The Good

Who even cares who he was traded for (Joaquin Arias by the way)? Jeff Francoeur was a guy who was… let’s say, marketable… so that he was forced into the lineup most days to go a typical 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. I hope he moved a ton of Metro PCS phones because the guy was hitting .236 with an OBP of .293 in a lineup that already strikes out way too much. He’s a fourth outfielder with a decent power threat off the bench. That’s what he is. As soon as the team started to figure that out - when Carlos Beltran returned - he started crowing about not playing every day. What happened to that rah rah team attitude?

The Bad

While he was playing every day, sure, he was a good clubhouse guy for whatever that’s actually worth. He took some pressure off of other guys like David Wright after games with the media, so there’s that, right? Honestly, he seemed like a good guy, so I’m guessing that some in the Mets clubhouse will miss him. Too bad being funny doesn’t translate to not 3 strikeouts a night.

The Ugly

Oh good lord, everybody has to stop eulogizing the guy. After about 5 minutes this trade should already be an old story, but wow is it far from that. We’ve got beat writers on Twitter pathetically using #freefrenchy in their posts. It’s pretty sad. If I didn’t know better I’d think these writers fell romantically in love with Frenchy, and just can’t handle watching him go. I’m pretty sure everybody needs to take a breath and realize: guy’s a fourth outfielder. I’m going to preemptively beg: Please don’t say that the Mets will miss his grittiness, because last I checked the team has so far gritted its way to 2 games under .500 with 30 games to go. Besides, Angel Pagan is plenty gritty, and actually has useful talent. Bonkers!

So Long, Frenchy. I’m going to miss your flailing swings at pitches on their way to the backstop.

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.

I’m going to be honest; I had a hard time deciding who to pick this week: For the first four games, it seemed as if this team was unstoppable. I even tweeted on Wednesday that I had a Man-Crush on the entire team. Everything was clicking. Then, Saturday and Sunday happened. Disasters. Demoralizing losses during which the Mets ace and who was quickly becoming the “1a” were just crushed by the Phillies. It’d be hard after those two games to pick anybody to be a Man-Crush after that. However, I’m going to roll with Rod Barajas anyway.

For the last week, during which sure, he only played 3 games, Barajas got 4 hits in 10 ABs, with 2 homers and a double. The thing is, it’s not even really about the stats. It’s more about the way he plays. For the last couple of years, we, for the most part, had to watch Brian Schneider, who was overrated defensively, and completely lackluster offensively. He had pretty much no personality (did you see his lousy car commercial?). Barajas, on the other hand, is a guy who’s easy to root for. It’s hard to describe, but a great example of why I like him is the play he made tonight on a slow roller up the first base line, a ball he chased down and threw around the runner to get him out at first.

I know that a lot of people are probably going to read this and think “So apparently we win games on heart now?” and I understand that. What I also understand is that perception’s reality, and the perception around the Mets the last couple of years was that they didn’t have any swagger, showed very little personality, and had a tense clubhouse. Now, with guys like Jeff Francoeur and Barajas, you can tell that the mood around the clubhouse is different. Will it translate to more wins? Well, we’ll see. It might, or it might not, who knows. What I do know though is that guys like Barajas are fun to watch - and produce in the meantime - and that’s why he’s my Man-Crush of the Week.

David Wright hasn’t looked too good at the plate. To me, he still looks like he’s trying to hit 5-run home runs whenever anybody is on base in front of him, and continues to strike out at a scary, scary pace. In 26 plate appearances last week, he’s got 10 strikeouts, and only 2 walks and 4 hits. For someone who’s the face of a franchise, this is a problem. I’m going to give him a pass - for this week only - and focus on someone I refuse to believe I cursed, which I had a habit of doing last year: Jeff Francoeur.

What happened, Frenchy? You went from the team MVP to the Francoeur we’ve been warned about. You know: the guy who flails at pitches way out of the zone. You hit .160 in the last week, with 5 strikeouts, and 0 walks. You haven’t walked once. 2 RBI and 2 doubles round out those numbers. Is there a “good Frenchy” and a “bad Frenchy?” I’ve heard of streaky, but this guy is ice cold right now, and has almost zero plate discipline. He can’t be as bad as he’s been this week, and he can’t be as good as he was 2 weeks ago. Hopefully, he’ll at least find that happy medium, and for the love of God, stop swinging at pitches that could end up hitting the backstop.

You were a Man-Crush, Jeff Francoeur. Now, welcome to the Dog House.

It’s been a week since the 2010 season began, which means it’s time to crown my first Man-Crush of the year. For the uninitiated, the Man-Crush of the Week is someone who’s been playing at a crazy high level for the previous week. And the choice was incredibly easy to make: Jeff Francoeur.

Probably the last great move that GM Omar Minaya made was trading Ryan Church for the effervescent Frenchie, who, so far in 2010, does three things:

1. Hits the ball hard.
2. Throws with a cannon of an arm.
3. Smiles.

His play today on Adam Dunn basically left my jaw agape, and his hitting stats are nothing to shake a bat at:  .476 BA, 2 homers, 6 RBI, and a 1.538 OPS. It’s been a stressful season so far, with the Mets showing that they still have trouble hitting with runners in scoring position, and managing to lose in even more clever, amazing ways, but Jeff has been nothing but a blindingly bright spot in an otherwise very cloudy week (save for the much-needed return of Jose Reyes). For that, Jeff Francoeur is my first Man-Crush of the Week of 2010.

Today was a day that couldn’t come soon enough. It was the return of Jose Reyes. After a hamstring tendon problems last year, followed by elevated thyroid levels, Reyes returned to the lineup today. His very presence injects some life into this team and it’s fans, but it wasn’t enough to get a win today. And today’s notes:

• Oliver Perez wasn’t really “good” Ollie or the really “bad” Ollie. He was just, “Ollie.” Would you take his start today every time out? 5.2 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He would’ve went 6 had Reyes snagged a line drive that went off his glove.
• The bullpen continues to do some solid work. How about Ryota “Iggy” Igarashi, hitting 95 on the gun?
• It’s never been that good, but David Wright’s throwing arm looks like it’s deteriorating right before our eyes. Bizarre, and disturbing.
• Can anybody stop the onslaught of Jeff Francoeur?
• If there’s one behind-the-plate ad that really reminds me of major market professional baseball, it’s Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pet Foods.
• Reyes looked a little rusty today at the plate and in the field, but I’d imagine that that won’t linger very long.
• The team’s biggest issue right now: Hitting with runners in scoring position is like Mets kryptonite. Unbelievable.
• Willie Harris, I hate you so hard.

It’s funny. We were 3 games into the season and already there was panic amongst the Met fan base. And can you blame them? After an utterly lost 2009 season, the Mets needed to get off to a fast start, and so far it hasn’t looked like that was going to happen. Citi Field’s been described as a morgue by many last night, and the crowd tonight appeared to be sparse as well. The Mets needed a shot in the arm, and didn’t get one. They got 3. Here’s what I took out of tonight:

• Since John Maine’s poor start on Wednesday, the starting pitching has looked better, with Jon Niese last night, and Mike Pelfrey tonight. Pelf spread 4 hits out over 6 innings, with 4 strikeouts. The 4 walks, hopefully, will lessen in his next start.
• David Wright and Alex Cora made a couple of stellar defensive plays in the 4th and 5th innings to stop the “Natinals” from even sniffing any momentum.
• I’ll admit it. When Big Pelf fielded the grounder back to him with his bare hand and walked the next batter on 4 pitches, I thought we were about to witness another meltdown.
• 4 homers! In 1 game! And it only took 2 guys! Jeff Francoeur and Rod Barajas showed their power strokes, while Wright… well, he went into his trot, so that has to count for something. The Situation approves.
• Jenrry Mejia, in his second appearance, pitched a 1-2-3 inning to end the game. An encouraging bounceback.
• Get Mike Jacobs off the team. Also, I like Ike (Davis).
• Finally, finally… Jose Reyes is back in Citi Field. I can’t wait for him to actually take the field tomorrow. It’s going to be a fantastic sight.

The 3 shots in the arm, the performance by Pelfrey, the power hitting, and Reyes making his first appearance are what I hope helps this team find, what Willie Randolph would call, a “nice little rhythm.”

This is the oddest endorsement I’ve seen since that time David Wright and Jerry Manuel did on-field commercials for Salvation Miracles Revival Cruise

Hat tip to Amazin Avenue for the link.

But hey, the Phillies are older, by a nose. Is Moyer still there? Cause that could really skew their numbers.

Besides pointing out elderly, Adam Rubin provides notes about the Mets lining up their rotation to have Johan Santana’s first official start on Opening Day. Frankie Rodriguez still has pink eye (eww.) And Frenchy calls David Wright out for being a slow golfer.

“He plays like Sergio Garcia. He takes a million years to hit the ball.”

Hit the link above for a ton more notes from Rubin.