FoxSports.com Ken Rosenthal is reporting that major-league sources are telling him that the Red Sox are interested in AJ Burnett. Length of contract sought by Burnett will determine the extent of Boston’s interest.

Rosenthal is also reporting that agent Scott Boras will seek “a Barry Zito type contract” for his client Derek Lowe, seven years, $126 million

Zito signed that deal at 28 years old. Lowe will be 36 on June 1.

Rosenthal added that the Mets would like to pick up a right-handed bat but have no interest in Phillies free agent Pat Burrell:

The Mets want to add a right-handed bat in addition to a closer and a possible replacement for free-agent left-hander Oliver Perez. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are switch-hitters, but after David Wright, Fernando Tatis is their biggest right-handed threat. The Mets are not high on Burrell, and free agent Raul Ibanez, a left-handed hitter, is not an ideal fit. Though Ibanez hit lefties better than righties last season, his career batting average against lefties is 25 points lower

I am glad to hear the Mets are not considering Burrell. I see him in my mind’s eye as a Phillie and the only way I can look past that is if the player in question is Chase Utley good. Not a butcher like Pat Burrell.

Plus, Ed Ryan at his always informative blog Mets Fever has put out an A.P.B. for fan favorite Daniel Murphy who, by Mike’s account, has vanished. If you are curious where Murphy might be Ed has five options for his readers to ponder.

As if watching the Phillies win the World Series wasn’t painful enough, we’re now fed with the idea that a broad hatred for the Mets helped put them in the postseason to begin with.

In a recent report for The Daily News, Bill Madden relays a statement made by the now World Champion Phillies GM Pat Gillick:

“If you want to know the best thing we had going for us this year,” said Gillick, “it was the fact that all the other teams in our division hated the Mets’ guts. It started with Atlanta and all the hostility they had with the Mets through the years. Then Fredi Gonzalez left Bobby Cox to manage the Marlins and he didn’t forget everything that went on between the Braves and Mets. Look what Florida did for us the past two years (beating the Mets two out of the three in each of the last series of the season to prevent them from making the postseason)!

“Washington doesn’t like them very much either, and all those teams seemed to really get up for the Mets.”

Today, on his Newsday blog, Ken Davidoff wonders what Met fans thought of the 1986 Championship team, also hated around the league:

I want to start asking these Mets fans, who hate their own team, what they thought of the 1986 Mets. They had to be one of the more hated teams in recent times, didn’t they? The difference, of course, is they got it done when they had to. I thought the ‘08 Mets displayed plenty of character until the bitter end. They just couldn’t overcome their horrid bullpen.

This is an interesting topic for a couple of reasons. On the one hand, to play the game as well as you can, it’s easy to argue that you should be yourself and just let the game come to you, even if it means pressing the wrong buttons with a few people. On the other hand, this group hasn’t won anything yet, so some are naturally going to ask why they have any right to continue any sort of onfield dances and celebrations.

Of course, when it comes to this topic, the first name that comes to anybody’s mind is Jose Reyes. We all know about his dances on the field and top step of the dugout, but this is just about what always comes up when another team admits to hating the Mets. When Reyes tried to adopt a new, lowkey style early this season, he struggled a bit until Carlos Beltran convinced him to go back to being himself. At the same time, his enthusiastic behavior is arguably a big reason why the Mets are so widely hated. So the question goes to you guys:

There are some titles in baseball that can be dubious. The “saves leader” usually is the man that collects the most (or near the most) save opportunities. It does not necessarily mean he is the best closer in the league. Likewise, the leader in outfield assists is not always the best outfielder because baserunners are more apt to run on the unproven. Steals leader could be grouped into this list.

A steals leader might be considered the best leadoff hitter in the league, when that isn’t necessarily true. Case in point: Willy Taveras of the Colorado Rockies is far and away the MLB steals leader and looks to easily capture the crown unless Jose Reyes or Jacoby Ellsbury turns up the pace down the stretch. Taveras sits at a surprising 51 steals in mid-August, while Reyes and Ellsbury share a distant 2nd of 38 steals each. It’s surprising because Taveras swiped 34 and 33 steals respectively in his first two full seasons in the league, 2005 and 2006 with the Astros. In an shortened 97-game season with the Rockies in 2007, he stole another 33. This season, he’s on pace for about 75.

But Taveras is hardly the ideal leadoff hitter, merely because of his wealth of steals. He’s batting .251 with 1 HR and 22 RBI with an abysmal OBP of .305. And yet Taveras has 352 of his 370 ABs this season in the leadoff slot for the Rockies. Historically, the young Taveras simply doesn’t walk enough. The only year he had an acceptable OBP was 2007 when his OBP of .367 was propped up by a batting average of .320.

Ellsbury, the man Reyes shares 2nd place with, has had a disappointing season, as well. He’s batting .269 with 7 HR and 33 RBIs with an OBP of .331. In 116 at-bats last season, Ellsbury had a .353 average and .394 OBP. Even so, Ellsbury has 342 of his 390 at-bats at the leadoff spot.

Juan Pierre, 4th in MLB with 37 steals, could have a few more if the Dodgers outfield wasn’t so clogged. Pierre is batting .277 with 0 HR and 25 RBI with an OBP of .322. Historically, Pierre is a guy who has a pretty good average (around the .290s) but has a subpar OBP. So, again, he’s not an ideal leadoff hitter, either. A guy like B.J. Upton, tied for fifth with 36 steals, overcomes his bad average (.265) by having a career year in walks (80 so far) to have a good OBP of .381.

Michael Bourn is the most obvious case of high number of steals being a Trojan horse. He sits at seventh in MLB with 33 steals, but he’s batting just .232 with a godawful .286 OBP. Despite this, he’s collected 267 of his 362 at-bats in the leadoff position. It took way too long for the Astros to pull the plug on Bourn as the leadoff hitter, especially considering his batting average was mired below .200 in mid-May. .232 is actually close to his season high. Bourn can best be described as a fringe baseball player, only still in the bigs because of his ability to steal.

Meanwhile, Reyes wowed the league by easily taking the steals crown of 2007 with 78 steals, obliterating the Mets’ team record. He also was caught stealing 21 times, more than his 2006 total of 17 and looks to be more than his 2008 total (so far, 11). Outside of his steals, Reyes’ 2007 looks to be his worst offensive year out of the last three. He had more HRs and RBIs and a higher batting average and slugging percentage in 2006. He looks to have more HRs, more RBIs, a higher batting average, and a higher slugging percentage in 2008. Reyes also has a higher OBP in 2008 than in either 2006 or 2007.

Too often, in baseball, we focus too much on one aspect of the game, whether it be steals for leadoff hitters, home runs for sluggers, or wins for pitchers. We fail to look at the whole package, and that causes the misvaluing of players. Of all the players in the top 10 in baseball in steals, Reyes looks like the best overall player.

Jose Reyes got a new tattoo over the All-Star break, a spiderweb tattooed on his left elbow. Reyes said it was very painful and he could barely move his arm on Tuesday but it’s fine now.

Yesterday, Reyes went hitless in five at-bats. I wonder if the discomfort from the tattoo had anything to do with it. Also, we better hope that Reyes makes the All-Star game on a yearly basis or he may end up looking like this guy.

Info via Brian Costello of the NY Post.

Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times notes that Rays outfielder Carl Crawford stole his 300th base of his career. He became just the ninth player since 1900 to reach 300 steals before the age of 27, joining Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb, Tim Raines, Vince Coleman, Cesar Cedeno, Clyde Milan, Eddie Collins and Sherry Magee.

Could Mets shortstop Jose Reyes be next? Right now, the recently turned 25-year old is sitting at 266 stolen bases, 32 on the 2008 season. He would need 34 by the end of the season to reach it, but there is no question that he could reach 300 before his 27th birthday, perhaps 350 or 375 if he remains healthy.

It’s nearly time for the All-Star Game and all the festivities that entails. With balloting ending on Wednesday and the All-Star Selection Show Sunday on TBS, the All-Star starting rosters are all but decided. MLB.com provides NL updates and AL updates.

In the NL, only the shortstop and last outfield positions are uncertain. Since the game’s at an American League park, an extra outfielder could just become the designated hitter. With the AL, there’s a few races within 200,000 and 300,000 votes (first base, second base, catcher), but the only really close race is for the last outfield spot.

Now, one might think. Well, it seems as if the voting mass has become more enlightened. Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins is actually leading the shortstop popular vote! I respectfully disagree. I personally think that the voters will gravitate around the player name bandied around from the previous months. Many named Ramirez not only the best NL East shortstop but also the best player in the National League.

Ramirez is one of the best offensive players in the game, but it’s not like he’s so off-the-board great that nobody bears any comparison. Jose Reyes is having a quality season, so why isn’t he even challenging for the position? Reyes barely even registers on the NL shortstop leaderboard, placing fifth behind Ramirez, Miguel Tejada (who has very similar stats to Reyes except Reyes has way more steals), Ryan Theriot (who only has a good average), and Jimmy Rollins (a man whose injury-shortened season has produced a mere .264 average and just six homers).

It’s all about perception. The Mets are terribly mediocre this season, so none of their individual players could possibly have All-Star years. Theriot is on the Cubs, the best team in the NL, so surely he must be better than Reyes. Rollins was the MVP last year, so 2008 performance be damned, let’s vote for him.

Being a silly person who takes these things seriously, the Ken Griffey Jr. pity vote irks me. He’s batting .234 with nine homers, and he’s sure to keep at least one more deserving 2008 NL outfielder out of the mix. Despite the Rockies having an apparent national coming-out party last October, Matt Holliday will probably be that guy that manager Clint Hurdle has to appoint because he wasn’t voted in. Holliday is batting .333 with a .415 OBP, impressive even in a league with Chipper Jones. Unfortunately, those real statistics aren’t enough to combat the tremendous Cubs’ bandwagon voting that has taken over the National League polls like the Mets’ voting did in 2006. Carlos Lee’s clubbing bat will also have to be appointed if he’s to play in the Midsummer Classic.

At least the NL voting is somewhat close. The AL starters are sickening. It seems like the team has been the same for years; the names change, but the uniforms don’t. With the exception of catcher, where Joe Mauer is trying to fend off Jason Varitek in the voting, every infield position is manned by a player from New York or Boston. By the way, Mauer (batting .323) and Varitek (batting .225) aren’t even close statistically! At least Josh Hamilton has accumulated over 2,000,000 votes, as it finally seems his inspiring story has been told enough for his popularity to rise. It’s still sickening, though, to see Robinson Cano have a year like he’s having and still amass over 1,000,000 votes because he’s a Yankee.

Should we take the voting out of the fans’ hands? Not to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but yes. They make too many mistakes too often, and since the managers have to correct their errors, it has led to their being too many positions on the All-Star team, thus watering down the achievement.

Just some of the aspects of how All-Star voting works are baffling. Obviously, the big markets have the advantage, like viewers don’t see enough of New York, Boston, and Chicago on ESPN every week. For some reason, you get all these votes. I honestly don’t know why. I guess, if you vote more, that makes you more devoted? And who knows why All-Star voting is opened so early, just so you can vote for one guy in May and see them go into a big slump by July. At least “The Final Vote” combats some of this, educating the ballotstuffers on five guys they overlooked who are better than Derek Jeter this season.

New York Post sports columnist Kevin Kernan talks about the Mets and the Yankees on ESPN.

Kernan covers Jose Reyes‘ ‘tantrum’ and compares him to Paul O’Neill. He also talks about Jerrry Manuel’s recent quotes about the fans and about the Mets being number two in NY. Kernan thinks Johan Santana is frustrated about the Mets porous defense and compares it to the solid defense Santana had in Minnesota. Overall Kernan says the Mets feel good about themselves and that they feel like ‘they’re about ready to make a move’.

Over at the New York Daily News, Mark Lelinwalla calls Jose Reyes’s actions after making an error an yesterday ”on-field tantrum” and asks “what is Reyes thinking these days”.

First of all, I don’t believe Reyes actions of throwing his glove in anger is a tantrum. Come on, he was angry he made an error, and knows that he can play better than this. As Lelinwalla points out, Reyes has 11 errors, 1 away from his total from all of last year (12).

To call it a tantrum gives other fans the wrong picture,  it gives them the image of Reyes dragging it on and not being ready for the next play. The fact of the matter is Reyes was ready to make the play on the grounder again if the ball came to him.

I’m fine with Jose showing a little emotion. As Matt Cerrone at Mets Blog pointed out, if the Mets were winning, people might see this as showing a little fire, a little passion. I agree 100 percent.

Bottom line, the Mets are easy targets right now, being under .500 and being classified as an underachieving team. Start winning some ballgames, all of this stuff goes unnoticed.

There was some fight in the Mets last night but not the kind that shows on the scoreboard. It was the kind of feistiness Mets fans had been yearning for from Willie Randolph but instead it came from the new man at the helm Jerry Manuel. Some will say all the bluster and no runs means absolutely nothing but I disagree. Pulling some emotion out of tranquil players like Carlos Beltran might light a fire that this team so desperately needs.

It may be wishful thinking but reality is tough to deal with right now so let me wish. I enjoyed seeing Beltran show that type of emotion and I like the reason he did it. Beltran explained:

“I just told him what I felt about that pitch and he came out to challenge me,” Beltran said. “But what he (umpire Brian Runge) did to Jerry was what got me ejected. I told him I thought that was weak. It’s the first time I’ve been so angry in my career. If I get punished for my actions so should he.”"That’s a weak move that he did. And being able to bump the (manager) to throw him out of the game? That’s brutal. That’s brutal.”

Manuel was tossed because he wanted to stand up for his player:

“I thought Runge was kind of baiting Carlos when he took his face mask off and began dusting off home plate as he was talking to him,” Manuel said. “Carlos is a quiet guy. I felt (Runge) did step into me. I know I didn’t step into him. “I think what instigated Carlos to continue was I think he saw the contact and I don’t think he appreciated that,” Manuel said of Tuesday night’s incident. “That’s what he said to the umpire after I left. He expressed that wasn’t a good thing to be doing and didn’t seem proper.”

Even Jose Reyes liked what he saw out of Beltran and his new manager:

“We fight for each other,” Jose Reyes said.

So, I am choosing to take something positive out last night. There are plenty of opinions flying around about the Mets and I hear and I read a lot about intangibles, chemistry, that sort of thing. Things that are hard to measure. So, lets hope that last night was one of those ‘things’, a spark or a sign that this team, like Reyes said will ‘fight for each other’, maybe that fight started last night. I sure hope so because only being happy that the rest of the NL east lost last night isn’t cutting it.

Hat tip to the Daily News for the quotes and AOL for the video.

Jerry Manuel spoke with the beat writers before tonights game regarding the situation where Jose Reyes threw a tantrum when Manuel tried to pull him from the game to protect his hamstring.

I told him you know next time you do that i’m gonna get my blade out and cut him. Right out there on the field. I say hey, I’m a gangsta now, you wanna get gangsta on me, I’m gonna have to get you now, you do that again, I’m gonna get you, right out there on the field.

Marty Noble asked him about the serendipity of the Reyes situtation, giving Manuel a chance to show himself laying down the law.

I think that anytime you step in this position you need to be able to react and do what you think is right. Once you step into an authoritative position, you’ve got to be authority. I’m not here to make friends or for me people to like me. I’m here to run the club in the best way that’s possible.

Its official. I love Jerry Manuel. That didn’t take long.

By the way, I just caught Joe Smith wearing a pink Hello Kitty backpack out to the bullpen (which is of course filled with snacks for the guys out there.) Gary Cohen remarked “Low man on the totem pole. Joe Smith can’t wait for Carlos Muniz to get called back up”

Last night the players finally weighed in on the changing of the guard in the Mets clubhouse, hoping they can finally move on from discussing the fate of their manager day in and day out.

Billy Wagner

“As a team, we hadn’t lived up to expectations. The bad thing is, the manager gets the blame. That’s the way the game is.”

Wagner spoke regarding the way Willie was fired.

“I don’t know if there’s ever a good time to do something like that. I don’t think any general manager likes to fire a coach.”

Jose Reyes

“I just feel sorry for the guy because we weren’t able to play good baseball for the guy. He’s going through a tough time right now, but when I get a chance, I’m going to call him and thank him for everything he’s done for me.”

David Wright

“(Randolph) took this team to a different level while he was here, but that being said, I’m excited about what Jerry can bring to the table.”

Carlos Beltran

“Jerry knew the players as the bench coach and communicated with us. I think he’ll do a great job. He’s communicates a lot and is always positive.”

Willie Randolph was on WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog program today.

Did the meeting on Monday bring any closure?

“In my mind it did we have to continue to go out and win ball games, nothing is etched in stone, I understand that. We talked (he and the Wilpon’s) and put closure to it in our minds but we really talked a lot about the team. We talked about how we can get better.”

Was he disappointed that they didn’t commit long term?

“I felt all along that I’m the guy, but obviously I’m going to be here if we continue to play well and if we don’t then they have a decision to make. I didn’t need to hear that cause my focus and my main concern is to get this team pointed in the right direction.”

Do your Coaches and Players feel like this is your team and that you are not going anywhere?

“I think they do today. Initially I’m sure there was a little uncomfortableness around the ballpark that particular day. My coaches were concerned and I could sense my players were a little on their heels that day. We had a nice meeting, I told my players that my situation was not their concern. Just to focus on playing baseball. We just need to play the way we are capable of playing that’s the bottom line. I just challenged them all because we need to be accountable if we get the job done then all this stuff will go away.”

Which loss last week was the worst?

“Well, I thought the sweep in Atlanta, you can’t get swept like that. We came off the great series against the Yankees… we should have gone in there and played better than that. Three in a row would have been bad but you can’t lose four in a row.”

Asked about Jose Reyes?

“It’s funny, it could be focus because you lack confidence. I think with Jose sometimes he tries so hard and he tries to do so much that it backfires on. When you try to do too much even in the field you start to make mistakes. You try too hard, too quick, you try to do too much, He’s gonna be fine, his game is just so high speed, he just gets a little out of kilter.”

On Carlos Delgado:

“I spoke to him yesterday, I told him you’re struggling you need to exhale. Go out in the cage, don’t overwork, just clear your mind, I’m gonna give you a couple of days and he’ll probably be back in there tomorrow. It’s very rare that you can win without your four and five guys not hitting.”

Asked if he was nervous before Monday’s meeting?

“No, I was a little concerned about how I may react. I know I have a temper and I’m passionate about what I do and I’m very proud of who I am and what I do for this ball club and this organization. I just wanted to express myself and let them express themselves. I wasn’t nervous I was just making sure that I didn’t lose my cool.”

You think you’ve been given a fair deal?

“Yeah, every time we get together, Fred and Jeff just want to make this team better. They always listen to suggestions and they always ask how can we help you guys get better and that’s all you can ask from your ownership.”

Dear Jose Reyes,

On May 7^th I sat right here and wrote a letter to your teammate Carlos Beltran, and I asked him to step it up. Since May 7^th, Carlos is batting .313 with 2 HRs and 16 RBIs in 67 ABs (this is not including yesterday’s game). Prior to the letter, Carlos was batting .219 with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs in 105 ABs. Seeing the marked improvement of Mr. Beltran following my letter, I decided it was my duty as a fan to write another letter to another struggling Met.

I’m not sure how else to put it, but you just seem like you’re on Pluto lately. I’m not talking about Mars, or Jupiter – I’m saying you are in far off outer space. Yeah, and Pluto’s not even a planet anymore. How does that make you feel?

Anyways. Ever since around the All-Star break last season you have been struggling. Through June last year you were batting an impressive .317, setting the pace for a hot Mets team that looked as if it had the NL East in its back pocket. But you tailed off and so did the team’s record. Your September last season was just abysmal, you batted .207 amid a legendary collapse – in case you need reminding. But, the team’s offense didn’t struggle. In September, the Mets offense scored 157 runs, their 2nd highest monthly total last year. But what caused your struggles Jose? You didn’t play particularly well in the month of August last year either. Let’s see what happened before August last year that might have had an influence on you…

Aha! We traded for Luis Castillo on July 30th, is that why you’ve been so bad? He is probably a bad influence, he is lazy and doesn’t run for ground balls hard nor does he run out hits that hard. Castillo even said at the beginning of this year, that he is going to need regular days off. That’s not the right attitude. But is he really rubbing off on you that much? Please. Granted he’s not a good influence but honestly blaming it on him would be a pretty lame excuse for your struggles.

I’m not sure anybody but you knows why you’re on Pluto.

You seem lackadaisical in the field. You were picked off twice in this series against Colorado, one of the times was off 2^nd base. Getting picked off 2^nd, not to mention by a lefty, is embarrassing. You really have to be in a daze.

Also, what’s up with that error you made yesterday? Even through your rough patches, your fielding has never stuttered. You’ve always been a natural out there with a cannon. But, you go out there and botch that double-play ball yesterday, which led to a HR and a Rockies lead. Everybody makes errors, but that was a bad one where it seemed like you just weren’t paying attention and you weren’t focused on the ball.

Jose, I’m not sure what’s exactly wrong but I hope you find your swagger soon. You need to realize how much fun you should be having and how good you can and should be. When we see you hit the ball and run, even people who don’t know baseball can look at you and say, “Damn, that kid’s a stud.” But somebody who hits .270 without drawing walks, makes stupid plays and dazes off is by no means a stud.

I just hope you smell the fresh air and awake from this trance to be the stud that sent us mashing through the NL East to begin last year.

Sincerely,

Andrew Beaton

I know it was a tough night but it was a tougher day for Scott Schoeneweis. Late last night on his Mets Blog for the NY Post Bart Hubbach reported that Schoeneweis who is a testicular cancer survivor, was rushed to the hospital by ambulance yesterday morning and was hospitalized for seven hours. Adam Rubin of the Daily News has more on Schoeneweis who took some over the counter medication because he felt flu like symptoms that are going around in the Mets clubhouse:

Schoeneweis thought that medication might have been spoiled and complicated matters since it “tasted like moldy towels.”

At one point, he said, his arms turned blue and his hands were numb. He called an ambulance at 7 a.m.

“I thought I was going to die,” he said.

Doctors thought at one point he had appendicitis, but ruled that out when they pressed the area and Schoeneweis wasn’t in intolerable pain. Turns out Joe Smith had the same symptoms, only far less severe, in L.A. during the most recent road trip. “Joe’s the carrier,” Schoeneweis good-naturedly said.

So, Willie Randolph basher’s be aware that he had few options coming out of the bullpen last night. Plus, Rubin points out that Aaron Heilman over his previous six appearances, he had allowed one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings.

Check out the rest of Adam’s blog where you’ll find notes on Mike Pelfrey, Fernando Tatis, and Jose Reyes who was summoned into Randolph’s office for a chat with the skipper before batting practice Wednesday.

Johan Santana has a policy of not speaking to the media between starts and because of the many places I’ve read about this in the past and now recently here and here. I personally think it’s in his best interest to shelf this policy. It’s just making unnecessary enemies in the media.

Joe D from Dugout Central, like me, was very impressed with John Maine sticking up for his fellow teammates, calling John “Rambo” in his latest post. Check it out.

Well, obviously the Mets have to score some more runs. You can go elsewhere to read about how terrible Aaron Heilman is/was I’m so sick of the topic. So lets hope they get the split today with the “Bush League” Nats and then beat up on our crosstown rivals this weekend. Lets Go Mets!!