Delgado, who hit two home runs on Wednesday to bring his season total to 30, has said recently that veterans can learn something about hitting by watching Murphy.

"He’s got a great approach," Delgado said. "You see him taking pitches, taking changeups, staying behind the ball, going to the opposite field."

F the braves

It was a big setback for Wagner, and one that could end his season. Instead of forearm stiffness, he has an elbow issue, and is headed for more tests on Tuesday. It's a little odd that none of this occurred until his simulated game, but one front-office source I spoke with said that Wagner probably didn't really let the ball go until the simulated game. Forearm problems are sometimes just referred pain from the elbow, and this certainly has some signs of having been that, though the Mets do have images that show a strain on the underside of his arm. I'm still not convinced that's the only problem, especially since Wagner actually expressed relief that it wasn't bone chips. (How would he know how they felt?) If there's any positive sign, it's that Wagner didn't have a sudden loss of control. We'll have to wait and see what the verdict is on Tuesday, but Mets fans have to be concerned that any extension of Wagner's time off will expose a weak bullpen.

When Manuel took over as manager, he said that he would watch Pérez’s starts from the top step of the dugout so he could, if needed, retrieve him that much quicker.

"I haven’t been on the top step in a while with Ollie," Manuel said. "Ollie told me sit down and be quiet over there, so that’s what I’ve been doing."

Jerry Manual is a Gangster!

"I told him next time he does that I'm going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field," quipped Manuel, who reinserted Reyes at shortstop and the leadoff spot for last night's series finale against the Angels.

Throughout this bizarre ordeal, Minaya has come across as a marionette, a front office executive who doesn’t have the autonomy that was discussed before the season....What’s worse is that the organization, in its indecisiveness, seemed to be taking the blood lust of fans into consideration.

When the Mets sputtered in April, the backstabbing began, with Randolph being undermined along the way. Words of Randolph's honest player evaluations in those staff meetings somehow made their way to the ears of players. That left the manager in a brutal position of trying to draw performance out of veterans who heard that behind closed doors the manager wasn't so sure if they had the right stuff anymore. Some on-field staff members doubted whether they could trust the front office.

What a crowd these bums are, all of them, from the Wilpons at the top to Omar Minaya down below, all of them who conspired to botch this firing worse than any firing has ever been botched. Ever. You wouldn't trust these guys to run a 7-Eleven, let alone a National League baseball team. What a joke. What a cowardly, dastardly joke.

Several NY Mets and NY Yankees can be considered "regulars," and the dancers at the club are unofficial experts on Baseball because they have met so many players from so many teams.

A Rick's dancer has been conducting a poll asking her fellow dancers if Mets Manager Willie Randolph should be let go. The "Dressing Room Poll" results are an approximation from the last week, with about 100 dancers saying that he should be fired, and only a handful saying that he should stay.

Rick's Cabaret Spokesperson Lonnie Hanover said, "The girls have a keen interest in Baseball, and they are entitled to their opinions. The club itself did not participate in the vote."

Look, I like Barry Bonds. I don't have to deal with him, but I was always on his side, and I still am. I don't think he belongs in jail; I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Ten years ago, he was playing by the rules as they were enforced ten years ago. It seems self-righteous to me to say now that he was cheating.
- Bill James on Barry Bonds