Report: Mets Trade K-Rod to Yankees for Luxury Seats, Memorabilia

Francisco Rodriguez is headed to the Bronx. In return, the Mets will receive four Champions Suite tickets to each remaining Yankee home game and any postseason games, as well as bats, balls and jerseys signed by Derek Jeter.

The Mets will distribute the Yankee tickets to loyal Met season-ticket holders, who will now be able to attend meaningful games in September and October.

The Jeter memorabilia will be put on display in a new exhibit at the Mets' Hall of Fame, tentatively titled "Salute to a Star Shortstop Who Will Definitely Be Playing in New York in 2012."

One potential snag in the deal concerns the taxes the Mets will owe on the luxury seats and memorabilia. The bill could be as high as $15,000. The Mets are said to have asked prospective new partner David Einhorn to chip in, but have not yet received a reply.

Another issue involves K-Rod's new agent, Scott Boras, who says that K-Rod will only make the move to the Bronx if he receives some memorabilia of his own, namely the ball K-Rod used to walk Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded in 2009, resulting in the Yankee closer's only career run batted in. K-Rod would also like a shirt with a picture of Mariano and the inscription MR1 (Mariano Rivera First RBI).

The lost Taco Bell ad with Jerry Manuel and Francisco Rodriguez

Inside a Taco Bell, JERRY MANUEL walks up to a CUSTOMER staring at his chalupa.

MANUEL

You're done, kid. You're slower than John Maine.

Manuel touches his left arm. The customer gets up and Manuel slaps him on the butt.

PEDRO FELICIANO walks over. He has put on a lot of weight.

FELICIANO

Skip, I don't feel too good.

CUSTOMER

This is what happens when you make him help finish a chalupa every day.

MANUEL
Fine, I'll just go to my closer.

Manuel slaps Feliciano on the butt. He touches his right arm.

As FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ walks toward the chalupa, he passes the exiting customer.

CUSTOMER
Let's see if you can have a good outing for a change.

RODRIGUEZ
Excuse me?

CUSTOMER
You heard me.

The customer and Rodriguez start shoving each other. Rodriguez slips and falls, slamming his jaw on the corner of a table.

CUT TO:

Rodriguez sits glumly. His jaw is wired shut.

Trainer RAY RAMIREZ turns to Manuel.

RAMIREZ
I’m afraid he won’t be finishing any chalupas the rest of the season.

Manuel throws his hands in the air. OLIVER PEREZ approaches the chalupa.

Manuel slaps Ramirez on the butt.

RAMIREZ
Aren’t you supposed to slap Frankie?

MANUEL
You think I'm laying a hand on him?

Perez picks up the chalupa, cardboard packaging and all, and starts to put the whole thing in his mouth.

MANUEL
You're not supposed to eat the cardboard.

Perez takes the chalupa out of the box. But as he brings it to his face, he misses his mouth and the chalupa flies out of his hands and up in the air.

LUIS CASTILLO settles under the flying chalupa. It lands in his hands, then bounces out and hits the floor, splattering everyone with ground beef, nacho cheese, bits of taco shell and toppings.

At a nearby table, JEFF WILPON turns to SANDY ALDERSON.

WILPON
All right, Sandy - think you can clean up this mess?

Squawker Media Alert: Jon interviewed by Mets Gazette

Earlier this week, Frank Gray of Mets Gazette asked me what I thought of the K-Rod debacle. Frank interviewed some other Mets bloggers as well and combined our comments into a piece for Mets Gazette. You can read Frank's piece here.

It's still hard for me to believe that a season that held some promise just a few weeks ago has devolved into K-Rod on the disqualified list, Jason Bay out, possibly for the rest of the year, with a concussion and former starting catcher Rod Barajas sent to the Dodgers to save a few bucks.

Meanwhile, on the field, Johan Santana pitches another strong game, only to lose to the lowly Pirates on homers by former Mets phenom Lastings Milledge and former Yankees phenom Jose Tabata.

At least the Mets still won their first road series this season against an NL team. Hope they saved the ball from the final out for the Mets' Hall of Fame.

Thumbs down for K-Rod

Last season, two of the Mets' few bright spots were the willingness of Alex Cora and Jeff Francoeur to play with torn thumb ligaments. Cora continued to play until he tore the ligament in his other thumb and finally had to shut it down. Francoeur tore a ligament in his thumb last August while making a diving catch during the infamous Philly game that ended when he lined into an unassisted triple play, but remained in the lineup the rest of the season.

Now Francisco Rodriguez appears to have pitched Saturday with a torn ligament in his thumb, since the Mets are saying he injured his thumb in Wednesday's altercation.

Cora and Francoeur were hailed as respected team leaders last year and well into this season. But they suffered their injuries on the field, not in the family lounge.

Now Cora is gone, Francoeur's Met days appear numbered, and the team is probably going to try to void K-Rod's contract.

It was only a couple of months ago that the Mets were ten games over .500 and the team was praised for having the best chemistry in years. It's simply not true that the last few years have been uninterrupted misery. This team still has a lot of potential.

But that potential will only be realized through a renewed emphasis on the farm system, not on quick-fix free agents.

No revisionist thinking on K-Rod - everybody wanted him and when the Mets were able to get him at a much lower price than expected, Omar Minaya was praised. Carlos Beltran was also a good signing - after his first year, he has been a star when healthy. And where would the Mets be without Johan Santana?

But Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez were controversial contracts from the start, and many were skeptical of the Jason Bay signing as well. With the latest K-Rod developments, the Mets may have a lot of dead money on their hands. At least Beltran is showing signs that he may still have something left.

The most significant development today could well be that the Mets signed Matt Harvey, their first-round pick. They were willing to spend on a top Scott Boras client. But there are rumblings that the Mets may be underspending in the rest of the draft.

Harvey's deal was reportedly for $2.5M. Even if the Mets are able to void K-Rod's contract, they could be better off putting that money back into the farm system, rather than seeking the next quick fix in the free agent market.

Thanks to no K-Rod, Jerry Manuel couldn't ruin R.A. Dickey's complete-game shutout again

On June 23, the Mets led the Tigers, 5-0, after eight innings. Starting pitcher R.A. Dickey had thrown only 97 pitches, allowing four hits, two walks, and retiring the last 13 batters he had faced. Dickey tried to talk manager Jerry Manuel into letting him finish the game, but as Dickey said afterwards, "I was unsuccessful."

That day, Dickey lost a chance for the second complete-game shutout of his career because closer Francisco Rodriguez had not pitched in five days and Manuel wanted to give him some work. K-Rod pitched a scoreless ninth and the Mets beat the Tigers.

Tonight, Dickey had thrown 99 pitches when he took his shutout into the ninth. He had only allowed one hit, but it was a much tighter game - 1-0. And the Mets were playing their division rival Philadelphia. With 9-1-2 due up, the Phillies' top of the order would be coming up.

If K-Rod had been available tonight instead of serving the second game of his two-game suspension, there's a good chance Manuel would have brought him in. Manuel manages save situations by the book. Ninth inning, 1-0, facing Philly - that's book.

Manuel also seems too slow to trust players without a track record. Gary Matthews Jr. started over Angel Pagan on Opening Day. Even when Pagan put together an All-Star caliber first half, he was initially relegated to a platoon with Jeff Francoeur when Carlos Beltran returned.

Also, K-Rod needs to finish a certain number of games over this season and next for his 2012 option to vest, which could have something to do with the manager trying to placate his closer by using him whether or not he is needed.

So despite Dickey's success this season, K-Rod might well have been called on to close if not for recent events. And who knows, K-Rod might have closed it out - he had been on a hot streak lately.

But in K-Rod's absence, Manuel was forced to give Dickey the chance to show that he could complete a one-hit shutout. And now the Mets have a starter who had done that much more to solidify his place in the rotation next year.

Maybe it was the curse of denying Dickey his complete game on June 23, but that win over the Tigers, the Mets' second straight over Detroit, was the last time the Mets won two in a row before tonight.

What's worse for the Mets in K-Rod debacle - bad leadership or no leadership?

The Mets' approach to crisis management appears to be "better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." As newly-fervent SNY watcher Squawker Lisa writes, Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya have had very little to say about the Francisco Rodriguez mess.

But Squawker Lisa is not a Met fan. Are there any Met fans who seriously want to hear MORE from Minaya or Wilpon?

Jerry Manuel has had a lot to say, and he has removed all doubt about being a fool. As I wrote yesterday, Manuel would have been happy to use K-Rod in yesterday's noon game, despite his spending the night in a prison cell.

The usually quiet Carlos Beltran offered more criticism than Manuel, saying "No one should act like that."

But Jeff Francoeur, who appeared for awhile to be the team leader the Mets desperately need, removed all doubt about him being a fool when he said of the K-Rod altercation, "Maybe it's a distraction we need."

Here's a distraction the Mets don't need - Francoeur wanting a trade because he isn't playing every day. Francoeur doesn't deserve to play every day, and good luck to him finding a place that will make him a fulltime starter. I think the Mets are better off with Francoeur in the mix, but I'd rather see him gone than starting fulltime - or complaining about it.

Getting back to management, the Mets' tendency to do things half way keeps coming back to haunt them. Minaya has had his autonomy taken away from him, but he remains the GM. Manuel, one would think (and hope) is a dead man walking, but he remains the main voice of the team. Oliver Perez has effectively been deactivated, but he remains on the active roster.

The Mets need a new version of Frank Cashen - a strong, decisive, leader from the outside who knows what he is doing, someone who will restore the Mets to glory - and get Squawker Lisa to stop watching SNY for the latest Mets debacle.

Bridge to K-Rod becomes bridge to nowhere for nowhere Mets

It was almost exactly one year ago (August 15, 2009) that a Met season already in disarray took a drastic downward turn when the face of the franchise, David Wright, ended up face-down and motionless after getting beaned. Now Francisco Rodriguez is under arrest for an alleged assault on a family member in the family room at family-friendly Citi Field.

So far, K-Rod has been suspended for two days without pay. With the power of the union, a longer suspension at this point would probably run into problems. But at least the Mets could have said that they were suspending K-Rod indefinitely, then bring him back in a couple of days depending on how things developed.

And this story is still developing. Last night, it was reported that K-Rod was upset with reporters because he was not used in the eighth inning, but now it turns out that was because the altercation had already occurred.

Many have been quick to point out a pattern of confrontations with K-Rod. But confrontations with Tony Bernazard, whose temper apparently got him fired, and Brian Bruney, who apparently was the one to provoke K-Rod, and quickly backed down in the following days, do not necessarily make you the new Milton Bradley.

Still, K-Rod also had a confrontation with an older bullpen coach, Randy Niemann. And for all we know, these confrontations are underreported and there is more to them, at least the ones with Bernazard and Niemann, than we know.

Even if K-Rod had a spotless past, the alleged events of last night are bad enough.

Meanwhile, Jerry Manuel says before the game (before the suspension was announced) that he would not hesitate to use K-Rod today. Even if one did not think K-Rod should have been disciplined, it would make no sense to use a player who had apparently spent the night in a holding cell at Citi Field and has yet to be arraigned. But Manuel must not think that would affect K-Rod's performance, considering that he also said before the game that this was not a baseball matter and would not be a distraction to his team.

Even after this incident, the Mets' main issues remain the same. Manuel needs to go as soon as possible. His inability to adapt to changing situations is such that he will probably continue to obsess over who will be the eighth-inning setup man when he currently doesn't have a closer.

And his rushes to judgment will probably cause Manuel to anoint a new closer immediately, even if K-Rod is due back in a couple of days. Manuel pulled Hisanori Takahashi from the rotation after a grand total of one successful setup appearance Tuesday, only to see him falter last night. Now he's stuck with no starter for Saturday, and has actually mentioned the dreaded Ollie.

But this is one instance where I hope that Manuel goes through with one of his crazy plans. If the Mets insist on keeping Ollie on the roster, Manuel should show upper management the consequences of that decision.

I'm just glad I don't have tickets for Saturday night's game.

Keeping Perez on the team sends a message that if your contract is big enough, it does not matter what you do. Yesterday's altercation ends up being all the more reason to dump Ollie.

As for replacing Manuel, the Mets have drawn praise for giving Wally Backman a second chance and setting him up as a potential replacement that could inspire the team, excite the fans, and come cheaply. But Backman needed that second chance because of his own legal issues, including one involving a domestic incident.

Will the Mets, who tend to be publicity-conscious at the wrong times, now shy away from Backman? I hope not. If Backman deserved a second chance before, he still deserves one. But if he is going to become the new manager, appointing him now could set off a whole new round of controversy. Maybe the Mets should bring in an interim skipper instead and then hire Backman or someone else after the season.

But if the Mets want to rally a fan base that is moving from dispirited to disgusted, get rid of Manuel as now and send Ollie packing.

Judging from Squawker Lisa's excitement last night, the only people who will be caring about the Mets before too long are rubbernecking Yankee fans.

When the light at the end of the tunnel is Luis Castillo

Apparently, a two-run lead isn't enough for Francisco Rodriguez these days.

All three of K-Rod's July saves have come in games in which he entered with a lead of at least three runs. In two of them, K-Rod had leads of four runs - he came into the game with men on base. And in one of those, K-Rod gave up a couple of hits to score two runs and cut the lead in half.

The Mets won Sunday in extra innings despite K-Rod's latest meltdown, but any discussion of the Mets fighting for the postseason must include the question, do you trust K-Rod in a big spot? Neither do I.

So I'm still hoping the Mets don't mortgage their future for a shot in the dark at the playoffs. With Cliff Lee off the market, no difference maker is likely to be available. Roy Oswalt was the next-best pitcher who could be traded, but he left today's game with an injury.

With Carlos Beltran back, the Mets' next acquisition looks to be none other than Luis Castillo. Ruben Tejada has done the impossible - he's made Castillo's return to the lineup look like an upgrade. Tejada is now 4 for his last 38, which is a batting average of .108.

Actually, Tejada has done two impossible things - as long as he's in the lineup, Rod Barajas is not in the deepest slump, despite going 4 for his last 33, which puts him all the way up to .121.

Send Tejada to the minors, let him play every day, and don't trade him for a rental. Tejada isn't untouchable, but at age 20, he certainly has enough upside to eventually replace Omar Minaya's questionable contracts for Castillo and Alex Cora.

Also send Josh Thole down so he can play every day. Despite Barajas' slump (he's been useless at the plate since May), it's refreshing to see the Mets put defense first for a change.

At least K-Rod hasn't done as much damage as he might have - the Mets have come back to win three of his blown saves.

Ghost of Castillo play hangs over Met win

Last year's Bronx Subway Series opener ended in the ultimate nightmare for the Mets when Luis Castillo's drop turned victory into defeat. This year, two of Jerry Manuel's moves almost caused the same result.

Things could hardly be going better for the Mets right now, so I hate to harp on the few negatives. And Manuel did manage the bullpen well in the seventh and eighth. But when the Mets tacked on runs in both the eighth and ninth, this should have been a routine victory, not one in which future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter got to bat in the ninth as the tying run.

Manuel brought in Elmer Dessens to start the seventh, then pulled him after Dessens gave up a double to Francisco Cervelli. Pedro Feliciano entered, got all three outs in the seventh, then pitched the eighth as well. So far, so good. Manuel managed the bullpen aggressively, pulling Dessens quickly, then letting Feliciano go an extra inning. Thanks to the tack-on runs, the Mets led, 4-0, going into the bottom of the ninth.

With a four-run lead, it makes sense to at least start the ninth with someone besides Francisco Rodriguez. Granted, with Feliciano and Dessens already used, there was no clearly good option. But Raul Valdes, who had pitched only once since June 2? And there was a reason he has pitched so infrequently - his meltdown in San Diego when he allowed eight earned runs in two appearances while getting only one out.

Bringing in Valdes to start the ninth was a mistake. But leaving Valdes in after he gave up a single to Cervelli was a bigger mistake. You want to give him a chance with a four-run lead? Fine. But when Dessens, who is pitching a lot better than Valdes, gave up a hit to Cervelli in the seventh, Dessens was out. So why should Valdes get another chance?

Once Valdes gave up a hit to Curtis Granderson, Manuel finally brought in Rodriguez. After a 12-pitch at-bat, Brett Gardner walked. Suddenly, the bases were loaded with one out and the top of the Yankee order was coming up.

I was watching in a bar that was showing the YES broadcast, and they decided this was a good time to show the Castillo play. (I'm guessing SNY did not make the same decision.) But the Yankees were suddenly in a position to pull out what looked to be a hopelessly lost game. And once again, the culprit was Manuel's book.

In the postgame, Manuel admitted that he was not going to bring in K-Rod until it was a save situation. Manuel manages by the book way too often, without considering other factors. Here's a thought - a four-run lead against the Yankees, in their ballpark, is not as safe as most other four-run leads. Manuel didn't need to wait for the second baserunner to consider it a save situation.

I know the Yankee bats are slumping right now, but it's still a great lineup, and they bombed Roy Halladay just three days ago.

Fortunately, it all worked out. The Mets have won eight in a row, are 7-0 on the road trip, and have clinched at least a tie in this year's Subway Series.

The ghosts may have come out at the old Yankee Stadium, but the closest we came to the ghost of the Castillo play came when tonight's Met second baseman, Ruben Tejada, dropped a ball in the eighth, allowing Nick Swisher, who had tagged up, to slide safely into second. But Swisher didn't score.

I couldn't help but wince, though, when David Wright caught the game-ending popup with one hand.

Suggested Hall of Fame artifacts from 20-inning Met game

The Baseball Hall of Fame wants Jose Reyes' bat and baseball shoes from the Mets' 20-inning marathon win over the Cardinals. Here are some other things the Hall should ask for:

* The part of the bench where Matt Holliday sat after being removed in a double switch in the 11th inning, which meant that the pitcher's spot hit behind Albert Pujols the rest of the game.

* The bullpen phone used to have Francisco Rodriguez warm up during every extra inning. K-Rod said he threw over 100 warmup pitches and had a dead arm by the time he came into the game.

* The bat used by Jason Bay to strike out four times, giving him the golden sombrero - and 18 Ks in 45 at bats. I was rooting for the game to end just so we wouldn't have a chance to find out what metal sombrero comes after golden.

* The contact lenses the ump must not have been wearing in the 19th inning when he called Ryan Ludwick out at second when Ludwick somehow tried to steal when Albert Pujols was up. The Cardinals went on to tie the game on Pujols' double and Yadier Molina's single, so the Ludwick blown call (he looked safe on the replays) might have saved the game for the Mets.

* Crumpled program signed by Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, famed for getting great seasons out of mediocre pitchers. But even Duncan couldn't make great pitchers out of position players Felipe Lopez and Joe Mather (though the Met hitters did their best).

***

I did not start watching this game until the end of the ninth inning. Little did I know that I had only missed less than half the game. It was refreshing to see the other manager make the big mistakes for a change, though we did not find out until later about Frankie's 100 warmup pitches. Guess the "prevention and recovery" sign did not make it on the road trip.

If not for LaRussa's crazy moves, the Cardinals probably would have won at some point when they kept loading the bases in the early part of the extras.

The Met bats appeared to be helpless against any major league pitcher, needing to wait until the position players came in to mount any sort of rally.

But Johan Santana returned to form and the bullpen for the most part was spectacular.

On Friday, Omar Minaya was justly criticized for saying he'd take one win in St. Louis. Even a game like last night's doesn't make one win acceptable. But if you're going to end up with one win, that's the one to get. Imagine if the Mets had lost after taking the lead in the top of the 19th and had done so because Jerry Manuel had Frankie warm up too much.

Thankfully, the Yankees are no longer in the Red Hat Society

You know what I liked about last night's game, besides the Yankees pummeling the Twins into submission? The fact that the Yanks were back to wearing their regular blue caps, as opposed to the red ones.

Yes, the red hats the Yanks wore on the Fourth of July and Memorial Day weekends are meant to honor the nation's veterans - proceeds from selling the caps go to a great cause, the Welcome Back Veterans organization. But the red is just way too jarring to see with the Yankees uniform.

The hats look great with red-based uniforms - the Red Sox, Cardinals, etc. With the Yankee pinstripes? Not so much.

My suggestion? That the red-based teams get to wear the red caps for this promotion, and the blue-based teams, like the Yankees, wear the Stars and Stripes blue cap that they did last season. The red is too much like - shudder - the Red Sox!

* * *

As for the Yankee game itself, our long national nightmare is over - Robinson Cano finally got a hit with runners in scoring position. CC Sabathia looked like CC again, and the Yanks drove in 10 runs without a homer.

However, I must admit to flipping to the Mets game to see Manny Ramirez, and to see him flip his equipment off and get ejected from the game. A Met fan on Facebook has already accused me of jinxing his Mets by saying I was rooting for them to beat Joe Torre's Dodgers!

The other big news of the night was the new Subway commerical, featuring CC Sabathia and Johan Santana. Too touchy-feely for my tastes!

You know, Subway missed a great opportunity for a commerical. Why not have Brian Bruney and Francisco Rodriguez together, talking over a meal?

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Mariano Rivera walk worse than Luis Castillo drop

If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me.

Bruce Springsteen - "The Wrestler"

Looks like I picked the wrong year to go to three Subway Series games.

The scariest thing is that the Luis Castillo game is beginning to look like the best of the bunch. At least the Mets looked like they were going to win that game. At least they had an offense then, one that even rallied to go ahead off of Mariano Rivera.

Hell, at least the Mets had a LEAD in that game!

I actually thought the Mets had a chance last night. It was a one-run game most of the time. Granted, the difference in the game was that Daniel Murphy had allowed an extra runner to stay on base by bizarrely throwing to third instead of getting the sure out at first. The Yankees immediately capitalized and it seemed somehow fitting that would be the difference in the game.

But it was still a one-run game, and anything could happen.

Little did I know that "anything" meant Francisco Rodriguez walking Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded.

The Mariano walk did not decide the game - the Mets already trailed, 3-2, and were unlikely to come back against Rivera in the bottom of the ninth, especially with this lineup.

But it was even more unforgivable than Luis Castillo's drop, because K-Rod issued an intentional walk to load the bases. If your pitcher is having control problems, how do you deliberately put him in a position to fail?

When Derek Jeter was intentionally walked, I told Lisa this was a mistake. I did not think that K-Rod would actually walk Mariano. But if K-Rod is afraid to face Jeter, who is recovering from illness, he should not be out there. Pitch to Jeter and do your best to get him out.

Oddly, in the first Subway Series game, K-Rod also issued an intentional walk that backfired, walking Mark Teixeira to put the winning run on base. I liked that move because Teixeira was red-hot at the time and A-Rod was slumping. The strategy worked when A-Rod popped up for what looked to be the final out. Then Luis Castillo settled under the ball...

SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading if you don't want to know how the movie "The Wrestler" ends.

At the end of "The Wrestler," Randy the Ram leaps into the air in preparation to slam into his opponent. Randy has been warned that wrestling again will kill him. So his triumphant leap could end in winning the match, but is more likely to end in a fatal heart attack.

The movie ends with a freeze frame of Randy in the air, enjoying his last moment of triumph before his probable death.

My highlight show of this year's Subway Series would end with a freeze frame of A-Rod's popup still in the air, A-Rod's bat slamming to the ground, K-Rod starting to pump his fist, Yankee fans starting to boo A-Rod, and Met fans starting to cheer.

There hasn't been a whole lot to cheer about since then. And there may not be much to cheer about the rest of the season.

Gotta go to Mo for 500th save - and first career RBI!

How sweep it is!

The Yankees made history a few times last night. Not only did Mariano Rivera get his 500th save (and his first-ever RBI!), but the Yanks' sweep of the Mets is the first-ever one in Citi Field.

Here was another historical moment last night - Squawker Jon and I actually agreed on something baseball-related!

As soon as Francisco Rodriguez started to intentionally walk Derek Jeter in the ninth inning to load the bases, Jon said it was a bad idea. I agreed - it made no sense, especially given that third base, not first, was the open base.

I also said to Jon that all it would take to add another run was for Rodriguez to end up walking Mariano Rivera. And that's exactly what happened, of course! How funny.

The game was also the first time Chien-Ming Wang won a game in over a year. Everybody, Wang won last night (everybody, Wang won last night!)

Anyhow, after that three-run first inning for the Yanks (which Daniel Murphy helped with his shoddy defense), I expected the game to be a blowout. But Livan Hernandez was surprisingly effective for the rest of the game, giving up only one hit.

While it's not like the Mets are a Murderer's Row right now, Wang still only gave up two runs.

And David Wright didn't get a hit the entire weekend. What's up with that?

* * *

A few other observations from the game:

We got to the game early enough to brave the Shake Shack lines. But even 90 minutes before the game, the wait was still a good 15 minutes long!

Later on in the game, we shared fries from Box Frites. They were good, although I thought the Shake Shack fries were a bit better. And the Box Frites sauces were not very good. We've tried three sauces this season with those fries - the bacon, chipotle, and pepperoncini ones, and found all of them mediocre.

While I didn't bring a broom, another Yankee fan did. But it was confiscated - to the cheers of Mets fans - when he waved the broom around in the ninth inning.

Squawker reader Jennie stopped by our seats to say hello before the game. It was very cool to meet her.

Not much back-and-forth chanting at this game until the ninth inning. It would have been a run-of-the-mill game, until one closer walked another closer to walk in a run. How often does that happen!

I'm wondering where this game ranks for worst Met loss of the year. And to think that Jon and I were at three of the six Subway Series games, and the Yanks won all three. Whoo-hoo!

What did you think of last night's game? Leave us a comment!

Thriller! Brian Bruney uses hyperbaric chamber

Update: Obviously, I wrote this story before the untimely death of Michael Jackson. Bad luck and bad timing on my part. Best wishes to the Jackson family.

I don't know quite what to make of this story. The New York Post's George King reports that Brian Bruney is using a portable hyperbaric chamber on his elbow.

"I was in it for 1 to 1½ hours today," Bruney said yesterday. "I thought it helped my foot last year."

A hyperbaric chamber? I know it's a real tool in medicine these days (the oxygen helps healing) but what popped into my mind when hearing about Bruney in the hyperbaric chamber was Michael Jackson. Remember how Wacko Jacko got photographed in one of those devices? What's next - is Bruney going to buy up the Elephant Man's bones, too?

Anyhow, Squawker readers gave me grief last week for coming up with only one John Lennon pun for Nationals' pitcher John Lannan. So I wanna be startin' somethin' here about Bruney, no matter how off the wall it sounds!

Is Bruney going to challenge Francisco Rodriguez to a dance-off this wekend? Maybe the pitcher can use a Jackson song as his theme music. How about "Beat It"? Or "I'll Be There"? Let's hope Bruney's just not "Bad"!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

My thoughts on the Francisco Rodriguez-Brian Bruney feud

There was a whole to-do this morning, with a pre-game confrontation between Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Bruney. The Mets' closer had to be restrained by teammates from going after the Yankees' reliever.

Here's the thing - until he looked like he was going to shove Bruney, I actually think Rodriguez was in the right. While I'm as sick of Rodriguez's "tired act" as Bruney is - the Mets' closer makes Joba Chamberlain look like a wallflower - I think Bruney should be concentrating on getting back on the Yankees, and not making unprovoked verbal attacks on Met players. And this quote was a bit much. Bruney said the following after Francisco (I'm still refusing to call him K-Rod) got the loss:

"[It] couldn't have happened to a better guy on the mound, either," Bruney said. "He's got a tired act. ... He gets what he deserves, man. I just don't like watching the guy pitch. I think it's embarrassing."

Rodriguez responded twice yesterday. First, he said this before the game:

"He needs to keep his mouth shut and do his job,” Rodriguez said. “If he was a big guy, I’d probably pay attention. If he was somebody big like Mariano, I’d respect that. But if I don’t know who he is, I just don’t listen.”

After Saturday's game, the Met closer, whose celebration - for once - was relatively subdued after the Mets' win, threw this high hard one at Bruney:

“Instead of sending a message through the paper, next time when he sees me at Citi Field come up to me and say it to my face. Don’t be sending a message through the media. I don’t even know who that guy is. Somewhere in Double-A? I believe he hasn’t even pitched one full season. He’s always been on the DL. That’s all I know right now.”

Even though he's my least favorite Met, I gotta give Rodriguez credit here. Both quotes are classic. He was able to make Bruney look dopey just with these rejoinders. And unlike Brad Penny's slam on Joe Girardi, Rodriguez didn't need to use profanity to get his point across.

Francisco should have left the situation at that. But instead, when Bruney went to talk to him today, as per his own challenget, Rodriguez got heated and had to be restrained.

Bruney may be a nobody, but Rodriguez losing his cool like that doesn't make him look good. The Met closer wasn't a good closer when it comes to this feud.

At any rate, this is one of the sillier contretemps of the year. But nonetheless, it is entertaining!

Whose side are you on - Brian Bruney or Francisco Rodriguez? Tell us about it!

K-K-K-K-Rod

From Dr. K on, fans have put up K's to celebrate strikeouts. This week, Met fans could have set up a K Korner for K-Rod. Francisco Rodriguez now has four saves in four days. Nine saves with no blown saves.

I've been to one regular-season game so far at Citi Field - April 24 against Washington - and it was notable in retrospect for two reasons. The Mets scored four runs for Johan Santana - the biggest total for him so far in a game. What must Santana have been thinking when the Mets scored four runs in the first inning tonight?

April 24 was also the only time all season so far that K-Rod has given up any earned runs, a two-run homer to Jesus Flores that cut the lead to 4-3. But K-Rod still picked up the save.

K-Rod was far from the only reason the Mets swept the Phillies in the two-game series, but his importance can't be overstated when one considers that the Phillies were behind, 7-1, but, as usual, battled back to make it a close game. But unlike the last part of last season, the Mets were able to shut the door.

I don't agree with all of Omar Minaya's decisions, but the most important thing he had to do in the offseason was get a top closer, and that's just what he did.

K-Rod: No stuff, no problem (but lots of agita)

Admit it, if the guys pitching in relief for the Mets tonight had been wearing the uniforms of last years culprits, you'd be screaming for their heads. But only one of them was from last year (and that one, Pedro Feliciano, did have the worst line - 2/3 inning and two earned runs). Sean Green allowed allowed an inherited runner to score and J.J. Putz gave up a run in the eighth.

If you just look at part of the box score, it would look like Francisco Rodriguez was the only reliever to get the job done. No runs, no hits for his second save. Actually, I wish I had just seen the box score later, and not have seen K-Rod labor through 30 pitches, only 12 of them for strikes.

Yes, K-Rod should have been out of the inning more routinely had the ump not called a phantom error on Carlos Delgado for supposedly taking his foot off the bag. But walking two batters, falling behind seemingly on all of them, and finally, with the bases loaded and two outs, Laynce Nix hits the ball to the warning track before it is caught for the final out. Whew!

K-Rod may have gone 2-0 on just about every batter, but the end result is that the Mets are 2-0. This was the type of game the bullpen would have lost last year. Maybe this year really is different.

Thursday will be quite a test, though. With the top relievers pitching twice already and laboring tonight, the Mets need to give them a break for the afternoon game that starts only about 13 1/2 hours after tonight's game ended. The Mets need their starter to be a real innings eater.

But Thursday's starter is Oliver Perez.

Well, whatever happens tomorrow, at least the Mets have already won the series. And at least the Mets don't have the Braves' bullpen, which blew a 10-3 lead with an eight-run inning in which Atlanta relievers walked FOUR Phillies with the bases loaded. Even Ollie hasn't done that.

Will WBC ruin Mets' season?

HOW MANY PITCHES WILL YOUR $36M STARTER THROW?

WILL YOUR NEW $37M CLOSER BE ASKED TO THROW ANOTHER FOUR-OUT SAVE?

TUNE IN TO THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC TO SEE MLB PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH YOUR STARS

DON'T DELAY! AT THE RATE THESE PITCHERS ARE BEING OVERUSED, YOU MAY NOT HAVE THE SAME CHANCE TO SEE THEM AT THEIR BEST DURING THE REGULAR SEASON!

There are some people who only watch a NASCAR race to see if there will be a crash. I wouldn't put it past Bud Selig to adopt a similar cynical marketing campaign for the World Baseball Classic.

Or is baseball so cynical that, now that Oliver Perez and Francisco Rodriguez have landed their guaranteed long-term contracts, it doesn't matter if they get hurt?

As Metsblog points out, Oliver Perez threw 85 pitches in his last game - after throwing 65 pitches the game before. Weren't there supposed to be pitch counts in the WBC?

This on top of K-Rod being asked to make not one, but two four-out saves, after making NONE all last season, according to the Post. In other words, the Angels, knowing that K-Rod was in his walk year and was likely to leave the team, protected his arm more than the WBC is doing.

The most disturbing thing, also from the Post article (and also highlighted in The Mets Police):

USA Today reported last week that its own study showed nearly four of every five pitchers in the 2006 WBC recorded a higher ERA that season than the previous year. Even more ominously: More than one in three WBC pitching veterans spent time on the disabled list in '06, including 14 who landed on it in April and May.

I'm not even going to get into David Wright getting kneed in the head and feeling dizzy afterwards. After all, Ryan Church suffered his first concussion last year during a Grapefruit League game.

At least, according to Kevin Kernan, the WBC news is not all bad for the Mets. Carlos Beltran is having a great tournament. And K-Rod threw only 20 pitches in his last save and said "I'm not going to put my future at risk at all... I feel tremendous. If I feel like I can, I will. If I cannot do it I will not do it."

I hope he's right. But if something happens to K-Rod, at least the Mets have a good backup closer this year. Oh, wait, J.J. Putz is in the WBC, too.

This tournament can't end soon enough.

What do you think of the WBC?

Fantasy baseball advice for the Yankees and Mets from ESPN expert Matthew Berry

Derek Jeter may be a future Hall-of-Famer on the field, but when it comes to fantasy baseball, he's overrated, says Matthew Berry, ESPN's lead fantasy expert.

"People say, he's the captain! He's dreamy! But none of that matters in fantasy," says Berry, whose columns and podcasts are featured on ESPN.com's fantasy pages.

Berry spoke with Jon of Subway Squawkers as part of ESPN.com's promotion of its fantasy baseball game. ESPN.com is offering the chance to play fantasy baseball for free, with free live scoring. ESPN.com's leagues are fully customizable and feature auction draft capability.

Along with Jeter, Berry suggests that local fans be careful not to overvalue Francisco Rodriguez.

"I'm a big believer that you don't pay for saves," says Berry. "Frankie led the league in blown saves last year, tied with Huston Street. Granted, he had more save chances. But the history of players getting 50 or more saves is that they generally come back to earth the following year."

Berry adds that K-Rod has "lots of innings on that arm" and concludes that he "will not be on any team of mine this year. I'd rather wait 10 rounds and take someone like Heath Bell."

With all the hype surrounding New York sports, it's hard to believe that any Yankees or Mets could actually be underrated for fantasy purposes. But Berry says to look out for Robinson Cano.

"He just had a brutal April, but look at what he did from May 1 on – it was in line with what he usually does. He's in line for a big year," says Berry, who also mentioned Johnny Damon as someone who could get overlooked. "Damon will still steal 30," Berry adds.

As for underrated Mets, Berry mentions Daniel Murphy. "I could see him putting up nice numbers if they stick to the plan of him playing full time and platooning Ryan Church," says Berry. "I think Church will go higher in drafts, but Murphy will do better."

One Met who might not be on fantasy players' radar is J.J. Putz, but Berry, always on the lookout for cheap saves, thinks Putz will rack up double digits.

"I could see someone like [Jonathan] Papelbon or Frankie getting hurt," says Berry. "Or Mariano [Rivera] hitting the wall. He's no longer Big Mo. Could happen this year. Not saying it will, but it could."

As long as he's healthy, Rivera is as sure a bet as anyone to perform under the pressure of New York. But Berry is more skeptical of top pitchers who come to the Yankees, noting that their performance usually goes down from what they did with their previous team.

"I get hate mail – what about Randy Johnson? He had good years with the Yankees. Yes, but they weren't as good as the years before," Berry says. "[CC] Sabathia will be good, just not as dominant as last year. He showed up at camp bigger than normal, if that's possible."

Berry points out that Sabathia has only pitched for Cleveland and Milwaukee, two small-market teams, while A.J. Burnett has only pitched for Florida and Toronto.

"Pitching for the Yankees is unlike pitching for any other franchise," says Berry. "You can't prepare for the fanaticism of New York fans."

ESPN only ranks Mets Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez as the 69th and 72nd best fantasy starting pitchers. Between them are Detroit's Armando Galarraga at 70 and Ubaldo Jiminez of Colorado at 71. Berry includes Galarraga and Jiminez in the "love" part of his "Love/Hate" list, which is a variation on a sleepers/busts list. Pelfrey and Perez do not make the cut.

While Berry is concerned about Pelfrey because of his lack of strikeouts and Perez because of his control issues, Berry says, "I do like Perez," but did not include him on the sleepers list because "people are more aware of Met pitchers – you don't need to hype them."

Berry would prefer to tout a player like Jiminez, who may be barely known outside of Colorado but whom Berry projects as a top sleeper this year.

As for how their new ballparks will affect the production of the local teams, Berry says, "You can't unfortunately account for new ballparks. I think the dimensions are similar, but you never know" how they will play.

If Berry were drafting in the top five and had a choice between David Wright and Jose Reyes, "I'd probably go with David Wright because of the more balanced production. But Reyes is special."

And speaking of top-five players, a recent article on ESPN.com via Baseball Prospectus argued that Alex Rodriguez would not surpass Barry Bonds' home run total and that A-Rod's skills may be beginning to decline. What does Berry foresee for A-Rod?

"I have A-Rod third. When you are hitting 50 homers you have a long way to drop," Berry says, adding that A-Rod is "still a phenomenally gifted player who will put up great fantasy numbers."

But Berry believes that "A-Rod would have been much better off if the '60 Minutes' interview had never happened" because "America hates liars."

And, Berry adds, "I believe, based on pure gut, that we haven't heard the last on the A-Rod steroids story."

But that won't stop him from drafting the scandal-plagued slugger.

"I won't go out of my way to get A-Rod because I don't like him, but I won't avoid him, either," Berry says.

As for whether there is any player whose baggage would preclude Berry from drafting him, Berry says no.

"It's a virtual clubhouse. They don't need to get along."

Next Monday, March 9, Berry will attempt to set an ESPN record for longest chat. The chat is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and the goal is to last until 10 p.m. All questions will be answered.

From Soup to Putz

Squawker Lisa, I see you've named the new Yankee pitchers Alphabet Soup because they are CC and A.J. But the Mets also introduced a new pitcher Thursday, J.J. Putz., so you can't have Alphabet Soup all to yourself. Instead, how about these soup-related nicknames for your new pitchers: Chicken Soup for the always-ailing Burnett and Souper-Size for Sabathia.

And here's a nickname for Yankee fans after they shell out for tickets to the new Yankee Stadium: Soup Kitchen.

I also had some suggestions for numbers for the new Yanks, if only these numbers were not retired. Sabathia could have worn 3 for the number of years after which he can opt out of his contract. Also, his body type is similar to the Babe's. Burnett could have worn 10, for the number of times he has been on the disabled list.

And Lisa, I'm just fine with calling Francisco Rodriguez K-Rod instead of F-Rod. After all, Dwight Gooden wasn't called Dr. G. (That would have sounded like a weatherman or a dermatologist in subway ads.)

As for Sabathia saying he got chills when telling his real estate agent that he is a Yankee, I suspect it was really the other way around!

Only the Yankees could take the two biggest signings of the free-agent season in terms of contract size and combine them into one news conference. What, they didn't want to spring for a second carving board? Even the Mets had two separate welcomes for K-Rod and Putz.

If Putz sticks with number 40 (there was a report that he might try to get 20 from Howard Johnson), that number could have a couple of meanings. 40 is the number of saves Putz had in 2007, the year he made the All-Star team. And 40 is the number of games the Mariners were under .500 in 2008, when they went 61-101, and why I believe him when he says he's happy to be a setup man for a contender.

Finally, Lisa, thanks for ruining my night by letting me know that mlb.com's "Moment of the Year" was Derek Jeter's speech after the last game played at the old Yankee Stadium.

Look, even I think it was a special day, but did the 2008 Yankees really need to take a victory lap around the Stadium? After all, it was the last game only because they were missing the playoffs after 13 straight appearances.

I suppose we shouldn't take this list all that seriously, considering that second place went to something that happened in the Home Run Derby. But as long as the voters don't seem interested in things that actually happened during a game, goodness gracious, where's Roger Clemens testifying before Congress?