Ridiculousness

You know, I know the collapse was hard to take as a fan, I'm with you. I know it was awful what we witnessed over the past 2 weeks. I get it. But for the love of Pete, sit back before you spout ridiculous trade proposals, OK?

It is bad enough when the airheads on WFAN start talking about "Milledge gone, Beltran should be traded" (Mr. Russo, Beltran has a FULL NTC you tool. It was what tipped the scales in our favor over Houston you dolt. Now go enjoy Barry Zito in the playoffs. Wait, what's that?) We are used to this. It is not unusual for the lunatic fringe of fans to call up and agree with pap like this, since there is always a section of the fan base that can't help but take everything Fatso and Fruit Loops say as gospel. Like the story that Luis Castillo was the reason behind Reyes' slump. Castillo was apparently a bad influence on Jose. Really? The same guy who was loved in Minnesota? Who was looked up to by all his teammates suddenly was able to make Jose sulk? Now, it is possible I guess. However, if I am a betting man, I put my money on Rickey being the bad influence. But I have no proof of that, so take it with a grain of salt.

Besides the airheads on WFAN, we have fans coming up with brilliant ideas. I happened to turn on ESPN Radio last night on the way home from the gym ('cause Ed is nothing if not healthy) to get the score of the Padres/Rockies game. Instead, I hear Brandon Tierney talking to a caller who was saying the Mets should trade Jose Reyes. Yes, Reyes. It seems that since he had such an awful month, it is time to forget 2006 and move him for help. Let's take a close look at what this would mean.

As this season ends, the Mets are faced with openings at the following positions:

Catcher
Right Field
Second Base
Starting Pitching
Bullpen

So, it would be smart to create another hole by trading Reyes. Now, I know we would get back a nice package, probably filling a couple of those holes. One proposal was to trade him to the Dodgers for Billingsley and Loney. OK, tell me something. We are supposed to trade a 24 yr old leadoff hitting shortstop for a pitcher with 237 career major league innings and a 1st baseman who will sit since Delgado can't be traded due to his contract? Who plays shortstop then? Who leads off? Plus, you still have the other holes to fill.

As I said at the top, I understand the pain. Frankly, this hurts so much more than last year to me, since it took longer. The loss in the NLCS was quick, and frankly, given the injuries, it was somewhat expected. This year, being in first alone since the middle of May until Friday was long and painful. Changes do need to be made, and I think they will be. But lets keep the trade ideas somewhat sane OK?

And let's remember one more thing. There was another NY player who slumped in 2006 and the fan base wanted him traded. He wound up with a damn good 2007. I'm not saying Jose will put up those numbers, but lets give him another chance, shall we?

A couple of other things are burning me right now, mostly from the media.

1. Omar not giving Willie a blanket vote of confidence. Look, Omar needs to talk to the Wilpons. This is pretty simple. I don't care how much autonomy Omar has, at the end of the day, if the Wilpons want Willie gone, he will go. Omar isn't stupid, he is not going to make a promise only to have Jeff and Fred say "Nope, fire his ass".

2. Rick Down revisionist history. I get the Rick was a hard worker. I also know that before he was fired, the team was AWFUL with runners in scoring position, and had horrible game plans when it came to hitting. I also know the RISP #'s went up when HoJo took over. I also know that Down would have early success in his past jobs, only to falter after a couple of years. Pity the media doesn't see this.

3. Leave Lastings Milledge alone. So he did a little celebration with Reyes the other day after his second home run. Big Fat Hairy Deal. Reyes does it, and no one says boo. Milledge does it, and he is a punk. You know what, I like it. I like the fire, something that many fans were saying there wasn't enough of over the last month of the season. I've seen Delgado do the dances with Jose as well, you wanna call him out as well? Frankly, if it was me, I would have done the same damn thing. The kid was suspended (rightfully so) for 3 games, but then Willie continued to pinch hit the likes of David Newhan even after he was back. The kid gets a start and goes off. Good for him. Next year, I want him in right every damn day.

4. Willie's demeanor. It's funny, everyone wanted Torre to go off on his players. He didn't (at least publicly). What happened? They made the WC. Everyone wanted Willie to go off. He didn't. Should he have? Would it have mattered? We will never know. It shows that sometimes the media and fans aren't right when it comes to what has to be done.

Over the coming weeks, I will have posts about possible rosters, who should stay and who should go. I'll have something about Willie as well. I think he will be back. And he should be.

As far as the other two teams I follow, the Jets and Islanders, frankly, the Mets have had all my attention. In the case of the Jets, that is a good thing, as things look real bad. As for the Isles, I will have a preview up later this week.