willie really never was bothered by Bernazard.

No one can really blame the Mets for all the injuries that have occurred this season. But the communication between the medical department and players seems to be a bit screwed up. First a player is day to day then he’s on the DL or headed for surgery. I’m not saying that had players been diagnosed more accurately at the outset they would all be back now but the pattern with each injury is disturbing.

Jerry Manuel’s “joke”, in regards to Sheffield, was no accident when he said “Gary is day to day…surgery on Thursday”. Humor is often used to convey true feelings. Apparently, there were those in the Mets hierarchy who did not think it was so funny. But I did!

Then there is the case of Carlos Beltran who has been playing with a bruised knee for a month. He so distrusted the Mets medical staff, agent Scott Boris had him reexamined with specialists in Colorado.

How much more dysfunctional the Mets brain trust is over any other team is hard to measure. After all, if the injuries never occurred this season and the Mets were neck and neck with the Phillies, who would care about such stuff? But since these things did happen, it’s important to understand just what is going on in this organization.

It all starts at the top but no, I am not going to bash the Wilpons. I have read so many disparaging remarks against the father and son owners that it embarrasses me. In fact, I read one racist laden comment from a fan in the New York Post the other that made me sick. Referring to Minaya, Bernazard, and the Wilpons ethnicity in such a derogatory manner does not make Mets fans look very good folks. It only adds fuel to the fire that the Mets fan base is one of the worst in baseball.

The Wilpons want to win. They are not fiendish villains toiling their mustaches as Mets fans pay their way into Citi Field.  They have invested 143 million dollars in player payroll. They have financed the majority of cost for the construction of Citi Field and have done much for the community they call home.

If the Wilpons have one fault, it is their loyalty. Unlike George Steinbrenner who would fire anybody and everybody given enough time, the Wilpons take entirely too long to correct things when there are internal problems.

Is Tony Bernazard really a cancer within the organization? I can’t say for sure, but many of the reports I have read over the last year and a half suggest he undermines managers and perhaps even the general manager. That kind of employee cannot be constructive and should have been dealt with long ago.

So although the Wilpons want to win, they may not know how to win.  Steinbrenner was savvy in that he knew he wanted to win so bad, he got the best people he could find to run the show. And when they failed, they were gone. Part of George’s quick actions made him colorful, the other part made his people realize they had better perform or else.

The Mets are a different animal though. Ownership, be it the Paysons, Doubleday or Wilpon, did not and currently do not behave so spontaneously. And perhaps they shouldn’t.  Maybe because of the ridiculous amount of injuries, we all need to give the Mets a mulligan this season.  Sometimes you just have to say that “stuff” happens.

One thing is sure however, it should be an interesting off season.

Well, my first impression is that the Church for Francoeur trade is a good one for the Mets...in the long run. This one move does not get the Mets back on track. Basically the Mets and Braves traded two similar players. Jeff Francoeur is a right handed, younger version of Ryan Church, perhaps better defensively and has more upside. But again, don't expect much of an improvement in team performance at least until some of the injured return.

The Braves will probably benefit sooner than the Mets because Church will get to play every day in a lineup that is not riddled with injury. So don't be shocked or dismayed when Church comes back to haunt the Mets as early as next weekend in Atlanta. But in the long run, the right handed Francoeur could fit in better than Church with the Mets in Citi Field. He's a gap hitter that could really benefit from Citi Field's huge dimensions.

For what ever reason, Ryan Church did not fit in with the Mets plans. He was injured most of the season last year and this year he was never really given a shot to play day in and day out. There was something about Church that the Mets did not like. We may never know what that is.

So to summarize, it's a good trade for the Mets but don't expect much change in the short term. With a healthy Reyes, Delgado, and Beltran eventually back in the lineup, Francoeur could fit in very nicely. The Mets will likely begin to change the attributes of the team. Francoeur is an excellent defender who has shown signs of being an outstanding hitter but has struggled at the plate the last couple of seasons. If the Mets can straighten him out, it could be a great trade. Time will tell.