From today’s Daily News…

Inside the visitors’ clubhouse at Dolphin Stadium, Mets Manager Jerry Manuel called over to Endy Chavez, requesting the outfielder come into the interim manager’s office.

“Chavy, we traded you for Manny Ramirez,” Manuel kidded.

“Straight up,” David Wright chimed in. “Nice job.”

Actually, the truth is, Manny is headed to Green Bay.

One of the primary trade deadline rumors surrounding the Mets is the question of whether or not they will make a move for a starting outfielder to replace the likes of Endy Chavez and Fernando Tatis having to play everyday.  Sure, the Mets missed out on Xavier Nady and plenty of fans are disappointed that the Mets failed to acquire him.  But in all reality people making Nady out to be super-stud that he’s not, because somehow this year he has managed to bat .43 points above his career average. 

There are some bigger names out there like Manny Ramirez and Matt Holiday, both of whom are amazing but to acquire them we would have to unload what’s left in our already ransacked minor league system.  I like Adam Dunn, but he’s not worth what the Reds are probably asking for him.  Randy Winn’s name has been involved in a trade rumor to the Mets more than once. 

Winn is a career .285 hitter with below average power and slightly above average speed.  However, he’s being paid $8 million this year, most of which the Mets would likely have to cover in a trade.  In addition to that, he’s under contract for next season at $8.25 million.  I don’t know about you, but this off season I think $8.25 million could be used much more productively. 

The notion of trading for Randy Winn isn’t terrible at first glance - he’s an adequate starter that would fit decently into the Mets lineup.  Yet, when the peripherals are examined like his contract the idea becomes more and more nonsensical.  Trading for him and his inflated contract becomes even more questionable when Kenny Lofton is sitting at home waiting for a phone call from a team. 

Lofton is a career .299 hitter and plays a similar style of baseball to Winn.  He’s not a power hitter, but on average he’ll hit you about 10 HRs in a season.  He’s definitely as good of a base stealer as Winn, if not better.  To sign Lofton, it will likely only cost a few million dollars and a guarantee of playing time on a contender - all of which the Mets can offer.  For other players like Winn it will cost us more money and a prospect or two - all of which for a player comparable and possible worse than Lofton. 

It would be silly for the Mets to get caught up in the trade deadline market where everyday teams are driving up the price on each other for players that are average to mediocre.  It is made especially silly by the fact that there is a quality player (Kenny Lofton) sitting at home waiting for a call from a team like the Mets. 

The Mets were decidedly average up until two weeks before the break. Hovering around or just below .500 for most of the first three months of the season, there was little there to give one enough of an idea that we had a playoff bound club on our hands.

Just as the first half was coming to a close, the Mets got on a roll. Winning 11 of their last 13 games, and putting themselves within a half game of first place in the NL East. They saw the emergence of Mike Pelfrey becoming the pitcher they had always envisioned him to be, going 6-0 with a 2.07 ERA since the start of June.

They saw their offense meet the expectations placed upon it, and the rebirth of Carlos Delgado who had all but become a shell of his former self. Delgado is batting .367, with 12 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs, seven RBIs in 45 at-bats since July 1st

They received the much needed help from players filling in for the numerous injuries sustained by their starters. Lacking Ryan Church, Moises Alou, and Luis Castillo for extended periods, their absence was adequately filled by the likes of Damion Easley, Argenis Reyes, Endy Chavez, and a Fernando Tatis who seemingly rose from the dead.

The bullpen has been outstanding as well as the starting pitching, setting records for the lack of runs and hits allowed throughout the streak. The Mets became the first team in modern baseball history (since 1900) to hold their opponent to three hits in five consecutive games. The bullpen hasn’t allowed a run in the last 19.1 innings of work and are 3-0 during that stretch.

Who are the real Mets? Are they the ones who floundered around for the first four months, inconsistent and unable to find their much needed groove or are they the Mets of the last two weeks, loose, relaxed and dominating their opponents at seemingly effortless clip.

The Mets haven’t had a groove like this since 2006, the second half will prove if they have the magic of that year in them, or if the last two weeks were simply an abberation.

Gary Grund contributed to this blog post.

One of the main problems for the Mets this season has been the fact that the Mets’ bench players (or as Gary Cohen so affectionately calls them, “The Irregulars,”) have gotten a little too regular.

This is not exactly a new problem, considering the Mets’ outfield was also decimated in 2007. Moises Alou was missing in action from May 13 through July 26 that year and only played in 87 games. Before Alou was injured, Lastings Milledge was hurt in the minors, and he didn’t return until July 12. Endy Chavez lost nearly three months of his season after a base-running injury on June 6 in a forgettable game against the Phillies. A young, not-yet-ready Carlos Gomez started in their stead until July 12 when he too was injured, shelving him for two full months. Even Shawn Green had a short D.L. stint from May 29 - June 11.

This year, though, Alou has only played a mind-boggling 15 games, putting him on pace for a much lower total. Alou is also on his third disabled list trip of this season as the Mets hit the halfway mark. Angel Pagan was impressive in spring training and April, but he hasn’t seen action since May 12. Ryan Church finally returned today and hopefully he is handled with kids’ gloves. No whammies.

This has led to a plethora of players getting the opportunity at starting for the Mets in left field and right field this season. One could argue that many of them should not be starting a major league baseball game in 2008.

Distancing himself from the likes of Brady Clark, Abraham Nunez, and Gustavo Molina, Fernando Tatis actually made a contribution for the Mets in 2008. He’s tailed off since his start, but he is at least maintaining statistics good for a bench player. The key phrase in that sentence is bench player. It’s time for Tatis to stop getting starts and start being solely a right-handed bat off the bench. These 1-for-4 and 1-for-5 days aren’t helping much.

One of the strategies that Jerry Manuel said he’d employ as manager is to use the No. 2 hole to get guys going. I guess one of the main guys he meant when he said that was Marlon Anderson. Anderson has gotten two starts at the spot under Manuel and went 1-for-6. For some reason, Anderson is one of the guys the Mets view as a potential No. 2 hitter on some days. He’s 1-for-14 when in the No. 2 hole at an atrocious .071 clip. Currently, Anderson is batting .198 as just another left-handed bat on the Mets. As such, he probably shouldn’t even be on the team, let alone getting the occasional start.

Trot Nixon today added his name to the long list of Mets’ outfield injuries over the past two years. When the Mets traded for him, the move was mildly praised as everyone mused, “Intangibles! Nixon’s got ‘em!” Hopefully, he’s leading the team in grit and determination because he’s not leading the team in anything else. Admittedly, it’s a small sample size, but since the Mets acquired him on June 15, he’s batted .171. His lone saving grace was a solo shot he hit against the Rockies during a blowout. Oh, and he had a decent first game against Texas. Considering Nixon is a guy who is limited to outfield play, unlike some of the others, it’s probably best to cut the cord on this project.

The Andy Phillips move just doesn’t make sense for the Mets. For the Yankees, Phillips was known as a light-hitting defensive alternative, and outside of a half year with the Yankees in 2007, his stats match up with that. He did bat over .300 this season for the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville, but when called up to Cincinnati, he batted .143 in 21 at-bats. Since that Carlos Delgado platoon is never going to happen with anybody and since other guys can play first base, the Phillips move is puzzling.

With Church back, right field is hopefully taken care of. As far as left field goes, just starting Chavez every day isn’t such a bad idea. He hardly ever gets at-bats versus lefties, but what’s funny is he’s actually batting for a higher average. That’s obviously skewed, but Chavez’s average against lefties from 2005-2007 is actually .328 in 128 at-bats. Chavez is hitting about as well as any of “the irregulars,” and he’s certainly the best defensive outfielder of the bunch. Why not just start him in left field for the time being?

Strangely enough, the same thing is happening to Damion Easley this season. He’s batting .215 in 93 at-bats against righties and .333 in 42 at-bats against lefties. Like Chavez, Easley is hitting about as well as any of the “irregulars.” In a perfect world, he could be used as a utility infielder, starting whenever someone in the infield is out. Unfortunately, Luis Castillo has been too injured for that.

Going into the season, the Mets’ outfield looked like a strength, actually. Pagan was slated as a hot-hitting No. 4 outfielder, and Chavez was actually the Mets’ No. 5. Who knew all these guys would end up getting time?

After an outstanding spring training and a productive start to the regular season, it is hard to deny the impact Angel Pagan can have as a key utility outfielder for the Mets, much like Endy Chavez. And also like Chavez, Pagan’s injury could set him back a bit.

With everyone healthy, the Mets have some of the best outfield depth in the majors, a corps that relegates Pagan and Chavez to bench roles. During many Mets games, opposing teams’ announcers will single out Chavez as a player with an arm, some even suggesting he has a better one than Carlos Beltran. That is definitely hyperbole. While Chavez is a better-than-average fielder, Beltran is a gold glover, making some difficult catches in the field look easy with his expert route running and timing.

But then what causes announcers to make that distinction about Chavez, an occasional starter but still largely a bench player and defensive replacement? All Mets fans know the answer to this question. It’s a little thing known as “The Catch,” the amazing grab Chavez pulled off against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series. It was the baseball playoffs on national television, and Chavez’s national reputation was born from there.

Chavez experienced a renaissance when coming to the Mets. In 2003 and 2004, Chavez was very mediocre as a starting outfielder for the Montreal Expos. He batted .251 in 2003 with 5 HR, 47 R.B.I. and 18 SB. In 2004, he improved a bit, batting .277 with 5 HR, 34 R.B.I. and 32 SB. Chavez spent 2005 largely as a bench player for the Philadelphia Phillies, and he struggled mightily with the transition to pinch hitting, batting a paltry .216 in 98 at-bats.

Chavez settled into the role much more nicely in 2006, hitting better down the stretch and capping off the year with his famous HR robbery of Scott Rolen. He rode that high into 2007, never batting below .300 until June 2, and that’s including several starts. Just days later, Chavez injured his hamstring trying to break up a double play on June 6 against the Phillies.

Chavez didn’t return until August 28, and he hit inconsistently to finish the season. He’s struggled mightily at the plate in 2008, spending much of the season thus far with an average below the Mendoza line, despite already amassing 84 at-bats. One could argue that his inconsistency could come from sporadic playing time, but that is the daily grind of bench players. Chavez was a successful one in 2006 and half of 2007 but has mostly struggled this season.

Four years younger than Chavez, Pagan has less experience, but the similarities are a bit disturbing. He was average at best in limited at-bats in 2006 and 2007 with the Cubs, which led to him landing on the Mets. He then became the hero of April for the team before tailing off around when Moises Alou returned from the disabled list. He then suffered an injury on May 12 that has kept him out of action for nearly three weeks and potentially much longer.

Perhaps it’s too early to make such a comparison, but when Mets Blog relayed a tidbit from Adam Rubin’s New York Daily News blog, one might immediately think of Chavez upon reading. Rubin said in his June 3 entry that since Pagan cannot bat from the right side of the plate yet, he may not be close to returning from injury. It reminds of the postponements in Chavez’s recovery, which led to him losing almost three months of his 2007 season.

Pagan was a player that made Alou’s first stint on the disabled list in 2008 bearable. Since Pagan was already hurt when Alou landed on the D.L. a second time, the Mets were forced to give more starts to Chavez, Marlon Anderson, Fernando Tatis, Nick Evans and the like. Those injuries, coupled with Ryan Church being out of action, made the Mets outfield a nasty patchwork of mix-and-match options.

The Mets need Pagan back in lieu of a stronger contingency plan for the frequent losses of Alou, a man who should definitely not be re-signed no matter how well he hits down the stretch. Unfortunately, even when Pagan eventually returns, he may have to endure the same struggles as Chavez has.

It appears that the Mets are willing to take my advice and do what needs to be done, shake up their roster.

They’ve already gone ahead and given some of the underperforming comfortable vets notice by benching their main offender in Carlos Delgado, and shown that if they can get production from others, they’re more than willing to give them the opportunity (see Fernando Tatis, Endy Chavez)

“In The Know” Dan Graziano (copyright Matthew Cerrone, of Mets Blog) writes at the Star Ledger that the Mets are now looking to take it a step further and have already begun investigating some deals to bring in fresh blood. According to Graziano, based on information from officials with three major-league teams, the Mets are making inquiries into a number of players such as Kevin Millar, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady.

Graziano cites the 2004 Boston Red Sox as an example of a team that floundered until a radical July makeover that included trading Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs gave them a shot in the arm that led them to their first World Championship in 86 years.

You’re welcome, guys. Anytime you need a little help, I’m here for ya.

Johan Santana, Endy Chavez and Willie Randolph spoke with the media after last nights extra inning 5-4 Mets win over the Pirates at Shea. First up Johan,

Johan Santana was asked about the home runs he surrendered:

“The first guy (Nate McLouth) we had some scouting reports that he takes a few pitches (he jumped on the first pitch) but what can you do I didn’t execute. Home runs are part of the game. They (the Pirates) battled, they fouled off a lot of pitches. The most important part is we, as a team got the win.”

Asked if he heard the cheers when he was removed from the game:

“Yes, I did, I guess they appreciated what I did tonight and that’s always good. But the thing is you always gotta have that support, day in and day out because they (the fans) are big part of what we do here. The bad days and the good days. If they are always out there supporting us then you feel more comfortable. That goes for everybody, that’s the way it is. But we understand they are very demanding fans in this city and they always want to win and there’s nothing wrong with that. But at the same time we are human beings we’re gonna make mistakes, sometimes we’re not gonna have a good day but it’s all how you bounce back and hopefully the results will be very positive for the whole team.”

Endy Chavez, who had three hits spoke with WFAN’s Eddie Coleman:

“I’m glad I got three hits, I feel good at the plate. It helps me to be in there, it keeps me sharp, i’ve seen a lot of pitches and that helps a lot… I think he (Santana) did a pretty good job, I think when he was a little wild the umpire was pretty tough but he’s a tough pitcher and he hung in there for us and he did a pretty good job.”

Willie Randolph:

Asked about David Wright’s game winning hit and his struggles of late:

“When he does what he did in that situation (walk off hit) he’s pretty effective, every once in awhile he starts pulling off the ball and gets out of rhythm. He’s one of the best on the team going the other way, he had a great approach right there and got a big hit for us.”

About Jose Reyes getting on base last night:

“Any time you have your lead-off man on base six times you gotta score more runs. We left too many runners on tonight. We have to make sure we do a better job of situational hitting and just putting the ball in play in big spots. We had a chance when we were up 4-2 to put them away. We have to do a better job of execution, it takes a lot of pressure off your bullpen. If you can add on those extra runs it really frees up your bullpen.”

On Santana:

“I thought he threw the ball great. He had like forty foul balls, something like that. He was just nasty tonight. They kept battling, they kept fighting. He made a couple of mistakes but he deserved to win the game but we didn’t pick up those ducks which made it tough.”

Asked what Santana said when Willie went to the mound before he hit Xavier Nady:

“He said he wanted him. I just wanted to go out and see how he was feeling. I’m trying to get to know him a little bit. I need to comunicate with him, find out how he feels. I need him to be honest with me. But as soon as I got out there he said “no I got this guy, I want this guy” that one ball just kind of got away from him, kinda sailed. He’s a competitor, he felt strong it was cool out so, I’m gonna trust him when he tells me he wants to compete. He still one of the best.”

All the Santana quotes were great. When he was asked about the fans reaction towards him he spoke about their reaction but related it to the team, which I loved. When Willie spoke about about Santana saying “I got this guy”, “I want this guy” the results don’t even matter, the fact that we are finding out that Santana has some bulldog in him is fantastic. He battled through some foul balls and the elements last night. So far there is nothing not to like about our ace.

In his latest mailbag post for Mets.com, Marty Noble notes that the team is now saying that they probably will not trade for a player to keep left field warm for Moises Alou, who is out until May.

Among the in-house candidates to replace Alou in left field:

Angel Pagan has posted a .351 average in 57 at-bats so far this spring, with 1 home run, 10 RBIs, scored 8 runs and an on-base percentage of .373.

Damion Easley, who is returning from torn ankle ligaments that ended his 2007 season, is hitting .105 in 19 at-bats, with 1 home run and 4 RBIs.

Endy Chavez appears to be the lead man for the starting job in left field come opening day. Returning from an ankle and hamstring injury in winter ball, Chavez made his spring debut on March 8th. In 27 at-bats, Endy has recorded a .259 batting average with 4 runs scored and 4 runs batted in.

The 34-year old Brady Clark has been seeing a ton of time in the outfield this spring in attempt to land a spot on the Mets 25-man roster. In 43 at-bats, Clark has put up a .302 average and .412 on-base percentage, while scoring 5 runs.

The 19-year old phenom Fernando Martinez is the long shot to head north with the team, but regardless, he is hitting .326 in 46 at-bats with 5 runs scored and 3 runs batted in.

Finally, Marlon Anderson, who may have to play first-base if Carlos Delgado is not ready, is hitting .222 in 18 at-bats.

With Moises Alou likely out for at least the first month of the season, it remains somewhat of an open question who’ll be filling Mo’s shoes and playing left field for the Mets to kick off 2008. Here’s my take on some of the names that have been tossed around. I’ll give you the perspective both as a stats guy, and purely as a fan.

Barry Bonds

Stats guy says: Fantastic! This guy has a career OPS of 1.051, and his OPS last year was even higher! That shouldn’t really even be possible. We can play him in left for a few weeks, spelling him in the late innings and in day games with Endy Chavez, and it will be even better than if Alou were healthy. Come to think of it, why don’t we just sign this hitting machine to be our left fielder for the entire season?

Fan says: Barry Bonds? Are you kidding me? You want me to root for Barry F’ing Bonds? This guy is not only a cheater, he desecrated one of the most sacred records in all of sports and did it with a smile on his face. Plus, haven’t you noticed he’s just a tad on the surly side? I was booing this guy back when he had a normal-sized head. And now I’m supposed to root for him? I want a world championship as much as the next guy, but I seem to remember renouncing Satan somewhere along the way. Also, we’re not seriously thinking of replacing Moises Alou with a guy older than Moises Alou, right?

Endy Chavez

Stats guy says: Meh. His career OPS is under 700, and even during his renaissance of the last three years it’s 720. Sure, he’s a great glove and a good baserunner—an excellent choice for a fourth outfielder. But Chavez doesn’t have the bat to be an everyday player.

Fan says: How can you not love Endy Chavez? Don’t we all remember that catch he made? When Scott Rolen’s ball was heading towards the wall, even though we all knew it had the distance, we somehow all believed that Endy would make that catch. It’s not just that, though—he won a game with a drag bunt last year, and he hit a homer against the Yankees, and he made about a million other awesome catches that weren’t quite as well remembered as that other one. Yes, let’s make Endy Chavez the left fielder. That will have me smiling every day.

Kenny Lofton

Stats guy says: He did a very serviceable job in the AL last year, compiling a 781 OPS and 23 stolen bases to go with only 7 CS. He’s a lefty, though, which would mean we’d likely have a lineup that goes SSRSLLLLP (S = switch, P = pitcher), if you care about such things. Still, he’d be a fine fit for a month, in my opinion.

Fan says: You really want to replace Moises Alou with a guy who’s almost as old as Moises Alou?

Xavier Nady

Stats guy says: Well, at least we know he can hit left-handed pitching—to the tune of an 881 OPS over the last three seasons. He would give us the lineup balance we’ll be missing in Alou’s absence. But it’s not as though we can just go out there and grab Xavier Nady. The Pirates are now run by someone intelligent, and why would he hand over Nady without us giving him something of actual value in return? And since we’re not looking to give up any value, we’re just looking to plug a hole for a month, we probably shouldn’t be trading for Xavier Nady.

Fan says: I love Nady! Remember when he was here and he hit the hell out of everything? (Stats guy interrupts: actually, his numbers last year were basically the same as his numbers with us.) And the only reason we ever traded him in the first place was because Duaner Sanchez got in a car accident. And remember when Nady had that appendicitis? We all felt bad for him then. We should do whatever it takes to get Nady back. I miss him.

You can imagine that overall I’m a little conflicted about the whole left field situation. I’d probably be in favor of just living with Endy and the rest of the bench for a month. What I’m really in favor of is getting Alou healthy as soon as possible.