Mets fans, this may be a special week. A sad week.

No, not because the childhoods of many feel a void without a Harry Potter movie to look to in the future. But, this in some sense is the end. The end of The New Mets.

The Mets trotted out a sad lineup yesterday, that included none of Jose Reyes (hamstring), Carlos Beltran (flu) and David Wright (back). The first two are expected to be back today, while rumors have been that depend on how the rest of the week goes, Wright could be back as early as Friday.

Friday is July 22nd. The trade deadline is July 31st.

The Mets play a game every day in that span. Soak it in, or at least I’m going to, because depending on how those games go and whether or not the Mets make a surprising run and convince the front office they’re contenders, it looks like Beltran can (and probably should) be traded.

It’s sad, it really is. With Beltran’s signing came a wave of optimism. He wasn’t just an All-Star centerfielder, he was a vision and hope for this organization’s future. He said it himself in his introductory press conference. He wanted to be a part of the “New Mets.”

2006 was, indeed, new. Although it ended prematurely in the NLCS, it was magical. The craziest part of it was that when it was over, Mets fans seemed to look at each other and say, “Oh well. At least this is the sort of team that will be making it this far for the next five years, we can wait.”

Wait we did, wait we have, but obviously these last five years weren’t what at least I envisioned after watching Beltran buckle at Adam Wainwright’s curveball. Two collapses and two middling seasons later, the Mets haven’t made the playoffs since 2006 and are now preparing to say goodbye to the centerfielder who joined them along with an ethos of optimism and confidence.

It’s weird to think that these next few days could be the last time Wright, Reyes, and Beltran put on a uniform together. That optimism and that confidence have long since faded, but they still make up the famed “core” that everybody knew would eventually bring us a ring.

And sure, Beltran being traded is far from a foregone conclusion. If Sandy Alderson isn’t offered a decent return, I sense he’ll keep him for the season and maybe even consider resigning him. Because, if he’s not getting a decent return, then Beltran is being undervalued. The Mets front office is all about value.

So, maybe I’m just a fan clinging onto a long-since faded dream of optimism. Maybe the New Mets are now the Old Mets and romanticizing it is foolish. But, in the nine games from July 22 through July 30th, maybe something magical can happen.

Maybe they’ll win eight and recapture the hearts of Mets fans. Maybe they’ll win nine and move from sellers to contenders. A lot can change in a week. The New Mets have unfortunately been victims of that, rather than the victors in those situations. In 2006 - and even to some extent 2007 - the Mets sat as comfortably atop the NL East as the Phillies do today. The Phillies look insurmountable right now.

But, so did the Mets, we know how that turned out.

Yes, the odds are low, percentage points small and faith probably smaller. But when Wright, Reyes and Beltran put on a Mets uniform together - hopefully this Friday - I won’t be ready to call it the end of an era quite yet. At least until I watch all the games, enjoy every last moment of it, I’m not going to admit it is over, even if it seems like an inevitibility.

And then, there’s here’s to hoping they rekindle some of that magic…because as long as these three are still together…who knows…I sure don’t…but I can’t wait to find out…

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With the Mets having traded Francisco Rodriguez this week, the major question people seem to be asking is, “Are the Mets sellers?”

“Buying” or “selling”, however, is a false choice.

I think there is a good chance the Mets trade Carlos Beltran. To whom, I don’t know and more importantly we don’t know for what. What I think is most important to note is - a trade doesn’t have to just be be a “buy” or “sell”. A trade isn’t always just trading a proven player for unknown prospects, or vice-versa. There are other options, other players who can to be moved, and would be good fits on the Mets for the next two to three years, rather than two to three years from now.

So, here is some pure speculation as to some players I think would be fun for the Mets to look at in a trade involving Beltran, or other pieces they may look to move at the deadline (such as perhaps Jason Isringhausen):

• B.J. Upton - formerly one of the top prospects in baseball who was seen as an untouchable, the Rays are considering moving him, and his combination of speed and athleticism could help rejuvenate his career in the spacious Citi Field. Mentioned in a recent ESPN Insider piece as a buy-low candidate, Meds could be a good trade partner as the Rays could use a powerful outfield bat such as Beltran’s to try and replace him. Especially if the Mets cover Beltran’s costs for the season, this could be a very attractive option to the small-market Rays. MLB Trade Rumors’ Tim Dierkes recently listed the Rays as a team potentially looking to add a big outfield bat, such as Beltran’s, at the deadline. More and more, with the success of Reyes this season, it seems to make sense that the Mets should build a team around athleticism, and Upton fits right into that mold, despite his struggles.
• Gordon Beckham - also listed in the above ESPN piece, Beckham is like Upton in that he was a top prospect whose team is growing increasingly frustrated with his inconsistent play. Despite being a game below .500, the White Sox are only five games out of the lead in a shaky A.L. Central and GM Kenny Williams is never afraid of making an aggresive deadline deal. According to Dierkes, the White Sox are looking for an outfield bat and could be interested in Beltran, and perhaps they would be interested in a short term upgrade at 2B with Justin Turner while the Mets could invest in the long term potential of Beckham, who has more upside than Ruben Tejada or Turner.
• Madison Bumgarner - especially due to Brian Wilson’s comments at the All-Star game, Beltran-to-the-Giants is the most popular rumor these days. One name commonly thrown around is the Giants’ top pitching prospect, Zach Wheeler, though it isn’t known if the Giants would actually pony up that much for a rental. Perhaps, though, they would be willing to move Bumgarner, who since being arguably the top prospect in baseball, has proven to be good but not great thus far in his MLB career. This year, he has been the weak-link in the Giants rotation with a 4-9 record and 3.87 ERA. The Giants also will have a dillema on what to do with their rotation once Jonathan Sanchez comes off the D.L., and maybe they could keep their top prospect while moving Bumgarner, a lefty who I’d bet the Mets would be thrilled to take.
• Daniel Bard - say hello to the Mets closer of the future? Like the above teams, the Red Sox could have serious interest in Beltran and who knows what they might be willing to move for a shot at the title this year? Although current closer Jonathan Papelbon is a free agent at the end of the season, the Red Sox could try to resign him and have other internal options that might be able to fill Bard’s bullpen role, enough so to make it worth acquiring Beltran’s big bat. Maybe, the Red Sox would also be interested in Izzy or other pieces the Mets have to sweeten the offer.

Now, to be clear - this was just all speculation from a guy who would be interested in making a deal that isn’t neccesarily labeled under “buying” or “selling”, because moving Beltran and/or other pieces for players like these isn’t morgating the now, but it’s helping the team adjust its priorities to win over the next few years rather than only having a great talent who can help now. I’m not a GM. I’m not saying teams could do these deals straight up, but it’s fun to think about because players like these can get dangled at the deadline and could be right up the Mets alley, especially when they have arguably the best trade chip on the market.

Quick All-Star Thoughts

Above is my All-Star ballot. I vote based on who has the best numbers so far this season, which is how I think it should go. Plus, I naturally have a Mets bias, so I added Carlos Beltran when he doesn’t neccesarily deserve to be in. I voted for Jose Reyes too, but he deserves it on merit alone. 

I voted for a number of guys who are currently losing in voting but deserve to be in based on their 2011 performances thus far (after all, this is the 2011 All-Star Game). A few notable ones: Prince Fielder at 1B for the NL and Matt Kemp starting in the outfield. Kemp might be the best player in the majors so far this year. In the AL, I think it’s tough to argue against Alex Avila starting at catcher, and Miguel Cabrera starting at 1B.

Also funny - Justin Turner is an early-season Rookie of the Year candidate, but the ballot still has Brad Emaus for the Mets at 2B…

Frankly, the MLB All-Star game confuses me. On the one hand - it carries legitimate importance, with the winning league getting the home-field advantage in the World Series. On the other hand, fans consistently don’t vote in the best players (see Derek Jeter starting at shortstop for the AL). And, if I’m an American League playoff contender and the World Series is a legitimate possibility - why do I want Jeter starting in a game that actually matters, when Jhonny Peralta clearly has had the superior season?

To me, it’s fine that fans vote - it’s great. Just don’t have the game count, because the mixed message is unfair. Or, if the league is set on having the game count for something, don’t let the fans vote - have a committee or the managers select the best team. Just having it both ways doesn’t make too much sense.

sportsnetny:

Carlos Beltran hits one onto the Shea Bridge

Imagine this: An employer pays more than 90% of his competition for employees to ensure he gets the cream of the crop in terms of talent for his company. But for many years, the company not only tanks but is a public embarrassment for both its failures on and off the field. 

Finally, the boss of the company expresses some displeasure at the employees - employees he can’t fire because they have guaranteed contracts, some worth nearly $20 million annually. The same employees that have performed below expectations year after year. 

Holding them accountable?!? THE HORROR!

Clearly, in Jeffrey Toobin’s piece in The New Yorker - Mets’ owner Fred Wilpon upset some people. I’m going to assume you’ve read it, because if you’re a Mets fan and haven’t, you’ve lived under a rock the past couple days. Hopefully you have, because a great deal of the piece is about how Wilpon built himself and has nothing to do with what has created such controversy. If you haven’t, Matt Cerrone of Mets Blog put it most eloquently when he wrote, “Before you react emotionally to this ‘story’, read the full 22-page article. Otherwise, you’re just reacting to the reaction.”

A disclaimer: the only comment I whole-heartedly disapprove of is what he said about Beltran, saying, “He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was.” Was he worth the $119-million? Probably not, but a player doesn’t get better by you paying him more. Beltran has fought back valiantly from injury, graciously accepted a position change and has been great this year. Saying that was disrespectful of his effort, and only hurt his inevitable trade value. Bad on all accounts. 

But the rest of the comments? What was so wrong? 

The two that people have primarily focused on have to do with Jose Reyes and David Wright. 

Beginning with the one on Wright, he said, “A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.” What is wrong about what he said there? Should Wright be pissed off? Absolutely, but maybe that’s the point. He is a great “kid.” His willingness to champion and be the face of a struggling franchise is admirable. His classiness and acceptance of responsibility with the media is unwavering. But has he been a superstar? In 2009, Citi Field’s first season, he only hit 9 home runs. Last year, he hit 29, but he also struck out 161 times, compared to 140 times the year before and only 118 times in ‘08. Prior to going onto the DL recently with a back injury, he began this albeit young season hitting .226 with a high K-rate and six home runs. Is that the production of a superstar? Is that the consistency of a superstar? Are those the numbers of somebody you build a team around? No. He certainly has that potential, and maybe he needed to be called out to find it. 

In terms of Reyes, Wilpon said, “He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money…He won’t get it.” Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million deal with the Red Sox. And you know what? If Reyes gets that type of contract, it sure has hell shouldn’t be from the Mets. I’m in favor of trying to resign him, and not trading him as I’ve written here at Hot Foot, but that type of contract? Absurd. Coming off the Omar Minaya years in which he was very buddy-buddy with players and clearly signed too many large contracts, people are upset with him for expressing a sentiment of fiscal responsibility for the team? Preposterous! It wasn’t tactful, but it was also right. 

Finally, aside from the comments on Beltran, Wright and Reyes, Wilpon called the Mets a “shitty team.” Is this anything but true? 

If you don’t agree with any of this, let’s think about if Wilpon said different things, on other sides of the spectrum from what he said:

• The Mets are a shitty good team. Wouldn’t it be a problem if he thought this type of performance were good? I want an owner who thinks this is shitty, because frankly it is. I’m tired of it. 
• Wright is not a superstar. A superstar is a player you can build a team around, and have as the face of the franchise. He’s definitely filled the latter role, but the former? His play has been very good, not great as Wilpon said. He has more potential, and has not played at a superstar level. It’s good that he was called out on it, because maybe it’ll light a fire. 
• Reyes is not going to get a Crawford like contract. Do we want another set of years where we overpay players? Where we sign contracts like we did with Perez, Castillo, Beltran, and Santana that limit us financially? Maybe it pissed Reyes off, but I doubt it affected Alderson’s plans for what he plans to do with Reyes. We don’t know what that plan is, but I’m glad it doesn’t involve paying the man that much.

Ultimately, especially with the SI story coming out this week about the Mets hemmorhaging money, we don’t even know if Wilpon will own the team in the near future (though I personally suspect they will). But are we really just upset that he let his guard down for a moment and said things that were unsaid for too long? 

Maybe this is all like the movie Major League. In case you’re unfamiliar with arguably the funniest baseball movie of all-time, owner Rachel Phelps cuts cost and treats her team like crap, ultimately motivating the rag-tag group of players make it to the playoffs, against all odds.

Little known to most fans, there was an alternate ending in which she tells the manager, Lou Brown, that she wasn’t cutting costs just to treat the team like crap, but did so because the team was on the brink of bankruptcy. She was so mean in order to motivate them. Sound familiar, and can a fan dream? 

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The Good

There isn’t much that I’d define as “good,” but how about we go with “encouraging” instead? Let’s apply that to the fact that General Manager Omar Minaya has decided to infuse a touch of youth onto the roster. I don’t know if there’s anybody who doesn’t like Alex Cora, but we all know he wasn’t going to start the amount of games necessary for his vesting option to kick in, and he wasn’t very effective anyway. Jesus Feliciano is a guy who I’ve never seen swing so hard to hit a ball 6 feet in front of him. The Mets welcomed Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez back to the Majors, and Luis Castillo has been delegated to a bench role. Is this the answer? No. But it is encouraging that some young guys are here to play.

The Bad

Can anybody answer what the hell’s going on with Mike Pelfrey? Anybody? Bueller? I remember how, after a month of a half into the season, Small Pelf was a part of early Cy Young and All-Star game discussions. Any discussion concerning Pelfrey now pretty much always starts with “I don’t know…” Why? He’s a guy with all the talent in the world, and clearly has the ability to be an extremely effective pitcher. His fall from grace this year has been nothing short of alarming, and if the Mets are going to at the very least make the last two months of the season remotely interesting, they need him to return to form.

Other problems with the team pretty much all concern the heart of the order. I’m talking about Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and Ike Davis. This trio are 11-62 over the last week, with Ike responsible for 6 of those hits. Together, they have 3 RBI. If you’re head didn’t just completely explode, and I hope it hasn’t, you’re probably thinking that that is completely unacceptable. Because it is.

The Ugly

Jose Reyes has been absolutely brutal with the glove - and more confusingly, his arm - last week. The only thing that’s worse than Reyes making an error is the fact that it seems as if it always leads to at least a run, and usually more.

Someone needs to teach Jerry Manuel how to use a bullpen. After walking Chipper Jones in the Mike Pelfrey game, why he was left in to pitch to Brian McCann, who already had 2 hits on the day, is beyond me. How about leaving him in long enough to hit a batter with the bases loaded to force in a run? The only thing I’ve been able to say whenever the manager makes a mistake like that is: “Oh, Jerry.”

Then, there’s this:

Looking ahead to the offseason, I have totaled up the numbers of the contracts for players that are on the books for next season. The most interesting part of it is the fact that it only takes seven players for the Mets to exceed the $100 million mark.

Johan Santana: $22.5 million

Carlos Beltran: $18.5 million

Jason Bay: $16 million

David Wright: $14 million

Oliver Perez: $12 million

Francisco Rodriguez: $11.5 million

Luis Castillo: $6 million

The Mets total payroll for 2010 was only about $126 million!

Not only is this a starting point for the offseason, but the Mets still have to figure out what to do with four key players in Jose Reyes ($11 million club option, $500,000 buyout), Pedro Feliciano (FA), Angel Pagan (Arb. Eligible), and Mike Pelfrey (Arb. Eligible).

Whether it be Omar Minaya or a new general manager, they are going to have the huge task of finding ways to remove some of these high-priced veteran players that should not be on the team (Perez, Castillo, etc).

The Mets can choose to non-tender Jeff Francoeur, as he earned $5 million in 2010 in arbitration and will again be arbitration eligible this year. John Maine’s $3.3 million will almost certainly be off the books next season as well. The Mets also still owe $1 million to Gary Matthews Jr. in 2011.

It’s quite simple. The Mets have their work cut out for them this offseason. Fans are demanding changes and something will need to be done.