Despite last night’s brutal loss to the rival Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets are obviously a different team with Jerry Manuel at the helm. The rifts in the clubhouse appear over, the biting comments in the media have stopped and even some Met fans are calling for Carlos Delgado to return in 2009. Delgado has resurrected his season (and career) while under Manuel, and Jose Reyes, the key that opens the Mets offensive door, has elevated his game since the departure of Willie Randolph. It is widely known that Delgado and Reyes were two of Randolph’s biggest critics.

Manuel has provided a calming influence over the team from utilizing all his players (even the rookies!) to letting the veterans play “their game.” Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy have played big roles during the Mets resurgence, something they likely would not have had a chance to do under Randolph. Willie was a disciple of Joe Torre, a managerial style which was more comfortable with veterans over young players.

Since replacing Randolph Manuel allowed players to play their own music in the clubhouse, something the strict Randolph did not allow. Little things like that is big in the minds of players. They are less restricted and more relaxed with Manuel’s rules “which allowed us to be ourselves” one player was quoted.

Managers today are more like guidance counselors to their players rather than X’s and O’s guys. Therefore, the only major job is to guide the pitching staff, something Manuel has recently begun to excel.
His great job is not that he is mixing and matching his bullpen well, but that with his best starters, Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey, Manuel is going to his bullpen less often. No more babying of pitchers.

That is something I have clamored for the Mets (and Yankees) to do on many a past occasion.

Pelfrey was supposed to have skipped a start (or maybe two) to keep his innings down, with the theory that more than a 40 innings increase the prior season would possibly injure the 24 year old. The innings limit and missed starts will not happen under Manuel, who has made it clear to the media that it is HIS DECISION to pitch Pelfrey a lot down the stretch.

And Manuel is not worried about potential injury. “You’re trying to win a championship - period, ” Manuel said. ”And I’ve always said that in the course of winning a championship, there will be some damage to some folks. That’s the sacrifice, the cost, the price of a championship. Someone will have to do something they haven’t done before.”

Upfront talk from the interim manager. Not because those are his thoughts with 30 games to go, but that he actually has boldly said them to the world, and more importantly, the ravenous New York media.

Without a properly working bullpen, Manuel means that Santana and Pelfrey will have to do more. Manuel knows that during the late stages of a horse race, a manager must ride his best horses to the finish line. Right now, Santana and Pelfrey are Manuel’s two stallions.

That is great news for Met fans and shows that Manuel is not worried about how he is perceived, something his predecessor worried too much about. He is bucking conventional wisdom of innings limits to win games and possibly championships.

That is the type of leader that needs to be around for the long term.

Jerry Manuel knows that he will be judged by whether the Mets make the playoffs and win a championship. Judged by the fans, the media, his players, but especially the Wilpon’s. Never mind Omar Minaya, Manuel is trying to prove to ownership that he is the one guy to lead the Mets into Citi Field in 2009. Thus far, the Wilpon’s have not taken the interim label off Manuel, but if they don’t, some other team - like the Seattle Mariners or Texas Rangers - just might.

The Mets announced today that they have promoted 17 year old shortstop Wilmer Flores, 20 year old 1st baseman/3rd baseman Stefan Welch from Kingsport to Savannah, as well as LHP Mitch Houck and RHP Samuel Martinez from the Gulf Coast League Mets.

Flores finished the Kingsport season with a .310 average to go with 8 home runs and 41 RBI in 59 games. Welch posted a .281 average with 4 home runs and 34 RBI in 63 games. Houck was 2-2 with a 1.08 ERA in the GCL before his move up, and Martinez was 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA.

I will be doing a pregame show before the games in Philly and the Bronx. You can call in at specific times at 646-716-8187. Joe Delgrippo will join me to break down the games and take your calls and chat room comments. Scott Lauber, Phillies beat reporter for The News Journal, will also stop by to give us his take on last night’s wild 8-7 Phillies win.

To listen live CLICK HERE or go to our RADIO ARCHIVE to download the replay. You could also subscribe via iTunes link below.

Great job by NY Baseball Digest’s Joey DeMayo who was credited by Jon Heyman in today’s Daily Scoop. Joey was one of the first to report the possibly promotion of Jon Niese to take John Maine’s spot in the rotation.

Great job Joey! And thanks for the support Jon!

The Mets have a hole in their rotation due to the injury to John Maine. I just stated the obvious, but how about a not so obvious solution? With the report of the Tigers putting Kenny Rogers on waivers, with the intent of trading him before the 31st, I believe the Mets should take a look. That statement probably get a reaction without anyone reading another letter of this post.

We all remember the basesloaded walk to Andruw Jones in the 1999 NLCS. What we forget is the rest of “The Gamblers” career.  He has 219 wins and an ERA slightly over four. Statistically he compares like Joe Niekro, Jamie Moyer, and David Wells. Just two years ago he won 17 games for the Tigers en route to the World Series. Why can’t he be an adaquate fifth starter in the event that Jon Niese fails?

Last September you had to sit back and watch players like Phil Humber and Brian Lawrence pitch “must win” games. Its possible you will rely on Jon Niese this year. Want to know where Niese was last year?  Pitching for High A St. Lucie Mets. I am not disputing going to Niese, but if a veteran is available on the cheap why not take him? You aren’t going to pitch him in the post-season, and you probably only need him for about 3 to 4 starts. Contract isn’t even a worry since he is a free agent at the end of the season.

Everyone seems to think he was a failure as a member of the Mets, but without Rogers they never make the playoffs in 1999. He was 5-1 down the stretch with an ERA of 4.03. In his biggest start of the season he struck out ten in seven and a third innings. The playoffs were dissapointing, but thats not why you are bringing him here. You simply need a fifth starter. What can it hurt to give him a look? If you don’t you are left without a safety net, just like 2007.

As predicted, the Twins have started a little nosedive since they left their comfortable nest and are now only three up in the loss column the Yankees (with eight games still remaining on their current road trip).  The Yanks have the Red Sox at home, and despite the loss tonight, are now still only six up.  The Yanks, after all they’ve been through, cannot ask for anything more with one month left in the season.  IT’S IN THEIR HANDS!

I look at the Red Sox pitching for the rest of the series and there is no one who scares me. Paul Byrd, although pitching better lately, was cast off by the Indians just a short while ago, and is making only his third start for Boston.  He has only ten quality starts out of twenty four this year (oh for two with Boston).  Jon Lester is coming off by far his worst start of the year and has never pitched this many innings as a professional.  Could he be hitting a wall?  FYI: Beckett is now scheduled to make his next start, but is also an injury risk going down the stretch.

Look folks, there is nothing wrong with clinging to a little hope, but that hope depends on the Yanks taking the next two games.  I still despise Ponson having to pitch game two, but I have no kicks matching him up against Byrd.  And I like the match up of Mussina vs. Lester.

If the Twins go 4-5 over the final nine games of their road trip, and the Yanks take 2 of 3 from Boston, then take care of business against Toronto and on Labor Day against an imploding Detroit Tiger team (by the way, Kenny Rogers may be let go this week), they could quite possibly be only 2 or 3 behind heading into Tampa on September 2nd-4th.

Here’s the thing………… anything longer than that distance from a playoff spot after the Tampa series………….. pull the plug.  Phil Allard and Joey DeMayo both wrote some terrific articles last week regarding the Yankee’s young players and their status for next year.  Ponson and Rasner need to be replaced by Hughes and Kennedy. Gardner needs to get some time in Center Field, etc.

But let’s not think about that.  Let’s give ourselves the chance………… to hope.

I am typically a guy who covers the minor leagues, but I felt that I had to write something on last night’s game. That was a game that hurt as a fan. Mets jump out to an early 7-0 lead behind the at the time cruising Pedro Martinez. He had only allowed 2 hits, no walks, no runs, and struck out 5. I was perfectly content with Pedro going 6, but he couldn’t make it through 5.

The bullpen deserves plenty of blame, as they allowed runs that led to the Mets loss, but the offense deserves a lot of blame, after the early 7 run outburst, the Mets had I believe it was 4 or 5 hits from then on against a Philadelphia bullpen that outside of Brad Lidge is very hittable. What sticks out in my mind most are the two double plays that Carlos Delgado and David Wright grounded into late in the game in spots where the Mets needed to add some insurance.

As far as the bullpen goes, a lot of credit has to be given to Brian Stokes and Aaron Heilman who both did their job, and did it very well. Stokes threw a strong 1.2 innings, including domination in his second inning. Heilman threw 3 good innings and despite some jams, he got out and kept the Mets in the game, and the offense just would not respond.

Jerry Manuel’s bullpen management also hurt the team in extras. Duaner Sanchez, whom I personally lack confidence in, should not have been brought in for the 8th if he was just going to get an out and then let up a hit and come out. And then Manuel proceeded to use Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano in the 8th, and that’s 3 of your 6 left bullpen arms. Luis Ayala came in for the save and retired Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino, which made me have a huge sigh of relief.

Then Jayson Werth stepped up, cracked his bat and shot one into center field, and with Eric Bruntlett being the last possible pinch hitter, I was still positive. I thought to myself that Ayala got two tough lefties out in Howard and Victorino, gave up a hit to a righty Werth, he has to get Bruntlett of the .214 average out. But nope, Bruntlett hit one into the right field gap, and Ryan Church had a good relay in to Damion Easley who rushed the throw home and threw it off line, although it may have been something Brian Schneider could’ve caught, but I won’t blame Schneider for Easley’s poor throw.

From that point on, I had thought the Mets were in trouble, the way they were playing, and the way Philadelphia was playing. It turned out the way my gut felt. This loss is the kind of loss that could really start a downward trend for the Mets, but every time the Mets have faced adversity under Manuel, they seemed to rebound. And with Johan Santana on the mound tonight against Kyle Kendrick, whom the Mets have roughed up in the past, there should be some confidence. I don’t think Met fans should be at the edge of the cliff, they are still only half a game out, and a win tonight puts them right back where they were, a half game up.

This still has to be one of the more difficult losses in recent memory for this Mets team. But the Mets can’t take this as tough as the fans are, as that can only lead to a downfall, they have to absorb it for what it is, and go out tonight and beat up Kendrick, and don’t let the Phillies bullpen completely shut you down. I almost believe that the Mets get out to early leads, and then kind of just go into auto-pilot and are just like, “ok let’s get to the 9th already”. But last night’s game has to drive the Mets, anything else could lead to an epic fall.

Anyone who’s followed the Yankees this year could not have been too surprised at last night’s game. The Yanks were facing their biggest series of the year. On the precipice of falling out of the wild card race, each Yankee player knew that the team could climb to within 2 games of Boston with a sweep.

But Andy Pettitte, who has been known as a 2nd half pitcher up until this year, completely self-destructed in the 5th inning. With 2 men out and no one on base, down only 3-2, Andy gave up a seemingly harmless single to Jason Bay. But then Andy couldn’t shake his anger. He pounded the dirt with his shoe, cursed, pounded his glove, and then proceeding to let in three runs on three more hits.

Pettitte has pitched many a huge game for the Yanks, and that can’t be taken away from him. But when I saw him lose his composure and just hand the game over to Boston last night I thought those actions were quite typical for what the entire team has become: The 2008 Yankees are overpaid, underachieving, and incompetent.

During that same 5th inning, Jason Giambi simply refused to throw home as Coco Crisp scored from 2nd on a 2-out infield single. Jeff Bailey was clearly safe at first, but Giambi strolled about the baseline and seemed not to realize the umpire’s call. He saw Crisp race toward home, but just held the ball. This was a vintage 1962 Marvelous Marv Thornberry moment.

And then there was the enigmatic A-Rod. After Johnny Damon hit his 2nd homer of the night in the bottom of the fifth with one out, Jeter and Abreu both singled. Wakefield was on the ropes, but he had enough left to bedazzle A-Rod. He kept throwing outside floaters that A-Rod tried to pull. A-Rod eventually flew out weakly. No one in the building was surprised two innings later when A-Rod came up with bases loaded and one out. The season at this point was literally on the line. A weak grounder to short ended the inning. 6-4-3 DP. Fittingly, A-Rod ended the game by striking out with 2 outs in the 9th.

As the production of A-Rod and Giambi with runners in scoring position continues to plummet, so does the vanishing Yankee hopes. You can blame the injuries, you can blame the pitching, but these guys are not getting it done.

So ends the Yankee season. But don’t despair, Yankee fans. Prize free agent signing Kei Igawa had a good game for Scranton. He pitched 6 shutout innings, giving up just 4 hits. Nice signing, Cash!

We haven’t had to talk about “it” in quite some time. The arrival of Johan Santana was the air freshener that put “it” behind us. The dawn of the 2008 season gave us the proverbial “turn the page”. When “it” started to creep into our vocabulary Willie Randolph got himself fired and subsequently, the Mets won 10 games in a row. If you don’t know what “it” is by now, you haven’t been paying attention. Tonight the collapse of 2007 is front in center at Citizens Bank Ballpark.

In April, I wrote “New Year, Same Fear” for another site that I shall keep nameless (don’t want to be accused of an intellectual property violation). The piece discussed the home opening loss to the Phillies. I questioned if the Mets would ever be able to beat the Philadelphia, if every bounce and break would go the opposite way, and if they could ever get over their “fear” of them.

All my concerns in that article have not been founded. The Mets have won 9 of 13 games, going into tonights contest, against the Phillies. They have gotten lucky bounces and been able to make plays in the clutch. Even Citizen’s Bank Ballpark, which I often confuse for a little league field, has seen the Mets win five of seven contests.

Tonight I will watch to see how this team plays. These games are not “must wins”, far from it, but they are important for the psyche of this pennant race. The Phils for the first time in a while feel good about themselves. They are hitting and pitching on all cylinders. Beating the Mets would validate their weekend against the “lackluster Dodgers” and build some momentum. You know they want these two games, especially if they could beat the Mets physical (Santana) and emotional (Pedro) aces. For the Mets, winning both these game could very well catapult them into September. Extinguishing any doubts, if they exist, that 2008 is a different year. Even a split, although less sexy, will get the job done. But two losses might bring back those questions about character and pressure. Fair or not, until the champagne is popped this team will have to live with that failure.

Ironically the big game tonight is not at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox coming to town doesn’t seem to generate the same type of buzz as it use to. The Mets and Phils finally have themselves a rivalry, although I still think its more the result of the Mets losing then the Phillies winning. The Phillies have shown they are a better team when behind. Counting them out makes them that much more dangerous. The Mets are a team that seems to bumble prosperity in excruciating ways. Regardless of the score tonight I will wait to pass judgment till after the series is over. I don’t know what to expect this series, but I do know our old friend is back in the building… The Ghost of 2007… The specter of failure.

I never thought I would see the day that the Yankees/Red Sox would be overshadowed by a Mets/Phillies series. Historically the city of Philadelphia is closer, but the rivalry couldn’t have been more far apart. Going into 2006 I think the Mets and Phillies finished first or second once . That was in 1986 and you really can’t count a season which the second place team was 26 games behind. Things have changed since the great collapse of 2007 and the Mets/Phils has been front and center whenever they play. Whats interesting is this week they go against the greatest rilvalry in baseball history.

Yankees/Red Sox even had me, a hardcore Mets fan, enjoying the epic contests. I was glued to the TV during Games 6 and 7 in 2004. The 2003 series was some of the best post-season baseball I had seen in a long time. Even some of the regular season contests were intriguing enough to flick over from whatever station the Mets were being carried on at the time.

The Yankees play for their lives this week. The Red Sox, who aren’t really the lovable underdogs anymore, can squash another Yankees season. They have been doing a lot of that since 2004, much to the joy of the “crack committee” of Yankees haters.

The big story is in Philly, but lets not forget this rivalry can heat up at anytime. The Red Sox, despite their two World Series this decade, have never shown the ability to knock the Yankees out during the regular season. Last year they could have buried them before the fourth of July and failed to come through. September almost saw two collapses as the Yanks drew to within a couple of games the last week of the season.

Old habits don’t die fast. The Yankees, although sick, are not yet on life support. There is just enough distance between them and the wild card to still say “they are in the room”. I kept harping on the fact that the 2007 Mets never put the Phillies away. Keep a team close and you never know what they are capable of doing.

It seems the mainstream media has lost interest in the Yankees/Red Sox and want to relegate it to off-Broadway. Something tells me that winning 2 or 3 in this series might change that perception. Today very few, outside of the Bronx, care. It will be interesting what the end of business on Thursday will bring.