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Since the Yankees failed in their quest to get Cliff Lee, the Yanks need to make a trade and make one now! They cannot go into the 2011 season with the same thin pitching staff that got them unceremoniously dismissed from the postseason. The Yankees need a solid No. 2 pitcher behind C.C. Sabathia and the Mets have him.

Who should the Yankees go and trade for?

The answer is Johan Santana.

Santana has a massive $20 million annual salary in which the team would likely be willing to dump, considering that the Mets are in rebuilding mode. Look at Santana’s 2010 numbers and tell me he would not be a number one starter on most teams. 

His ERA was a minute 2.98. He pitched 199 innings and struck out 144 batters. He only won 11 games because he played for a horrible Mets team with no offense. Santana did have shoulder surgery this fall and is likely out until June.

But that’s perfect because the Yankees will primarily need him for the postseason.

Since he is coming off of an injury, the Yankees can probably get the Mets to pay a portion of his contract. It’s a win-win for both teams: the Mets shed payroll and the Yankees pitching staff gets better—fast.

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The New York Mets cleaned house at the top of the organization with the firing of Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya at the end of the 2010 season.  Bringing in Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins were the proper first steps to take towards bringing the franchise back to respectability, but there are many holes to fill in the roster before the Mets can become contenders again.

With the 2011 season right around the corner, here are 10 moves that the Mets can make to take steps in the right direction.

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In recent years, the Philadelphia Phillies have made most of their offseason noise in big trades and free agent signings, bringing names like Roy Halladay, Placido Polanco, Raul Ibanez and Brad Lidge to the City of Brotherly Love. However, in the past, the Phillies structured their roster in different ways, including a plethora of minor league deals, trading big names for young potential, spending heavily on the first year player draft and taking a gamble in the Rule 5 Draft. Which, in recent years, has landed All-Star outfielder Shane Victorino and long-relief man David Herndon.

Though the Rule 5 Draft has changed over the course of Major League Baseball history, the concept has remained the same—prevent teams from stockpiling players in their minor league system when other teams are willing to give them a chance to play at the Major League level. When the following conditions are met, a player becomes unprotected, and is then exposed to the rest of the league.

• If signed at age 18 or younger and the player has been in the organization for five years, he is eligible.
• If signed at age 19 or older and the player has been in the organization for four years, he is eligible.
• The player is not added to the Major League organization’s 40-man roster.

Drafting a player is not free, however. Any team that wants to take a gamble on a player must keep two very strategic conditions in mind: Are they willing to pay the $50,000 fee and are they willing to keep this player on their Major League roster for an entire season?

The rules of the Rule 5 Draft states that once a player is drafted, he must remain on the Major League club for the entirety of the forthcoming season. If a team wants to demote him, they must first offer said player back to his former team. If the former team denies to accept the player back, or a team keeps the player on their Major League roster for the entire season, they are then able to option him to the minor leagues.

The Rule 5 Draft is a calculated risk. Recent history has shown that the risk is well worth the reward, however, as names like Johan Santana, Evan Meek, Dan Uggla, Joakim Soria and Shane Victorino, all taken in the Rule 5 Draft, have flourished into all-stars. 

So with that in mind, the following five pitchers could all contribute to the Phillies some way in 2011, but will any of them be a true diamond in the rough?

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New Mets general manager Sandy Alderson made it pretty clear when he took the job: don’t look forward to big free agent signings this offseason or any huge trades unless they’re perfect. That means that this current Mets roster will be virtually the same come Opening Day in Miami.

Actually, it won’t be the same for a negative reason. Ace starting pitcher Johan Santana will miss some time recovering from shoulder surgery and it’s not clear when he’ll be ready to pitch in 2011.

So, if this were the offseason heading into 2012, the Mets would’ve went after Cliff Lee to fill the void. Next offseason, the Mets may be the biggest spenders in baseball as some big contracts will come off the books. Notably the ones of Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, and if the Mets elect, Francisco Rodriguez. Jose Reyes will also be a free agent.

It isn’t next offseason, though, and therefore the Mets will start the season with Mike Pelfrey as the “ace.”

In 2010, the Mets went through a major youth movement. The season didn’t start out like that and the plan was to compete. But as the season went along into the summer, Ike Davis was called up from the minors, Josh Thole eventually became the starting catcher, and Ruben Tejada got a lot of time at second base. There were a bunch of other youngsters contributing like Jon Niese and in September, Lucas Duda.

At the end of the season, after a bunch of games featuring seven rookies in the starting lineup, the team won 79 games. That was with Pelfrey winning 15 games and with Santana pitching dominant baseball at times and with the team putting together two eight-game winning streaks.

The team was too young and too inconsistent with a lot of dead weight on the roster. As of today, just days before Thanksgiving, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez are still on the roster. It looks like the exact team that produced 79 wins in 2010, will return for 2011.

So, where does that leave the Mets? You can’t really expect an increase in victories and should really expect a decrease with the loss of Santana and his 11 wins and 2.98 ERA.

The lineup will be the same with rookies on the right side of the infield and Wright and Reyes on the left side. The outfield has potential but Jason Bay was a bust up until his season-ending concussion in his first season with the Mets. Carlos Beltran hasn’t played a full season since 2008 and Angel Pagan has to play like he did last season.

The starting rotation is a complete mess made worse by Santana’s injury. There are three guys that can be relied on with Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese but the latter two are question marks.

Can Dickey’s knuckler be as effective to the tune of 11-14 wins? Can Niese rebound from late-season struggles? Even if all three mainstays perform up to their best capability, who’s pitching the other two games?

Hisanori Takahashi was not re-signed and Pat Misch isn’t a viable option. The Mets could perhaps sign a second-tier free agent starter such as Jorge De La Rosa, Carl Pavano, or Javier Vazquez but they can’t sign two of them.

Pavano and Vazquez were both busts as members of the other New York team and haven’t proven to be effective in big games.

So, the rotation is a mess and the bullpen is awful as of now. It could get better but two key pieces are missing. As mentioned, Hisanori Takahashi was not brought back as he could’ve been a setup man to Rodriguez.

And the even bigger loss if he isn’t brought back would be Pedro Feliciano. He’s been the best left-handed specialist in baseball over the last five seasons and if he’s gone, the bullpen is officially terrible.

Nothing concerning the current or even possible Opening Day Mets roster gives you much hope for 2011. It’s going to be another grind and it’s almost like what the Knicks went through over the past two seasons. Not expecting much until some money is cleared to work with, which it will be.

This Mets team looks like a 75-79 win team at the highest and there’s not much to improve that right now.

Can you wait for 2012? You’re going to have to have patience in order to witness this team play meaningful games in October again.

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The Minnesota Twins start their 50th season in Minnesota next season.

I thought it might be fun to choose the best starting lineup possible from the last 50 years. I also included the top five pitchers for a starting rotation and a closer.

There were a few rules to make the list. They must have either been a Twins player for at least five years, or done something extraordinary on the field (such as a World Series victory, MVP award, batting title, etc.).

They also must have spent most of their time at the position they played at, so I wasn’t allowed to DH someone who wasn’t a designated hitter during their time in Minnesota.

So who made the cut? Read on to find out.

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The Mets are closer to being a contending team than you may think.  The incoming GM could make these simple and, perhaps more importantly, cheap changes to have them competing next year and for years to come.

Jettison Bad Karma: On paper, the Mets have been a competitive team for the past three years.  In reality, however, their high paid “stars” have underachieved, they have suffered an unlucky proportion of injuries and their fan base has grown impatient and cynical (I left out angry and borderline hostile). 

Now, the booing and empty seats at the otherwise charming Citi Field have become both a symptom and a cause of the general malaise of the team.  Not to go too new age on you, but the energy surrounding the team is negative, they have developed a culture of losing, perhaps traceable to their epic late season collapses in ‘07 and ‘08. 

Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez and John Maine are the three major players that have come to symbolize this.  Castillo can be unloaded, the Mets could pay for half his six million dollar price-tag and sell him off as an ideal veteran bench piece, a one day per week starter, pinch runner, and situational pinch hitter. 

Perez’s value is minimal at best, but the Mets could sell him as a situational lefty vs. lefty match-up guy.  In fact, lefties have hit 50 points lower vs. him over the course of his career. They should even go so far as to pay 20 of his remaining 25 million if necessary, in a clear case of addition by subtraction.  John Maine is an easy fix, they should not tender his option and part ways cleanly. 

Get Stronger up the Middle: With Reyes at SS and either Beltran or Pagan in CF, to get stronger they must shore up 2B and C.  With strong catching options sparse in the bigs, the Mets should groom Josh Thole to fulfill his potential as an above average major league catcher. 

Then they need to sign a veteran caddie such as John Buck from Toronto and they will be covered at the catcher position.  At second base it is finally time to sign Orlando Hudson, the grizzled, slick fielding, switch hitting veteran who has long wanted to play for the Mets. 

The Mets should pay him nine million for three years.  He can play some still, and can teach Tejada about being a major leaguer, all while giving Tejada time to develop until it is the youngster’s time to shine. 

Another option here is Ricky Weeks of the Brewers who is set to be a FA after the 2011 season.  The Brewers are worried about signing Prince Fielder and would likely make Weeks available for a reasonable price.

Get rid of Jason Bay/Get Faster in the Outfield: Jason Bay is a bad fit for this team.  Although very talented, he is also a slow prodding runner/fielder whose right-handed power stroke is not complemented by the dimensions of Citi Field.  

The Mets would have been epically better off waiting for Carl Crawford this year but since they don’t have a time machine, they should wait till midseason when Bay’s value is back up and deal him and his contract away.  His replacement should be a centerfielder type player with good tools, decent pop and the speed to make the Mets outfield defense a team strength.

Sign their arms: Because of Johan’s uncertain injury status, there is an added urgency for the Mets to retain Pelfrey and Dickey.  Both are arbitration eligible, both should be signed to long term deals and both could be had at a reasonable price.

The Mets need to do this.  Jonathan Niece is their fourth starter, but could easily wind up being their second best per inning starter behind only a healthy Johan.  The last spots in the rotation would be up for competition, with guys like Dillon Gee (bad stuff, good command) and Henry Mejia (good stuff, bad command) competing for innings. 

Signing additional arms should be a priority as well, with a preference toward unheralded fly-ball pitchers to take advantage of the cavernous Citi Field dimensions at a relatively low price.

Hire Bobby Valentine: He is a polarizing figure, a baseball genius, has had success managing the Mets, brings competitive energy and an alpha dog to boot.  The Mets need an infusion of life and a spark to get the attention of the fans and the respect of the league. 

Bobby Valentine, for better or worse, elicits such an emotional response. After the hyper mellow (almost comatose really) managing style of Jerry Manuel, the young core of the Mets needs to be awoken from their slumber of mediocrity.  Bobby Valentine is credible and authoritative enough to get them to change their bad habits and is the manager the Mets Alderson should sign.

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“Six-and-a-half games back and not playing very well in a season we thought we ought to be in contention.  I think we were losing ground with the field,” Ranger managing general partner George W. Bush said in June of 1992 upon firing his manager.

The manager?  None other than Bobby Valentine, a baseball man with nearly four decades of baseball experience sorely needed in the dullard Seattle Mariner organization, made famous for its uncanny ability to create 100-loss seasons regardless of the payroll or who is running it.  Valentine has the personality horsepower needed to confront a dogmatic front office that Mariner fans are ready to run out of town amidst a mob of ropes and flaming torches.

The Texas Rangers were 46-41 at the time of the firing, and were in third place in the division, 5.5 behind first-place Minnesota in the days of dual divisions in each league.   Valentine then in his 25th baseball season at the age of 41, his eighth with the Rangers,  he had been the third-longest tenured manager in the major leagues behind only baseball icons Tommy Lasorda of the Dodgers and Sparky Anderson of the Detroit Tigers.  Bobby Valentine had been the youngest manager in the major leagues when offered the job on May 16, 1985.  A former Dodger, he had long been a favorite of Lasorda and once was thought to be his heir apparent as manager of the Dodgers.  

Almost a decade later on a different team, Valentine was again fired, but this time following a tumultuous and controversial summer of 2002 in New York.  The Mets finished with a 75-86 record in spite of their $102 million payroll, in last place in the NL East for the first time since 1993 and below .500 for the first time in six years.  It had been a mere two years after Valentine had led them to the first Subway Series in four decades.

Many felt Valentine had taken the fall for then knucklehead general-manager Steve Phillips.  Valentine left with an overall record of 536-467, reaching the playoffs in 1999 and 2000.  But in late-season 2002 came one of the worst months in team history with a 12-game losing streak where the Mets didn’t win a game at Shea Stadium in August, during a NL-record 15-game home losing streak.

Earlier that summer Mets part owner Fred Wilpon issued several dreaded “votes of confidence,” but by mid September was fed up with underperforming players, seven of whom Newsweek magazine had claimed were caught smoking marijuana and goofing off.  “The team just did not respond to the manager,” Wilpon explained at a packed news conference after the fact.  “Whatever grip Bobby had on the team was gone by the end of the season.”

Sports pundits ripped the move.  Ian O’Conner of USA Today wrote a scathing column insisting the Mets had fired the wrong guy, and that the Mets “should’ve fired his loser of a general manager, Steve Phillips.”  Phillips had embarrassed Valentine by refusing to allow him to attend the winter meetings and embarrassed the franchise with rumors of an extramarital affair with a subordinate.”

Valentine himself said, “I told Fred that that he had to give the next manager authority in the clubhouse and on the field, that he had to get Steve off the field and out of the clubhouse.  You can’t let a GM high-five guys and joke around after a win and then after a loss act like it’s the end of the world. Get him out of there for the sake of the next guy.”

Sobering words for Mariner fans, given that current Mariners manager Jack Zduriencik spent a large part of July and August this past summer hobnobbing in the dugout with Mariner icons while “evaluating” soon-to-be fired manager Don Wakamatsu, claiming that Wak too had “lost control of the team.”   

Mariner fans responded in ways not seen before.  Fed up with a perceived meddling by an incompetent front office, radio talk shows and newspaper comments were bombarded with scathing rebukes of long-time Mariner management figures Chuck Armstrong and Howard Lincoln.  Fans weren’t buying management’s latest line about “needing change, ” considering the next hire will be the team’s seventh manager since Lou Pinella left in 2002.

If this franchise was a horse, it would have been shot two decades ago.

The Seattle Mariners are in dire need of a manager like the only successful manager in team history: Lou Pinella.  Unlike his predecessors, Pinella routinely had shouting matches with owners who felt they knew baseball better than he did.  Pinella had no problem getting in the face of decision-makers and publicly scolding them for failed or non-existent moves.  Valentine is a guy who shares this trait.

Whatever the real story in the clubhouse as Mets manager, off the field Valentine had been a force for compassion following the unsettling attacks at 9/11.  People close to the manager felt his unyielding commitment to the families of victims put things in perspective for Valentine, and perhaps made sports far less important.  Gone was the focus, some claimed, which led to apathy towards superstar tantrums during his last season in New York.

He has held various jobs in baseball other than his managing stints.  Following his departure from Texas, early in January 1993 Valentine was hired by the Cincinnati Reds to be an advance scout that included consulting player personnel and watching talent on other teams during spring training. 

Also spending part of the last decade in Japan managing the Chiba Lotte Marines, Valentine was soon headed back to the United States for reasons other than on-the-field success.  Making somewhere around $3.9 million a year, he priced himself out of the market and was told by Marines management that the club would not be able to afford him after the 2009 season, regardless of how many games his team wins.  Thus he returned to commentating on ESPN this past season.

Valentine’s players may have been chided for misbehaving, but he too has been known to be part of on-field mishaps and mayhem.  In December of 1998 he admitted he made a “bad guess” when he speculated why Todd Hundley blamed him for being replaced by Mike Piazza.  Hundley felt Valentine had it in for him, but Valentine blew it off saying, “It’s an Italian thing.  He thinks that I would do something because he’s not Italian or because I am Italian.  I think that’s ridiculous.”

And then who can forget the infamous if not somewhat humorous two-game ban and $5,000 fine in June of 1999?  While Met manager, Valentine returned to the dugout during a game versus Toronto donning a fake mustache and glasses after being ejected from a game against the Blue Jays.

He might need that humor if hired in Seattle, since this is only one of three organizations that have never played in a World Series.  But clearly Valentine would hold the most baseball experience of anyone in the organization.  On a team in Seattle with cranky fans still living in memories of the past, hiring Bobby Valentine should be a no-brainer.

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Admit it, you’re enjoying these baseball playoffs. The excitement. The do-or-die nature of every game. Brian Wilson’s epic beard-mohawk combo that makes him look like a guy begging for change outside McDonald’s.

The—

Wait, what’s that? You’re not enjoying these playoffs? Really? Maybe I’m the only one.

It’s true. Despite everything that’s happened so far—Roy Halladay’s no-hitter, the Rangers winning three games in Tampa, the Twins…well never mind, the Twins just suck- these are the least talked about baseball playoffs that I can remember; maybe of my entire lifetime.

Chatting with friends on the phone and communicating with people on Twitter, it seems like most of America has the same interest in the baseball postseason that CC Sabathia does for fruits and vegetables. None.

Now, we all know the reasons why. The games are too long. Our attention spans are too short. The same teams win every year. The new ones aren’t compelling. And with all that, I’m starting to wonder, is baseball losing steam as a mainstream sport?

I’m afraid it might be, considering that the most talked about thing from the first week of the playoffs (other than Halladay’s no-hitter), were those lousy Conan O’Brien blimp commercials. America just doesn’t seem to care about baseball.

Which is a shame, because I love baseball. As I mentioned last week, I grew up around the game, and played it all the way through the end of high school. I probably understand the intricacies of it as well as any sport. Yet even for me, Aaron Torres—a guy who writes about sports for a living—some of these games are a tad bit boring. Which isn’t good.

It’s also why I’m here to make some suggestions on how to improve the product.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you anything stupid, like, “We should have Brett Favre and Jenn Sterger call games together,” or “Let Pauly D from Jersey Shore throw out the first pitch of the World Series.” As much as like that second idea, even I’m not dumb enough to think it could actually happen.

Nope, these are 10 real suggestions. Ten ways to hopefully appease old fans, cultivate new ones, and maybe in the process, pump a little life back into a dying sport. Baseball might not be able to change the product on the field, but they can change the way they produce and present it.

Here’s some food for thought. And as always, I encourage you to share your ideas.

Because of length, this is just PART of Aaron’s 10 Ways To Spice Up The MLB Postseason. To read the remainder, please click here or visit www.aarontorres-sports.com

No. 1. Have the Two Highest Finishing Non-Division Winners Play a Three-Game Series To Earn the Wild Card:

I’ve heard other people mention this, and couldn’t agree more. And you know why? Because you can never have too much playoff baseball! It doesn’t hurt that in the process, it would keep a lot of teams playing hard down the stretch.

Take this year for example. The Yankees ended up winning the American League Wild Card instead of the AL East, in large part because they lost nine of their last 11 games.

Since there was no real threat of missing the playoffs (they clinched a postseason berth sometime around Memorial Day), they essentially treated the last two weeks of the season like an additional, glorified spring training session. They rested guys up. Their starting pitchers only threw a few innings per outing.

The Yankees might as well have been playing split-squad games against college teams those last few weeks. Again, it felt like spring training.

But think how differently those few weeks would’ve played out if the Yankees had to play two or three extra games if they didn’t win the division. Think Joe Girardi would’ve spent the last two weeks of the regular season spitting sunflower seed shells on himself, instead of actually managing? Of course not.

The Yankees would have been playing hard down the stretch, trying to get the division title and the first round bye. In the process, those last few regular season games in Boston would’ve been the most entertaining baseball of the year, than just an excuse to get Marcus Thames some extra at bats, and Joba Chamberlain an extra inning or two of work.

And speaking of Boston, if the Yankees didn’t win the division, guess who they would’ve played this year for the Wild Card berth? Yep, that’s right, the Red Sox. Who’s opposed to three more games of those two playing? Besides the Red Sox, the “Wild Card Round,” (as I’ll call it), would’ve had teams like the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tigers and Rockies playing hard until the last game or two of their season as well.

Sure the season would take a few days longer, but again, who cares? Especially when you’ve got five or six more teams involved in the playoff race every year.

No. 2 The Winner of the Wild Card Plays The Team With The Best Record In Each League:

Essentially, this is in-line with the first rule. After all, isn’t the goal to have more teams playing for something down the stretch? With this rule in place, even the top teams would have reason to play hard all 162 games, with the opportunity to play the Wild Card winner—coming off an extra series—in the first round.

Also, shouldn’t there be incentive for a team to finish with the best record? Because, whoever came up with the current rule—that the Wild Card winner can’t play a Divisional opponent in the first round—is an idiot. Yes, I’m looking at you, Bud Selig.

With the system that’s currently in place, teams are, in a way, rewarded for winning the Wild Card and punished for winning their division. If you don’t believe me, ask any Reds fan. They won their first NL Central title in 15 years, and what did they get to show for it? Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in back-to-back games, that’s what.

How is that fair? Think they would’ve preferred the Giants instead? And even though they ended up losing in the NLDS, don’t you think the Braves were much happier getting San Francisco in the NLDS rather than getting Philadelphia? Again, why reward the Braves that way.

Finally, having Divisional opponents face off in the first round would only add to the drama of the playoffs. This year we would’ve gotten the Rays and the Yankees in the first round, two teams that know each other like an old married couple, and have the same disdain for each other too.

If those two had played, that would’ve been the must see matchup of the first round. Instead we got the Twins-Yankees laugher, and the Rays-Rangers series, that drew the lowest ratings of the playoffs on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking of which…

No. 3 No Games On Sunday’s:

Ever. This is non-negotiable.

Again, for Major League Baseball, the goal here is to get your product out to as many fans as possible. And with America as a whole going into a catatonic state any time the National…Football…League is even mentioned, it’s just stupid to try and compete against it. Really, why bother. You will lose.

My suggestion to baseball is simple: Take Sunday’s off. Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and it’s Peyton Manning’s day. Don’t ever forget that.

No. 4 Let Fans Vote For the LCS and World Series MVP:

This is absolutely, positively my favorite idea (mainly because I haven’t heard anyone besides myself mention it).

Here’s why: We’re Americans. To a degree, we’re self-absorbed. We want our opinions to be voiced, and our voices to be heard. Why do you think thousands of bozos like me create sports blogs and spend countless hours on message boards? It’s because we’re dumb enough to think that people actually care what we have to say! Crazy, I know.

But it is that sense of self-centered jingoism that makes shows like Dancing With The Stars a hit. Believe me, 20 million people aren’t tuning in to see “The Situation,” do the samba in a sequined shirt. Most people have things to do with their time. Granted, I’m not one of them. But still.

No, the reason people watch Dancing With Stars, American Idol, America’s Next Top Model (I swear, I’ve only heard of that one, never seen it. What? I swear!), is because we like knowing we have a say in something. That our opinion matters. That no matter how little our voice is, it’s getting heard.

Why couldn’t this work for the LCS and World Series MVP’s? It’s not like any of us care who wins the stupid award anyway. Or even remember who wins for that matter.

Actually, here’s a quick pop quiz: Who was last year’s World Series MVP.

…

Don’t you dare look it up!

…

The answer is Hideki Matsui. If I had given you 25 guesses, would you have ever gotten that? I wouldn’t have.

But, if you’d stayed up until 2:30 in the morning after Game 6 of last year’s World Series voting for Matsui, would you remember then ? I thought so.

This is just PART of the article on 10 Ways To Spice Up the MLB Playoffs. To read the rest, including thoughts on Steve Phillips, hot sideline reporters, and much, much more, please click here or visit www.aarontorres-sports.com

Also, to get updates on all of Aaron’s articles, podcasts and free giveaways, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Aaron_Torres or by downloading the Aaron Torres Sports App for FREE for your iPhone or Android

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The New York Mets cleaned house Monday, officially parting ways with manager Jerry Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya.

After finishing the season with a disappointing 79-83 record, a whopping 18 games behind the first-place Phillies in the National League East, the writing was on the wall for both men.

Now, in need of new leadership at the top, the Mets suddenly face the prospect of rebuilding from the farm system all the way up to the major league level.

They also might be forced to resort to plan B, with a growing reputation of being one of the more unsettled organizations in all of baseball.

Here’s a look at 10 reasons the Mets will have a difficult time luring an experienced manager and general manager to begin picking up the pieces next season:

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The New York Mets finish their season tomorrow, which is a relief for the fans who have suffered with this team the whole season, one injury and non-baseball headline after another has ravaged this team.

While there is plenty of blame to go around, most of it falls on the players who did not execute or consistently play hard or smart fundamental baseball.  Many changes are expected to be made to the roster and very few people are guaranteed jobs entering next season.

Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya will likely be relieved of their duties early this week, Manuel most likely out side the organization and Minaya should get re-assigned the Mets organization but a new GM and Manager will almost definitely be taking over in 2011.

Changes to the coaching staff are also inevitable as both the pitching and hitting were large reasons why the team failed the way that it did, but honestly, the hitting was more to blame for its inconsistencies.  Having a healthy team where a regular lineup can be configured would have helped, but again injuries were the problem.

Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo returned to the lineup after the All-Star break and Jason Bay suffered a concussion ten days into the second half.  If all three had been in the lineup together for more than a week the team would likely have benefited more from their contributions.  Oliver Perez and John Maine were out of the picture early, but one of the main positives that arose from that was the emergence of RA Dickey.

To continue reading this article on Mets Gazette, click here.

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