Swanny, Stadia, Manny, Ollie

On another quiet morning in Flushing, I thought I’d take a look around the internet to see what’s out there:

Hotfootblog correctly observes that just about every Mets fan now wants Manny.  Why would a franchise not want to offer the customer the player that the customers want?  It boggles the mind.  It would be very easy for all parties to show up at the press conference and say “we heard how much you wanted him, here he is” and Manny can stand there in a black #99 jersey with a lame patch and I’ll keep my mouth shut.

Forbes magazine also thinks the Mets need to grab Manny.

The Subway Sqwakers blog and the Daily News both observe that as much sense as Manny makes for 2009, he may make even more sense for 2010!

Not surprisingly the Mets are upping their offer to Oliver Perez.   I don’t think any of us are shocked that this is happening.

Craig Swan is 59 years old now and has a dog powered scooter.

My favorite piece out there is from the Amazin’ Avenue blog which has a collection of Mets Sports Illustrated covers throughout the years.   The young Dwight Gooden makes me sad.   It’s a very cool collection, check it out!

Meanwhile in the Bronx, they haven’t signed Manny yet (who will be surprised when they do?) but the great River Ave Blues blog has this virtual tour of Yankee Stadium (and here’s one of Citi Field – what’s up with the yellow hat on the scoreboard).

www.metspolice.com

Angels Smarter Than Mets (WBC)

The Angels aren’t going to let Vladimir Guerrero play in the WBC because he had an off-season surgery.  This isn’t Vlad deciding not to play, the Angels won’t let him.   They also aren’t going to let  pitcher John Lackey and catcher Mike Napoli play.

Good for them.  The Angels are putting the Angels first.  The Angels aren’t worried about MLB’s desire to market something in March that nobody wants.

Meanwhile the Mets, who would be crazy to let Santana play (and I don’t think they will) are going to head into the spring with Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, K-Rod and maybe Santana all not in camp…..or as I like to call that list “the whole team.”

Spring is a time for team building.   Camaraderie.   Get to know each other.   Try out some lineup combinations. Feel like a unit.

Why jeopardize your season so Team Italy can win a made up tournament?   Good job out of the Angels.

www.metspolice.com

Daily News on Manny

I wish I had written this.  It sums up all the frustration of all the fans.   From Bill Price in the Daily News:
In years past, the Mets would’ve told everyone they were interested in Manny, only to have some other team eventually sign him. It’s nice that can’t happen this year. Thanks for letting us down easy.

I can now focus on Alex Cora, Freddy Garcia and the rest of the other key offseason acquisitions the Mets have made. I can now start accepting this Fernando Tatis/Daniel Murphy platoon in left and three more years of Luis Castillo at second.

I figure since it’s only January, I’m better prepared for the late-season collapse. That is, of course, if this team actually has a lead in the division late in the season. The more this offseason drags on, the more I doubt that will be the case

As for Manny, I promise this is the last time I will mention him on this blog until the day he signs with the Yankees.

Why do I have a feeling he’s right about the Yankees?   I think the only thing that would stop them is if they fear that this signing would be the straw on the camel’s back that gets MLB talking about a salary cap.
Bill’s full piece is at the link below.