Conservative columnist, George Will probably loves baseball more than he does politics. Probably in anticipation of Opening Day, he pens a neat little piece regarding the game’s unspoken, but widely understood (Will’s words) code of etiquette.

My favorite memory of the code being enforced was when Roger McDowell immediately retaliated against the Phillies after Keith Hernandez had been knocked down. Hernandez frequently was guilty of peeking at where the catcher set up, which as part of the code allowed a knock down.

No matter. McDowell was warming up at the time in the Veteran’s Stadium bullpen when Hernandez was flipped. Rick Aguilera told McDowell who never said a word or offered any aknowledgement, and knocked down Greg Gross with his first pitch.

The dugouts at the Vet were very close to the field and Phillie coach Lee Elia screamed something rather salty at Hernandez. The Mex replied in kind with two familiar words. The first word began with “f” and the second a “y”.

Issue settled and we moved along nicely.

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I’ve been following Toby Hyde’s career since he joined Matt Cerrone’s network. He’s been like a baseball prospect, advancing every year based on past performances. Toby has talent to be sure, but he’s accomplished alot on work ethic. He’s starts a new season in Savannah and I hope he will continue his comprehensive posts on the Mets minor leagues. Have a great season, Toby.

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Carlos Beltran finally is having surgery on his injured knee. I wonder what took so long in the first place.

Why the Mets are acting incredulous is puzzling as player’s can get second opinions, choose physicians and elect to have surgery. There must be something more. Perhaps there is a philosophical difference of opinion between that of Mets’ MD David Altchek and Dr. Richard Steadman who pioneered the technique for this obscure, yet serious microfractures in the knee. Is it that Altchek had little confidence in the surgery? Or, as the article seemed to imply, did Scott Boras played a self serving role?

What was the thinking on the table last year when it was clear the season was lost and that the focus should clearly have been on Beltran’s long term health?

The baseball people are understandably frustrated in that the scheduling of the surgery came at the worst possible time. The Mets reaction seems to imply that the ball club might have been recommending surgery last year, but that Boras won out. And now they are looking at having Beltran being a question mark again for the entire season.

The calm and hope that came from a steady off-season by the Mets has suddenly changed to one of uncertainty.

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If the Wilpons are serious about Jason Bay, they are serious about John Lackey. If this is indeed the case Fred and Jeff have pulled off one of the best stealth operations in baseball free agent history.

There is no reason to commit to a left fielder, if they are not going to get a starter. It appears that the Mets will not be out bid for Bay, and if this is the case, they will spend for another starter like Lackey.

Brilliant move if this is the case as they effectively kept their cards close to the vest

Let’s face it. If we had not sustained so many injuries, we would not have faltered as we had. To be fair, 2009 may have been an aberation and the addition of Bay, Lackey and Molina might mean more than we can imagine..

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The Mets got nothing more than a career AAA player for Billy Wagner thus making it even more clear it was about the money. The Red Sox picked up the remainder of Wagner’s salary and shaved some commitments to payroll while letting go the opportunity to draft highly regarded talent next June. This fact, coupled with the news that the Mets paid out the least amount of bonuses in baseball further demonstrates just how much trouble the Mets are in financially. Only if the Mets show they will spend to bring in a legitimate number two starter and a power bat this off season will they be able to assure their loyal fan base they are serious about winning.

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Three of the guys I work with have been coaching and teaching for over 30 years now. Most of the rest at least 15 years. We have three young, eager and talented guys. A great mix.

I never stop being amazed at the passion they put into what they do. They love the game and the kids. Sometimes I even feel out of place, but they’ve always treated me well and like one of them. Only in sports does a comraderie like this exist. It’s something I miss from baseball but have noticed gaining it back here.

We have to be back at school Monday, but I really need to get into my classroom to do some work before then. Time’s running out as its Thursday. They’re pretty good about not weighing down with lots of meetings unlike when I taught in South Carolina. Our district is rated #1 in the state. Its a greta community and the district has always had a lot of really good people working here. I’m glad I made the decision to return home in 2000.

We’ll put the pads on this afternoon for the first time. Two of our offensive linemen are already out – one with a severe knee injury and another with a badly sprained ankle. The later I recommeneded to his mother that we get it x-rayed. He came in yesterday morning with significant swelling and discoloration on the inside of the ankle. I had not expected to see that.

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Bobby Parnell’s first start this season has to be put into perspective. At best, it should be paralleled with what would be a first spring training start. To bad it was against hitters who’s timing wasn’t the same as it would be in March. No one was probably surprised that it wasn’t very pretty.

The move of Parnell to the rotation was likely a well reasoned baseball decision and part of a blue print that goes back to last season. A lot of people were on the same page with it, including Parnell.

The Mets did not want Parnell to be their fifth starter at the beginning of the year and made it no secret that they wanted him to make the team as a reliever. It was clear early on that he would do just that. According to the blue print for Bobby Parnell, the next step would be to move Parnell to the rotation if and only if the opportunity presented itself.

It did.

If the Mets were in contention they would not be attempting to take a top set-up man and make him into a starter. Retrospectively, the Yankess probably would not have done the same with Joba Chamberlain last season had not their young owner so publically admonished his baseball people.

There were two times where it would have been appropriate to move Parnell to the rotation. One is next spring. The other is right now and under these circumstances.

Because the Mets had a plan for development and are following it, they get good marks for it. But they will now have to stay with it through the next 7 to 8 starts that Parnell will get. In many ways this is a blessing as they get to see if Parnell is a viable starter going into next year. If not, they will find out now and everyone has made productive use of an opportunity.

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Giambi has been on the DL since July 20.

With reports indicating that Carlos Delgado could be traded, a comparison is in order. Giambi hasn’t hit all year. Delgado has been out for some time, but was hitting .298 and had a whopping .915 OPS. Couple that with the way he finished last year puts to rest any question about Delgado’s bat.

Still he hasn’t played and the Mets have said little about his return. I cannot see how an NL team would pick him up but an AL club with the need for a bat might be interested. Like Wagner, it will have to be a baseball decision to move him. Does the player they get project as a high draft pick would?

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Adam Rubin’s well reasoned piece today speculated on the Mets dealing Billy Wagner via waiver trade by August 31.

If the Mets do this it needs to be a baseball decision that’s weighed against the talent that would come in a trade versus what the Mets would get as a compensatory draft pick next June. But the Mets have been sending signals that its about the money right now. Lets hope this isn’t a snag.

Adding a healthy Billy Wagner to a contender’s bullpen must be intriguing right now for teams and their fans. He makes sense for team like the Cubs, Cardinals and (hold your breath) the Yankees. However, a Wagner trade could be blocked by an opposing GM to keep him from going to a rival. Yesterday’s acquisition of Chad Gaudin by the Yankees isn’t necessarily indicative of the gentleman’s agreement to keep the waiver wire open. It’s early in the month and Gaudin is not a player of significant caliber.

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I’m glad that Adam Rubin is back at the ballpark hopefully no worse for wear. But he makes a good point in linking the high pitch counts of Mike Pelfrey today and Oliver Perez last night.

Pelfrey (8-7) tossed 107 pitches while being charged with three runs on five hits and three walks (one intentional) in five innings. It marked the second straight day the Mets starting pitcher had reached a three-figure pitch count while failing to exceed five innings (Oliver Perez, 112 pitches on Saturday).

This is nothing new to fans and many Mets bloggers such as Joe Janish, Metswalkoffs and Baseball Crank. All three are very aware of stats. So far more than me that I rely on them.

The fact that this is nothing new means there’s something there…there….by design. Is it some sort of organizational philosophy that creates these unwinnable scenarios? Is it the habit of limiting pitch counts in the early season in the minors? Does this then enable lowered expectations for starters?

All these questions and more need to be frankly discussed around the table by their baseball people in the off-season. It may be that in the interest of protecting their investments with pitch counts has produced a pircher who doesn’t help their team win.

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