The Mets have a lot of issues and most of them are in the front office. Is Jeff Wilpon involved in more baseball related activity than he should be? Is Omar Minaya a lame duck GM. Is there anyone person in charge or is it run the team by committee? These are the stories that tend to dominate the headlines regarding the Mets.

There is a group of people that can change the focus. There is a group of people who can channel the headlines into something more positive. And it’s high time they step up and do just that. I’m talking about the players who make up the New York Mets.

If this were the 1978 Mets with Willie Montanez and Lenny Randle, I would have little hope and expectations for 2010. But the fact is this current Mets club has a lot of talent.

Of course with all the injuries last season, there are many question marks.  But during the minicamp just completed in Port St. Lucie, there is reason for optimism. Johan Santana through off a mound and said he felt better than he has in a long time. He was able to fully extend which he was not able to do last season. And Oliver Perez says he feels great too. Pitching coach Dan Warthen said he had not seen the ball come out of Ollie’s hand with such pop in a very long time.

More than these hints of things to come however, the Mets players must decide that this is the year they prove that they can win. It’s time for each and every one of them to look in the mirror and make a personal commitment to themselves and each other that this will be the year it gets done.

The Mets should not be about Jeff or Fred Wilpon, Omar Minaya, John Ricco, or Jay Horowitz. None of them could field a ground ball or lay down a bunt. The future of this team depends upon its players and their players are good enough to win when healthy.

How many teams would love to have David Wright and Jose Reyes? Johan Santana is an ace that many teams simply do not have. The Mets have a star closer in Francisco Rodriguez. They have newly acquired Jason Bay in left field who is one of the guttiest players in the game. Say what you want about Daniel Murphy, but no Met player has more desire to win than he does. Just ask David Wright who recently said he wishes he had 24 Daniel Murphys on the club.

Because of all the injuries, there are countless question marks. Carlos Beltran’s surgery did not help Mets fans feel warm and cozy coming into the new year. But if he heals and he is expected to, the Mets have the best center fielder in baseball for the majority of the season.

The talent is there but the Mets must step up and prove to everyone that they can be a contending team again.  I think they will. When everyone seems so convinced the Mets will be irrelevant I think they will be very relevant.  Just call it a feeling.  I’m sure these players have heard all the negative talk. Their competitiveness will make them want to prove all the geniuses wrong.  That’s why I think the Mets will win this year.

Win what, the World Series? I’m not dumb enough to make such a prediction. It is very difficult to predict who will win. The Mets were predicted to win the Series last year. Shows you what the experts know. What I mean by win is the Mets will contend. They will win more games than they lose. They might even make the playoffs. Truthfully hoping for anything more is a fool’s folly. If winning the World Series is the only thing that will make you happy, I would consider a new hobby.

Can the Mets win the World Series? I think they can. But for that to happen, everything must go right. They must have a season that is the antithesis of the injury plagued campaign from last year.  David Wright must return to form. Oliver Perez and John Maine must get back on track and get to where they were prior to their injuries. Mike Pelfrey must prove that he is ready to be the pitcher that everyone hoped he would.

It won’t be easy but we will see what kind of character these players have. We will see if they can turn the page and prove that the Mets are an elite team.

Ken Rosenthal paints Mets management as a ballclub not run in a traditional manner. I have no reason to doubt his comments. One look at some of the soap opera at Citi Field over the last year backs up his remarks. But is it really that bad that the Mets did not sign Ben Sheets, Joel Piniero, Jon Garland, or Bengie Molina?

It’s not as if they let CC Sabathia or Albert Pujols get away. This year’s free agent market was weak to say the least. The big complaint from Mets fans with so many question marks in their rotation, how come they did not get one of these available pitchers? I have to admit to wondering the same thing. However while Rosenthal paints a picture of the Met not being able to make a decision, could it be that they simply do not want to add any more question marks to a rotation already loaded with them.

Craig Carton, this morning on Boomer and Carton, was railing about the Mets not getting Ben Sheets. Seriously, I’m glad the Mets did not guarantee 10 million dollars to a guy whose arm could blow out in the middle of April. It’s a no-brainer for the A’s who had revenue sharing money to spend anyway.  Sheets could be a wonderful find for the A’s but it was simply too risky for the Mets whose entire staff appears to be a health risk.

Joel Piniero would have been a nice fit. But many feel without pitching coach Dave Duncan, he might revert to the inconsistent pitcher he once was. Just what the Mets need, another Ollie Perez.

Jon Garland is an innings eater and might have been a good acquisition for the Mets but he was not the answer to getting to the post season. And Bengie Molina? I find it laughable that writers look at not signing Bengie Molina as a negative. Molina is an overweight rally killing catcher who would have only helped to fuel Mets fans anger.

I do not disagree with Rosenthal’s assessment of the Mets front office. Jeff Wilpon has his hands in things he likely shouldn’t have and Rosenthal’s comparison to the Yankees of the 1980s is accurate. But this idea that the Mets are having a bad off season is a bit overstated. They did sign Jason Bay for 66 million. They got catcher Henry Blanco who will help the pitchers and play a solid defense at catcher. The fact that the free agent class is so bad this year is not the Mets fault.

Now we get to the argument that if the Mets are so concerned about question mark free agents, why in the world would they sign John Smoltz who is 42 years old?

The simple answer is the price. Smoltz is not going to cost the Mets ten million dollars. He likely will be signed for an incentive laden deal. I think the Mets thought process is that Smoltz can contribute as a starter and in the pen plus be an outstanding mentor for many of the young arms.

I actually am glad the Mets have not overpaid for the available talent out there. I know fans are angry and wonder how the Mets can possibly get to the playoffs without making significant moves. It’s an understandable thought. But I have come to realize that the Mets will not likely make the playoffs with or without these moves fans are screaming for.  They are better served to wait till next off season when there will be significantly better talent available.

I would rather see the Mets take a chance and hope their many question marks come through this season than over spend for mediocrity that will likely make no difference. Lower your expectations this year. It will do wonders for your blood pressure.

The Mets will open a minicamp today through Wednesday at Port St. Lucie. A lot of the players will be there and so will the coaches and manager Jerry Manuel. I would feel a lot better if the Mets had a new manager coming in.

I guess it’s not fair to put all the blame on Jerry Manuel for what happened the last season and a half. But he cannot be let off the hook either. A lot of the hope fans feel during the spring is based on perception. When you consider Manuel going into the season as the face of the franchise, optimism is not easy to come by.

Manuel took over for Willie Randolph in Anaheim, California back in June of 2008. At the time, fans were glad Randolph was fired and a new manager was in place. After all, in 2007 Randolph presided over the worst collapse in baseball history when the Mets squandered a 7.5 game lead with seventeen games to play.  Fans wanted Randolph fired immediately. Fairly, the Mets kept Randolph around assuming the problem was with the players, not the manager.

But the Mets got off to a bad start in 2008. There was speculation that Randolph was in trouble, the clubhouse was fractured, and there were some in the organization plotting against the manager. Finally, after being assured that Randolph was safe after leaving for California, he was fired the next evening.

Manuel was tested immediately when Reyes looked uncomfortable running to first and was pulled out of the game. Reyes threw a fit and embarrassed the new manger. But Manuel did not take any grief and made Reyes sit down. At least at the outset, Manuel looked like he would take no crap from his players.

Perhaps it was Manuel’s influence or the players being relaxed since things had come to a head. Whatever the reason, the Mets starting playing better and got back into the race. The Mets built a three game lead in September with 17 left to play. But once again, on the last day of the season, the last of Shea Stadium’s history, the Mets lost and were denied a post season berth for the second consecutive year against the same Florida Marlins.

Then came 2009 when the gods of injury swooped down and destroyed the Mets season. Manuel was left with bench players to fill in and help a mostly healthy David Wright and eventually Jeff Francoeur try and get to the playoffs. To no fault of Manuel’s, those bench players showed why they are not starters. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand what happens when non-star players are exposed day after day. In a nutshell the season was lost with Manuel left to tap dance to the media after every game.

Really, what else could he have done? But much of the negativism and bad media relations can be traced to the fact that the Mets head into a new season with the same cast of characters running the show. From a perception perspective, it’s easy to understand Met fans’ trepidation. Ticket sales are down and rightfully so. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times and what are you kidding me?

While I have defended Manuel and to a lesser degree Omar Minaya, I would have a better outlook on 2010 if the Mets had a new manager and a new General Manager. Perhaps the Wilpons should be commended for their loyalty or maybe they should be criticized for their stubbornness. I’m not sure. But one thing is clear. If the Mets get off to a poor start this season, Minaya and Manuel will be in trouble.

Most Mets fans want a world championship, nothing less. I would simply like to see the Mets contend again. After last season, I think that’s a more reasonable expectation.

For roughly the same money, Joel Pineiro chose to sign with the Angels instead of the Mets. The same can be said for Bengie Molina who was ticketed to be the catcher at Citi Field but ends up with the Giants again on a one year deal. Neither one of these losses should be evaluated as major disappointments for the Mets. In fact, yours truly is glad both are not coming. Molina looks more apt to play in a softball beer league this summer and it’s hard to predict if Pineiro will be as good without Dave Duncan by his side. 

I’m glad the Mets did not blow away either of these players with ridiculous money and years. This to me indicates a change of thinking in the front office—I hope. But the decision not to choose the Mets makes me wonder if these players think the Mets are a dysfunctional team. With all the negative things that have occurred over the last couple of years, who could blame them?

When you look at the handling of injuries, the bizarre situation last summer with Tony Bernazard, and the recent miss communication with Carlos Beltran and his agent Scott Boras, you can see why some players might be scared off. But Jason Bay did sign with the Mets which simply proves if you pay them, they will come. Or perhaps it means if you overpay them, they will come.

Again, for around the same money, Joel Pineiro chose to play in sunny California with a team, the Angels, who make the playoffs often. Why would he play in New York under the microscope, for a team that made the playoffs twice in the last ten years?

Molina probably wanted to stay in San Francisco anyway. Good. He belongs there not in Flushing.

But the Mets do have a public relations problem at the moment. The perception is that the Mets are a dysfunctional organization. If a free agent is offered the same money and years from both the Yankees and Mets, you know they are going to the Yankees. Now if a free agent is offered the same money and years as the Mets and any other team, the free agent is likely headed elsewhere. This is not a good thing. What can the Mets do to change this perception?

I think back to the 1980s. The Mets enjoyed their most success during this time period. From ’84 through ’90, the Mets averaged better than 90 wins per season never finishing below second place, made the playoffs twice and won a World Series. Had there been a wild card then, the Mets would have been in the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons. Since then, the Mets have had fits and starts, bad for a few years, good for a few then bad a few more.

What made the Mets good in the 80s in part had to do with the structure of baseball operations.  Frank Cashen was hired as General Manager when the club was purchased by the Doubleday group in 1979. He was also the head of baseball operations. Cashen made all the baseball decisions. Doubleday did not and neither did minority owner Fred Wilpon. Joe McIlvaine handled the minor leagues and Al Harazin handled the business. The buck stopped with Cashen.

When other clubs spoke to the Mets they knew who was in charge. They knew Cashen was the man who would pull the trigger on a trade, a free agent signing, or a player to be named later. There was no question regarding his authority when it came to baseball operations. I’m sure Cashen had to deal with ownership in terms of budget and progress but ownership stayed out of baseball decisions and correctly so.

Today by contrast, who really runs the baseball operations of the New York Mets? Is it Omar Minaya, John Ricco, or Jeff Wilpon? I don’t think anyone on the outside knows for sure. And that is a big problem for this club.

I have read that the Mets hierarchy is run in such a way that everyone gets a say. That may be nice in a democracy but in the baseball business it’s not the best idea. It leads to factions and confusion. That’s a huge problem when dealing with player personalities, the media, and the very knowledgeable fan base. They are not fooling anyone.

A perfect example was how they handled the Carlos Beltran situation last week. The Mets were rightfully upset that they were left out of the decision for the star centerfielder to have surgery.  But the way they handled it was comical. The Mets were not concerned about the public knowing they were upset as much as they were trying to save face once again. The press conference held over the phone appeared to be an attempt to prove the Mets were not at fault.  They are a very sensitive bunch, no doubt about it.

If Cashen were a younger man and running the ballclub today, he would have released a press statement indicating that Beltran had surgery—period. That would have been it. Sure he would have elaborated that Carlos was feeling pain and that surgery was the best option. Then behind closed doors is where he would have had it out with Scott Boras, not in public.

I’m not trying to paint Cashen as the perfect GM, he wasn’t. As great a job he did to build the ’86 Mets, he tore them down just as fast too. But in the arena of baseball management, he was miles ahead of Omar, one of the best in the business.

Moving forward, the Mets must find a good strong respected baseball person to run the team. Fred and Jeff need to pull back and stay out of baseball decisions. Only then will the perception of this team change. Only then will players favor coming to the Mets when the offers are equal.

The Mets will begin their spring training schedule on March 2nd. For the first time in their history, the Mets will not play the Los Angeles Dodgers at Vero Beach during spring training. That’s because the Dodgers moved their training facility to Arizona. So fifty-two years after the Dodgers left Brooklyn, now they have left Florida abandoning the east coast entirely.

Unlike years ago, the Mets now play fewer and fewer teams during the spring. The Mets will play only ten teams this spring. They will open with a home and home series with Atlanta. The American League teams the Mets will play include Boston(2), Minnesota(2), Detroit(1), Baltimore(1) and the Rays(1) at Tropicana Field in the penultimate spring game. The majority of games will be against National League teams including Atlanta(4), St. Louis(7), Florida(7), Washington(6), and Houston (3).  In total the Mets will play 35 spring games including three split squad dates. The Mets will also a play a game against the University of Michigan which has become an annual tradition. UM is Fred Wilpon’s alma-mater.

Spring training games are absolutely meaningless at least in terms of wins and losses. The games are really for players to get into game playing shape. They work on various things, hitting to the opposite field, trying out a new batting stance, throwing a new changeup, etc. Toward the end of spring is where you would like to see the Mets win some games. Early on, most starting players are gone by the third inning. And during spring there are always the high numbered ball players who will be headed to Savannah, Binghamton, or Buffalo.

Spring training always provides that one surprise player, a younger guy who wasn’t on anyone’s radar that turns heads and fans begin to dream of a star in the making. Sometimes it works out, more often it does not.

I went to spring training just once in my life. Back in 1985, I visited St. Petersburg, Florida where the Mets used to train. The experience was completely different from attending a major league game. I watched an intra-squad game that was played on a back field, not in Al Lang Stadium. It was surreal hearing the players chatter back and forth on the field and in the batter’s box. I got to stand behind the fence near home plate. I remember Davey Johnson, Wally Backman, and Gary Carter walking right past me. It was rather odd, especially when at Shea Stadium these same human beings were just more than specs from my nose bleed seats.

Seldom does the win loss record in spring coincide with what will happen during the regular season. Sometimes it does but perhaps it’s more of a coincidence than any true predictor.

Spring training starts in one month. Will Bengie Molina be a Met by then?

He was the sports talk radio show host who was the model for today’s sports talk format that has spread across the nation over the last twenty years. His WABC radio show was heard by millions in New York and would be the basis for what eventual would lead to WFAN radio in 1987. His name was Arthur George Rust Jr. Art Rust Jr. died this past week at the age of 82 from complications of Parkinson’s.

Art’s show was the first sports show I made an effort to tune into. His opinions on sports were intelligent and thought out. As part of his show, he interviewed players, coaches, and those that worked in the front office. Rust was a total professional who never belittled his audience. And although he was a fan of the game, he never let his rooting interests cloud his opinion. Until he admitted to being a Yankee fan during one show, I had no idea which New York baseball team he rooted for. Although Rust was an expert on all sports, baseball was his passion. Knowing that, I became an instant fan of his.

His recollection of baseball events was uncanny. He often talked of past games and glory in a way that made you feel like you were listening to your dad or an uncle waxing poetic about the past. Art did this without resources. Records and events were imprinted in his brain. He needed no computer or sports encyclopedia to reference. He knew it all.

Unlike today’s sports talk show hosts whose personalities are most often front and center, Art was old school. He was a professional who treated sports, athletes, and fans with the utmost respect. It was rare that Art would be critical of a caller. If he did, you can be sure the caller deserved it.

Art, an African America, grew up in Harlem. As a boy he dreamed of playing baseball in the Major Leagues. For him at the time, it remained a dream because the color line had yet to be broken. Art talked of going to Yankee stadium and hearing derogatory remarks thrown his direction in regards to his skin color. But it did not deter him from following the sport that he loved so much.

I very much enjoyed listening to him talk of the Negro Leagues. He often wondered how the record books would have been different had the black stars of that era had a chance to compete with Ruth, Gehrig, and Cobb. He often talked of Josh Gibson, claiming Ruth did not hit a ball as hard or as far as he had.

I remember him getting angry at someone on the radio just once. It was Davey Johnson.

Johnson had just been hired as Mets manager at the 1983 winter meetings. Johnson’s cockiness and arrogance was immediate apparent when he told Art in an interview that the Mets would be fine with the likes of Wally Backman, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and others Johnson had managed at Tidewater. Pressing him further, Rust kept questioning him about how he would be able to work with a team that had shown such little progress and would likely finish in last place. Johnson growing annoyed made a remark that Rust was saying these things because he was broadcasting on the Yankee channel (at the time, Yankee games were on WABC radio). Later, an infuriated Rust railed on Johnson, more or less saying let’s see what he amounts too. Well, in Johnson’s first year, he went on to manage the Mets to a 90-72 record finishing in second place in the NL East. Rust did something you seldom hear from today’s sports talk hosts. He admitted he was wrong and did so to Davey. He did not hold a grudge and became one of Johnson’s fans. Art Rust had class.

In 1986, Rust suffered a great personal loss when his wife Edna, passed away from illness. At the conclusion of every show hence, Art always ended by saying goodnight Edna. And now it’s time for his fans to say thanks for the great memories from the 1980s and good night to you Art.

I have tried, ever since I created this blog, to be fair to Mets management. I started doing this in March of 2006. Being a Mets fan for so many years and with the advent of the web, I felt it was a great time to create a blog devoted to one of the things I have enjoyed so much over the years. Writing this blog, I have strived to be as objective as possible. I didn't want this to be a blog that just railed on every conceivable negative thing the Mets did. I have been criticized for being too kind to the Mets, even accused of being on the Mets payroll. I wish. But after this latest fiasco with Carlos Beltran, after what happened last year, my patience has worn very thin.

What really went wrong here? Beltran had pain in his right knee again. He sought help from one of the best orthopedic doctors in the world, Dr. Richard Steadman of Vail, Colorado. Dr. David Altchek, the Mets team physician and great orthopedic surgeon agreed with Dr. Steadman, that surgery was required. Beltran had the surgery not wanting to prolong his start of 2010 more than he had to. And let's face it. Had the Mets reviewed the results and then proceeded to obtain yet a third opinion, surgery might have been pushed back indefinitely, perhaps jeopardizing Beltran's entire season.

Yesterday the Mets held a conference call and stated they were concerned that they were left out of the decision. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why that was. At least for Beltran, the trust in terms of medical decisions had eroded to nothing. He rightfully made the decision to have surgery. The arthroscopic surgery was a success. Hopefully Beltran will be back sooner than later and will have a fine season. As I said yesterday, I would rather have Beltran at full strength for five months instead of being in and out of the lineup nursing a painful knee all season long.

But yet the Mets are hinting of legal recourse. Do they plan to recoup some of Beltran’s salary why he’s on the disabled list or perhaps void the remaining two years on his contract? If so, they are simply being ridiculous. In the conference call, assistant GM John Ricco kept repeating that the Mets expected to be able to discuss the information with Dr. Steadman and Dr. Altchek, and perhaps they would have sought a third opinion.  In light of what happened last year, and the season before when the handling of Ryan Church was so bungled, did Mets management actually think their fans would side with them over Beltran’s decision. If so then they are also delusional.

Plus where the hell was Omar Minaya? What does that say about the organization’s faith in the GM? Who is in charge over there? The fact that Omar has not uttered a word publicly about this speaks volumes. The conference call was nothing more than an attempt to douse the flames of further criticisms from the fans and media. But in typical Mets fashion all they did was to poor gasoline on to the fire.

More and more it is becoming clear that the front office suffers from some serious dysfunction. Some fans have criticized the Mets for not changing medical staffs. The Mets use the Hospital of Special Surgery and Dr. Altchek is the team doctor. He is one of the most renowned orthopedic surgeons in the field. The problem is not the medical staff. The problem is with how the Mets front office handles the data they get from their doctors.

What’s very obvious about this entire affair is how the Mets left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing. According to accounts in the newspapers and one just relayed from Craig Carton of WFAN, Omar Minaya knew of Beltran’s desire to get the surgery now so he could rehab and get on the field as soon as possible. Jeff Wilpon was with Minaya at the owner’s meeting in Arizona. One must assume that Wilpon knew of the impending surgery as well. And if not, why not? Who planned the press conference? Ricco on his own? Doubtful. (Is Jason Bay shaking his head about now wondering what he got himself into?)

Only the Mets could take a situation where on the surface, it looked as if they had a legitimate reason to be upset, and then turn it into a total public relations disaster. But perhaps more importantly, with the hint of legal action, there is a rift brewing between the club and Carlos Beltran. Perfect, just what every team should do, piss off their star player and super agent Scott Boras. And for those of you who thing Angel Pagan is the answer in center, let’s see how that works out. Beltran said last season he would like to finish his career with the Mets. I wonder if he feels that way now.

Now I have been critical of Beltran in the past of not playing when he’s hurt. But others such as Ed Coleman have said that is flat out not true. Beltran has played often since being with the club when not feeling his best. In this particular case, it sounds as if Beltran’s desire to have surgery immediately was due to him wanting to get it over with and be healthy for the majority of the season. Did the Mets actually not want him to have surgery when two of the top experts in the field agreed he needed it? Is their reason for demanding time to digest, discuss, and come up with other alternatives smarter than just getting done what the surgeons recommended? The Mets approach would have delayed the surgery causing him to miss more of the season. Don’t they see that? In light of this, I wonder how much management mishandled all the injuries last year. Why is it you do not see other clubs behave this way?

This whole affair just reeks of a team with a lack of direction. There is no one person in charge of baseball operations. Jeff Wilpon appears to be a meddler, micro managing things outside of his expertise. Omar Minaya appears to be a lame duck GM. There is such little confidence in him that John Ricco was asked to chair the conference call. And he sounded just as lost as all the others.

What really disturbs me about this whole event is not that Beltran will miss part of the year. It’s that the Mets front office is not all on the same page. The front office, always so concerned about public perception, constantly shoots themselves in the foot. The public is right to perceive dysfunction because it is painfully obvious.

And you know how all this will end. You just do. Beltran will return and have a fine season. He will have an outstanding season next year and will ultimately finish his career in New York…with the Yankees.

Here it is January, and already it appears the Mets season is falling apart. That’s because of yesterday’s development that Carlos Beltran, on his own apparently, elected to have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee which flared up again over the last several weeks.

What should the Mets do? Should they make Angel Pagan the everyday centerfielder till Beltran returns? Should they acquire Johnny Damon as John Harper of the Daily News suggested this morning (and he gets paid to write?)?

Let’s take an objective look at the situation. First, let’s assume the best case scenario. First off, although Beltran acted on his own to have the surgery, he did so with the notion that he would be one hundred percent healthy for the majority of the season which for him, would begin around May 1st. If that’s the case, then the Mets would take that.

In the worst case scenario, Beltran could take more time to come back, perhaps not until June and maybe he won’t be healthy all season. If that’s the case, can the Mets live with Angel Pagan playing the majority of the season in centerfield? This is not the discussion most Mets fans wanted to have this early in the year.

Once again, the Mets will be perceived to be a dysfunctional organization. The questions have already started. How could the Mets have not been aware or allowed Beltran to have this surgery on his own? First off, the Mets do not keep their players in a cage in the bowels of Citi Field in the off season. If it’s true, and all reports indicate it is, that the Mets were unaware of Beltran’s decision to have surgery, what exactly was the organization suppose to do? Let’s be logical here.

The Mets are investigating legal recourse which they should. They have to cover themselves in the event Beltran is out for the season. However, there is not much the Mets will be able to do. They will not be able to void his contract. That would be a legal fight they cannot win. Beltran’s agent, Scott Boras, is already claiming the surgery was necessary, not elective.

The Mets are understandably angry and who could blame them. Regardless of the injury plague that happened last season, Dr. David Altchek, the Mets team doctor, is one of the most renowned orthopedic surgeons in the country. He operates on many athletes from many sports. He should have been consulted.  With 37 million due Beltran over the final two seasons of his contract, the Mets should have been involved with the decision.

What’s done is done. The Mets have to hope Beltran only misses a month of the season. I would rather have a healthy Carlos Beltran for five months of the season than one hobbling around for six. I’m sure that was Carlos’s thinking as well. So the question is who will be the Mets centerfielder on opening day. Today, you would have to say Angel Pagan. But it could be Fernando Martinez. Don’t count on the latter though because here’s a guy who can’t stay healthy either.

Assuming the Mets could spend some more money once they sign Molina and a pitcher, they could go to the market for an outfielder. Here is a list of outfielders still available on the market, none of which are centerfielders.

Garrett Anderson
Marlon Anderson (remember him and no way)
Rick Ankiel
Rocco Baldelli
Frank Catalanotto
Endy Chavez (he suffered a severe leg injury and missed more than half of last season with Seattle)
Johnny Damon (Harper is out of his mind, could you imagine Damon in cavernous center field at Citi, and also too expensive)
David Dellucci
Jermaine Dye
Darin Erstad
Jeff Florentino
Cliff Floyd (nice sentimental choice)
Ryan Freel
Brian Giles
Jonny Gomes
Gabe Gross
Freddy Guzman
Reed Johnson
Graig Monroe
Matt Murton
Xavier Nady (Won’t likely be ready to play till May 1st either and no way in center)
Robb Quinlan
Jeremy Reed (I could see the Mets bringing him back now, a good defender)
Gary Sheffield (Yeah, right)
Matt Stairs (former Phillie)
Corey Sullivan (Surprised the Mets didn’t hold on to him, numbers game I guess)
So Taguchi
Fernando Tatis (no, not again)
Marcus Thames
Randy Winn

None of these players are a good choice for center field. It is likely that Angel Pagan and Fernando Martinez will have to hold the fort while Beltran gets healthy. Let’s hope Beltran gets healthy.

A few months back, I wrote a piece about steroids in baseball and drugs in general in our society. In it I stated I did not care that ball players used steroids. I did not condone it but that I understood the culture of the professional athlete and the lack of testing that enabled many players to opt to perform better through chemistry. I also pointed out how we as a society are overly medicated. From curtailing the symptoms of a cold to enhancing our erections, to reducing our cholesterol to relieving our anxiety, most Americans are popping something into their mouths daily. Even the morning cup or two of coffee enhances our performance to some degree. It is human nature to medicate ourselves. We want to feel better and perform at our best.

And for those of us who are holier than thou, which one of us would not consider some form of performance enhancing drug if it meant doubling our pay? I know I would consider it and I don’t smoke, don’t take drugs and except for an occasional beer, hardly drink. The point is I find it hard to throw rocks at an athlete for taking a medication to help him or her perform better when CEOs, actors, lawyers, the cop on the beat, and many others are taking drugs too just to make it through the day. The double standard is endless.

That being said, Mark McGuire completely blew his credibility last evening when interviewed by Bob Costas of MLB Network.  The fact that McGuire claimed that he only took steroids for his health completely marginalized everything else in the interview. When asked by Costas whether the steroids helped him hit more home runs, McGuire kept insisting he would have hit just as many had he not taken steroids. He claimed his ability was God given and that steroids do not make a hitter have better hand-eye coordination or make you stronger. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

It is debatable whether steroids improve your eyesight but some studies suggest they do. I know that PEDs would not even allow me to play in an over fifty league. Steroids alone cannot turn someone into an athlete let alone a superstar. Certainly McGuire was a talented home run hitting ballplayer without the use of steroids and yes he possessed keen hand-eye coordination. But the facts are the facts. Steroids allowed him as well as many others in baseball to hit more balls further culminating in more home runs. We all agree that steroids make athletes stronger and allow them to heal faster keeping them on the field longer. That fact alone dictates that the performance will be better. If a player hits a ball 375 feet to the warning track consistently without steroids, it stands to reason with increased strength on steroids, he will hit those same drives over the wall.

And that’s where McGuire’s contrition fell short. The fact he could not admit that taking steroids made him a better hitter compromised his apology. Ironically, his stated reason for taking steroids, that he was falling apart physically in 1993-1994 and that the health benefits of steroids allowed him to feel normal and continue playing is an indictment in itself. If steroids only improved his health, then they still improved his performance for allowing him to continue playing. But that connection was never made by McGuire. And if he thoroughly believes he would have hit just as many homers without steroids, then why did he feel so compelled to tearfully apologize to Roger Maris’s family, to his own family, to baseball, to the fans?

McGuire said several times during the interview that he wished he never played during the steroid era. Let’s consider that. McGuire stated he was considering retirement because of injury. Had he not had the option of steroids, he would have had to leave the game. If he had, obviously McGuire would have never had the opportunity to compile the numbers he ended with. Once again, it was steroids that allowed him to continue. That God given talent would not have had a chance to break any records without those performance enhancing drugs.

Mark McGuire had the chance to be a national hero today. All he had to do was slightly amend his confession. When Bob Costas asked him if the reason he broke the all time season home run record was because of steroids, all McGuire had to say was one word—yes. Saying yes would have been the truth. Saying yes would have not made fans feel so embarrassed for him today. Saying yes would have made everyone watching realize that this was a man taking responsibility.  McGuire would have been a role model because he put truth before his stature as a ballplayer, before his legacy as a record holder, and before his chance of ever getting into the Hall of Fame.

The fans are not stupid. We know that Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds were great ballplayers with or without steroids. But we also know that steroids made them better.

Since baseball installed the new drug testing policy, homeruns have gone down dramatically. They have shrunken with the same watered down pitching, the same band box ballparks, the same harder maple bats, and the same tighter wound balls. Why do you suppose that is? We know the answer. Why doesn’t Mark McGuire?