I'm back and with me comes a win...coincidence?

I'm back in business for the foreseeable future. I had family in town from Colorado and then I had to head up to Newport, Rhode Island for a wedding. It was great, thanks for asking. While in Newport I was able to partake in what has been coined one of the twenty hamburgers you must eat before you die at the Spiced Pear. It is called the 'Not Just a Burger' and it wasn't just a burger and it was craptastic. It is 1/2 pounds of fresh ground Kobe beef stuffed with Kobe brisket. Just let that sink in..... Then it is served with caramelized red onion tomato jam and topped with Vermont white cheddar cheese and coleslaw.

Needless to say, it was good. Really good. The view didn't hurt either and it was a delightful culinary experience all around. In regards to the list, I've also had a White Mana burger (though not from the Hackensack location) and typically get a double bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg upon some drunken late night food runs. I need to make more of an inroad in the list as there are plenty of places close to me serving up tasty delights. Back to baseball though, this Met team looks light years away from last years baseball team. They are for more inconsistent in all facets than last years version and the bullpen is far, far worse.

It is good to see Lastings making his way back, but I just cannot see many positives at this point to take away. Mike Pelfrey continues to look like a minor league pitcher and the Mets overall pitching depth looks horrific. With Buehrle back on the market, you would have to wonder how the Mets do not make a hard push for him. However, I suspect Williams will be hard to deal with as usual and will be looking for young pitching. While the Mets could certainly deal one top pitching prospect, should they? Would Milledge even be appealing?

A big issue is one of draft pick compensation. No team that figures to be heavily involved with courting Buehrle is going be in the bottom fifteen. That means no first round pick. Do the Mets give up a premium chip for possibly 1/2 a year of Buehrle, a sandwich pick, and a second round pick? Does he even fix the Mets problem? Pedro and another starter into the mix allows Sosa and The Duque to move the pen which just might fix their problems entirely. Add in the prospect of Dave Williams contributing some meaningful innings and I think the Mets will go a long way to solidifying their spot as the NL's #1 team.

One thing is certain that after watching the Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels hit a bit of a lull, no team in the bigs right now stands out head and shoulders above the rest at this point. The Mets are frustrating, but they not far off. If the Mets have to overpay for a chip, so be it. The Mets are flawed and need some tweaking, but they are still big time contenders.

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John Maine won for the tenth time this season is looks like he is going to make a run at twenty wins. If he does win twenty, he would be the first since Frank Viola in 1990. If Maine is going to pull it off, he'll need to pick it up as well as the Mets offense.

We officially have a bullpen problem. It's really ugly. So ugly I'd consider bringing in Scott Williamson. I say give him a workout in front of Rick Peterson to see if there is any chance he looks useful.

Of course, the Mets are looking into Hector Carrasco so they are predictably going to be looking at anybody and everybody.

Always looking for bullpen help, the Mets are "monitoring" reliever Hector Carrasco, who was designated for assignment by the Angels yesterday. Carrasco, 37, had a 6.57 ERA in 29 games this season. A Mets official said the club is checking with scouts to see if he might be an option worth exploring.

And you might as well forget about Duaner making any sort of comeback this season.

Duaner Sanchez, who is rehabbing from two shoulder operations in a span of nine months, was placed on the 60-day disabled list yesterday to make room on the 40-man roster for Alomar. Ricco said Sanchez recently picked up a baseball for the first time and still is a long way from returning.

You have to be on the big league roster prior to September to be included on the playoff roster, but that does not apply to people on the DL. Sanchez could be available for the playoffs even if he returns in September, but counting on him would just mean the bullpen situation has gotten that bad, which it just might become. Adding a guy to the playoff roster who would just be coming back after well over a year off would be a bad sign. The Mets need to start thinking outside the box here.

I'm still not holding my breath, but all of this has to be very encouraging. The Mets need some innings, which he will most likely not be able to provide. However, he does have the ability to chew off six innings with 80 pitches. He cannot be ridden hard, but his inclusion to the rotation will signal someone's exclusion where I think the biggest benefit will be. The only question is, who is the better candidate? Jorge Sosa or The Duque?

Rich Harden returns to the rotation this weekend and although Billy is a shrewd man, maybe he's ready to sell and not watch Harden follow the path of Kerry Wood. Beane may be ready to sell while he still can. Their rotation has been their strength and it has not included Rich Harden all season. For the Mets, we all know it's worth the upside. Even if Harden is used strictly out of the pen this season, it would be a huge boon for the Mets. This definitely warrants a conversation or twelve.

Mike Hargrove retiring mid-season while his team is exceeding expectations is truly a bizarre event. I'm not sure anyone could have seen that one coming and it will be interesting to see how the team responds...good or bad.

I'm just sayin'....

1.45 ERA and 0.85 WHIP
3.82 ERA and 1.36 WHIP
1.96 ERA and 1.26 WHIP

While Heath Bell was never going to get a chance here and the trades did not look bad at the time, I'm sure Omar would love to have a mulligan on those even if Owens has been out for a month.

I think Dave Williams is the likely choice despite the few innings he has pitched this year, but Phil is definitely in the mix. Alomar says he is ready and his last two starts were impressive, but he's not striking out a lot of people. If the Mets want to satiate some curiosity, he's the choice. If he comes up and tosses up a strong performance, he might get another shot at some point.