Fans complaining about roster moves is nothing new. Generally, fans are cautioned to take a “wait and see” approach and not assume to know more than those in administrative positions. But one has to wonder about the recent roster moves the Mets have made.

SNY’s Ted Berg wrote a fantastic column about this issue earlier in the week. He argued that it didn’t make sense to bring up Abraham Nunez to the Mets because the Mets already have a utility infielder (Damion Easley), third base is a position the Mets don’t need backed up (David Wright has played in every game), and “everybody” was hitting better than Nunez in Triple-A New Orleans. These are all fantastic arguments and sentiments that should be echoed to end the lunacy of the Mets’ front office.

Not only all that, but the move is made worse by the fact that Ryan Church has been once again out of action. One could argue that playing Nick Evans was a bad move, but at least he’s an outfielder. Now the Mets are actually down one outfielder, unless the Nunez move was made to accommodate Easley starting more in the outfield. But why would you do that when there are multiple Triple-A outfielders within the organization that would contribute more than Nunez? Again, this all makes no sense.

I wrote an article earlier this week about how Raul Casanova has inexplicably gotten all the pinch-hitting opportunities, while Ramon Castro has gotten none. That made no sense. It got worse when Casanova went on the bereavement list earlier this week after the passing of his father. Desperately not wanting to lose that third catcher, the Mets brought up catcher Robinson Cancel.

Now, one might think, why do the Mets want these three catchers? But at least its temporary. And after all, there’s no way Cancel will actually see action. He’ll just be an emergency 3rd catcher, like Casanova should have been, until Casanova comes back.

But wait, Cancel did get an at-bat. There was a pinch-hitting opportunity in Friday’s Mets vs. Padres game. Not that it would make it acceptable, but this wasn’t a lead-off at-bat. Mets killer Randy Wolf had baffled the Mets all night. In a situation with two men on and one out in the 7th, Castro sat on the bench while Cancel took a bat. The journeyman catcher who has only 45 at-bats in his entire career grounded out.

This is where one starts to think that Mets fans could (possibly) make better decisions than this.

Cancel was on the roster for multiple games this week. He’s gone now, but Casanova is back. That’s the same dumb situation. It doesn’t make sense to have three catchers when Castro isn’t getting pinch-hit at-bats, and quite frankly, it wouldn’t be worth it even if he was. Brian Schneider has fallen to earth. Just have Schneider and Castro swap out starts as situations and match-ups warrant it. Keep only two catchers on the roster and use the other freed up spots for people who actually earn playing time.

I thought the Mets really progressed when they let Jorge Sosa go, despite his major league service, and kept the more effective Joe Smith, who has earned a roster spot. But with this bench mess, maybe the organization has regressed. After all, another bad roster move can be easily seen on the horizon. Hello, Jose Valentin. He brings just what the Mets need — more utility infielders.

Sometimes Willie Randolph just makes no sense with his pinch hitting decisions.

When Moises Alou went on the disabled list, Raul Casanova was called up. Now this might be an indictment on the Mets’ Triple-A roster and the team’s lack of depth. But it also stood to reason that the big club wanted to use Ramon Castro more, particularly in a pinch hitting role, and Casanova would then serve as the backup catcher on the bench.

While it is true that Castro has recently got a chance to get into the starting lineup more often, he hasn’t started often enough to explain all of Casanova’s opportunities off the bench. Of the 11 games played since Casanova joined the big league club, Castro has started four of them, albeit including a nasty HBP to cap off Friday’s Dodgers game.

It is evident that since Castro did not pinch hit in the games he didn’t start, Casanova was actually not called in as a backup catcher but rather for his pinch hitting prowess. In a week where Ryan Church was still woozy from his collision with Yunel Escobar, the team was also working with a four-man bench. So the last thing the team needed was three catchers.

In six pinch hitting opportunities, Casanova has one walk and one hit, translating to a .200 average. That’s too small a sample size to truly judge, but I am willing to bet his 2008 pinch hitting average would skew lower over the course of a whole season.

The previously injured Castro has actually received no pinch hitting opportunities in 2008. And understandably, as a backup catcher, Castro has received very few chances as a pinch hitter, but that’s because he was needed. This whole argument will most likely become moot when Alou comes off the disabled list this week, but as long as Casanova is on the ball club, Castro should be used as a pinch hitter.

SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt just reported that the Mets have optioned out Gustavo Molina. So that means Brian Schneider will back-up Raul Casanova. Schneider told SNY that he took a little batting practice and caught some in the bullpen. He said that his thumb is still sore and the scab still has to heal.

A few notes from Willie Randolph’s weekly Mike and The Mad Dog call…

• Nelson Figueroa is on standby and Willie indicated that he would likely take Pedro Martinez’s place if he is DL’ed which Willie also said is most likely.
• Oliver Perez should be the home opener starter the way things are lining up.
• With off-days they may be able to get through without needing to replace Pedro, but Figueroa is the likely starter if they do need one.
• On Oliver Perez : “I thought he had a decent spring. He had some issues with his arm slot at times. I think Ollie is oblivious from everything that goes around him”
• Willie considered putting Raul Casanova in tonight for Ryan Schneider to give him some rest but Schneider talked him out of it.
• Said Ryan Church needs to show him more from a left-handed standpoint, but he has a “beautiful” swing and just needs to get into a “nice little rhythm”
• Mike Pelfrey was “lights out” in the bullpen but has to transfer that to the game. “I think this kid is gonna be fine. His sinker is so powerful. I think this kid is gonna win some games for us”
• On John Maine : “When you look at John you can see him coming into his own. He was in the best shape of anyone in camp. He is starting to really feel himself. He got a little swagger going.”
• On last nights game : “I keep telling our guys to stay through the middle and taking small bites. Be patient. Last night we had that kid on the ropes but we took some overaggressive hacks”
• On Ruben Gotay and Brady Clark : “Gotay really is one dimensional. Gotay doesn’t play the outfield, he doesn’t play the corners. I like Gotay a lot but he didn’t fit into this team. I think Clark right now is a better bat off the bench. Clark can get on base, he can walk, he will scrap and battle. With the left handed dominance in our line up we need a Clark in there to give us an at bat.”
• On the bullpen : “A guy who could be a sleeper for us, even though he gave up the home run last night is Wise, he has a great change up, maybe the best on our staff. He struck two guys out and then he hung a change up there. Sanchez coming back, getting him in the loop is gonna help. I think he will be back towards the end of April.”
• On the Marlins : “We need to get some payback on some people and this is one of the teams.”
• On carrying “The Collapse” : “No, I put my finger on the pulse of this team early on. Everyone let it go, spring training. We understand where we been but we don’t dwell on it. We got some serious payback coming. They know what they have to do and they want to rectify it this year”