Mets Give Omar A 4-Year Extension

I heard about this tonight on ESPN, if it's true they can't be serious:

General manager Omar Minaya and the Mets have agreed on a four-year contract extension, SI.com has confirmed. An official announcement is not expected until after the season.

Minaya's several high-profile acquisitions have built the Mets into a perennial contender in the National League, and while the timing of the news is a little unusual in that the Mets are struggling in September for a second straight season, an extension was expected all along based on the club's overall improvement during his tenure. He also enjoys an excellent working relationship with the Wilpon family, which owns the Mets.

Unbelievable! And yet another example of why the Wilpons should sell the team. The Mets are on the verge of collapsing for the second straight season and ownership is busy working on an extension for a GM who stood by and did NOTHING to fix his team's most blatant problem. God, where is Nelson Doubleday when you need him?

Memories Of Yankee Stadium

I'm no Yankee fan, but being an NYC native I've probably been to Yankee Stadium about 10 times in my life (thru invites from friends, free tickets, etc), the last being 2007 where I had the good fortune to watch Alex Rodriguez hit two home-runs. Honestly, i have nothing bad to say about The House That Ruth Built on the day the Yanks are playing their last game there today. It's a beautiful park, the fans are great and yes, there is a mystique to being there. The Yankees clearly don't need a new park (esp. when you remember that this one was remodeled for two years in the 70's), but the team is no longer winning on the field and in these tense financial times, you gotta make $$$ any way you can get it I guess. Lastly, I'd say that my best memory of Yankee Stadium was getting to see my favorite player of all-time, Don Mattingly, play in person.

Jerry Manuel's Mistake

The Mets are falling fast and everyone is rightfully talking deja vu. But again, if the Mets don't make the playoffs Omar Minaya needs to be fired mostly for failing to address his team's most dire need: bullpen help. I'm sick and tired of people like Mike Francesa covering for Omar's ass with his "well it's tough to get a reliever", "know one was out there" BS. If the Mets had Brian Cashman or Theo Epstein as GM, I guarantee that either one would've done better than bringing in a 1-7 pitcher with a 6+ ERA from a last place team (no offense to Luis Ayala whose done a pretty decent job, but you get my drift). And yes there were guys out there like ex-Met Chad Bradford (picked up by Tampa Bay) and the A's Huston Street (considering that the A's have tossing out pitchers like wet rags this year, I don't see how the Mets just couldn't get Street before the trade deadline). Either one would've helped this team immensely, but if as I suspect Omar didn't want to let go of his personal "super prospect" Fernando Martinez (who's so good that he wasn't even promoted to the big leagues with the rest of the September call-ups), it just shows you another reason why overall Omar has been a failure as a GM.

Besides all that Jerry Manuel isn't helping his case by refusing to let Luis Castillo bat second in the line-up, where he's a much better fit than 7th. Castillo is a proven hitter, high OBP guy, a veteran and a winner. Ryan Church hasn't been himself since May, he should be batting 6th or 7th. Judging from Castillo getting benched for Argenis Reyes today, you definitely get the feeling that there's something personal going on between Castillo and Manuel, but now not the time for that stuff, Manuel needs to concentrate on doing what's best for the team and batting Castillo down in the order is not it.

Braves 7, Mets 4

Yeah, chalk this one up to "One of the Worst Loses of the Season". Ayala clearly didn't have it and of course it comes against the Braves, still shooting us in the foot after all these years. I guess the only good thing to come out of this is that even of the Phillies sweep the pathetic Brewers today, we'll still be one up in the division and one out of the wild-card. But I want the division, dammit!

On Tom Brady Being Out For The Season....

If you're a Jets fan like I am, you'd have to be an idiot not to be excited about the league's premiere QB (a guy who your team has the misfortune of having to face twice a year and who beats the crap out of you just about every time you play him) being out for the season. That said, I'm not going to get to go crazy and make this upcoming game against the Pats any more than what it is: Game 2. In other words, even if the Jets lose this Sunday, they're still 1-1 and the season will not be over no matter what the media thinks. Of course, the idea of losing to a QB who hasn't started a game since high-school will be a little embarrassing.

On Billy Wagner's Injury...

No disrespect to him, but for the Mets I honestly feel that they're better off without Billy Wagner. Wagner blew some incredible games this season, he's never done well in the clutch (including the playoffs) and so far, Luis Ayala has done a pretty decent job. Yes, the bullpen is still the Mets biggest weakness, but besides Aaron Heilmann, I really feel that they're going to step it up down the stretch. As for Wagner, he'll get better soon enough and maybe he'll be able to pitch again sometime for somebody, but ever since he came to the team and disrespected Mariano Rivera by continuing to use the same entrance song, I've found him hard to like.

Game 1: Jets 20, Dolphins 14

I know that all of the attention today was on Favre, but to me the story of the day was the defense and bad coaching by Eric Mangini. Not using your punter for an extra point after the second TD in the first half? Bad move. Not trying to go for points on the last drive before the half? Bad move. And there were plenty I can't recall now that hopefully the media will catch in tomorrow's papers. Great game by Dwight Lowery tho who certainly deserved the game ball.

Even Stephon Marbury's Cousin Thinks He's Selfish

Well look at this, one of Marbury's fam confirms what I've been saying for years:

Stephon Marbury has carried the stigma of being a selfish player for the majority of his 12-year NBA career.

Now, his older cousin is saying Marbury is even more self-centered off the court and is dishing details on the Knicks point guard in his autobiography, "The Beautiful Struggle," the Daily News has learned.

The book, due out in late September from Xlibris Publishing, has former NBA pro and current overseas player Jamel Thomas alleging that Marbury ruined a potential deal for him with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In it, Thomas includes a conversation that he allegedly had with Kevin Garnett, in which Garnett tells him how Marbury's presence on the team spoiled his cousin's chances of signing with Minnesota.

"Stephon's selfish - It's just the way he is," Thomas told The News. "He never put himself out there at all to help me. He left me out to dry. Too many false promises. I still love him, but he's selfish."

See what I'm talking about? Called out by your own cousin. Can the Knicks please trade or waive this cancer before he makes them worse (granted, that'd be hard to do after last season, but you get the point).

Patrick Ewing Goes In The Hall of Fame Today

He wasn't immortal. He was rarely dominant. MJ always had his number. He never had a great No. 2 and he never won a championship, but when you think about the mess the Knicks have been in since he left, you can appreciate the sustained excellence Patrick Ewing brought to the court year after year. For that he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Carlos Delgado For MVP

This is my second time saying this, but really is there anyone in the National League whose made more of a difference to his team than Delgado? The MVP isn't about who has the best stats, it's about who's delivered the most when it counts. Today, the Mets are in first place because of Carlos Delgado.