I thought if I just make it through the winter and finally get done with all that shoveling, the warmth of spring and the start of baseball will ease the pain and make the North Pole−like blizzards a distant memory, and it will be smooth sailing from there on out. But apparently I’m the Mets of people (or is it the Mets personified?) – they thought last year’s injury nightmare was behind them only to have it all start over again this spring, and I had that “here we go again” feeling, too. As soon as I dug myself out of the snow (and thought, “It can’t get any worse than this, can it?”), I had to spend a boatload of money (that I don’t even have) to get my broken-down, good-for-nothing car fixed (twice), and then Saturday’s hurricane hit, and my basement was submerged (I think I found Nemo) and much of the siding on my house was ripped off in the gale-force winds. Let’s face it, if the Mets had a basement it would have flooded, too. And their house would have been ripped to shreds. And a fallen tree would have crushed their car. But as I was mopping and bailing for about 10 straight hours, I popped open a can of beer and threw on some music – Otis Redding, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, the Killers – and I turned into Mr. Brightside (though I don’t think that song is about one’s house being ruined in a storm). And I still had my power and my next-door neighbor’s tree that fell over didn’t crash into my house (or his). So at least I had that going for me.

And so I’ll be Mr. Brightside concerning the Mets today, too. Down in sunny Florida on Saturday, Oliver Perez threw four no-hit innings. Sure, he can pitch two innings and let up eight runs just as easily as he can pitch eight innings and let up two runs in any given week, but let’s stay positive and feel good about his last outing. Maybe he’ll actually turn a corner in his career and be a consistent, quality starter (ok, that may be taking things too far). The next day, ace Johan Santana threw four shutout innings of his own. As long he’s not injured, you don’t really have to worry about him getting hit hard in spring training, but getting good results is better than getting hammered. And he seems to be able to throw all of his pitches effectively now, after last season’s arm problems limited his arsenal. Newcomer Hisanori Takahashi has not allowed a run all spring and could find himself as the long man in the bullpen (note to self: Do not call him a Japanese import). Kiko Calera recently made his spring debut, and Frankie Rodriguez is scheduled to pitch today. Jenrry Mejia is giving Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya something to think about. But we won’t mention John Maine and Mike Pelfrey today.

On the offensive side, David Wright has hit three home runs so far this spring. That’s not exactly overwhelming, but imagine if he had gone homerless for all of March – that would be weighing on him during his every waking hour, and he’d turn into a head case. Jason Bay and Daniel Murphy banged out homers over the weekend. A few pieces of the team’s future – Ike Davis and Fernando Martinez – are hitting like crazy in the preseason. And six out of the eight starting position players are healthy. For the Mets that’s saying a lot. They’re still only on their backup shortstop, not fourth stringer like last year.

Carlos Beltran is already talking about resuming baseball activities, maybe in mid-April, and Jose Reyes doesn’t need surgery or even medication, only rest. Maybe they’ll both be back sometime in May when they’re scheduled to return. Does everything have to be the worst-case scenario for the Mets? Can’t some things just be routine? And with Reyes out we’ll get a look at youngster Ruben Tejada. Maybe he’ll give the team an unexpected spark and keep Alex Cora (with his limited range) on the bench, where he belongs. And did anybody really expect anything out of Kelvim Escobar? If he pitches any quality innings at all, it will be a bonus.

So as Igor once said in Young Frankenstein, “It could be worse. It could be raining.” Of course as soon as the words were out of his mouth it immediately started raining. But for today, I’ll dry out and look on the bright side.

The Mets are coming into spring training refreshed, confident and basking in the glow of the warm Florida sun. In fact they’re so confident they’re talking about playing in the World Series. They haven’t declared themselves the team to beat yet, though, but there’s still plenty of time left for that. Having confidence and setting high goals are great – no team, no matter how bad, is going to announce that they think they’ll finish in fourth place for the coming season – but you have to learn to walk before you can run. We’ve heard all the grand pronouncements and proclamations before, but it’s gotten them nowhere.

Jerry Manuel and the Mets have been talking about fundamentals here and there, and turning over a new leaf and wiping the slate clean, but mainly what we’ve heard so far in Port St. Lucie is: “We have enough talent to go the World Series.” Or “I’m the best pitcher in the division.” Or “We have the same core that won the division in 2006” (wasn’t that four years and three disasters ago?).

What we haven’t heard is this: “We’re going to start hustling and playing harder. We can’t just throw our gloves onto the field and expect to win, no matter how much talent we may have on paper. We have to start playing fundamental baseball, do all the little things that need to be done to win games. We need to play harder, bowl over catchers, break up double plays. We embarrassed ourselves, the franchise and our fans the last three years, so we before we talk about expectations and guarantees, we need to concentrate on what’s going on between the lines in order to play winning baseball. There’s no need to talk about winning the division or going to the World Series until we learn how to play the game the right way. Sure, we had a lot of injuries, but our lack of hustle, fundamentals and focus has been a big issue the last three years, so we need to fix those areas first before we worry about predictions, goofy handshakes, smiling more and other needless distractions.”

Over the last few years, the Mets refuse to hustle. They refuse to play a tough brand of baseball – they don’t knock over catchers, they don’t throw at batters when the situation calls for it and they consistently get pushed around. Their lack of fundamentals has now moved into the category of legend. But they still seem to be in denial. Do they even know that they don’t run hard to first? That they don’t hustle? That they consistently make the minimal effort on the field? That they lack mental toughness?

Maybe Jason Bay and a full year of Jeff Francoeur, along with bench veterans Alex Cora and Frank Catalanotto and the absence of Carlos Delgado, will help end the Mets malaise. An overhaul of the franchise was called for after last season, but for whatever reason – money? an unwillingness to make tough decisions? – that didn’t happen. But the same old, same old isn’t going to work again. The Mets have a laundry list of issues that needs to be confronted honestly by each player and coach. They need to take the sunglasses off, stop with the business as usual, “we look good on paper” nonsense and change their mindset and realize where they’ve gone wrong and how to fix it. In other words, the Mets need to stop being the same old Mets while hoping that all their problems will magically disappear because Oliver Perez had a good bullpen session. It may be sunny now in Port St. Lucie, but come April, there always seems to be a dark cloud hovering over Queens. If they want the sun to shine on them all season long, the Mets will need to change their attitude and approach to the game.

“Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez to NYK; Kevin Martin/Jared Jeffries/swap of 2011 first with Knicks and 2012 first from Knicks to Houston AND Kings get Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey and Larry Hughes‘ expiring contract . . . all just filed to ESPN.com.”

Sources say Houston gets Kevin Martin, Jared Jeffries and Jordan Hill. Also the right to swap first-round picks with NYK in 2011 and New York’s first-rounder in 2012.”

It was reported that Donnie Walsh did not want to trade Jordan Hill but he was desperate to move Jared Jeffries and his $6.9 million dollar contract for next season. The Knicks have saved $9.4 million in cap savings and can go after two max players in the off-season.

Tracy McGrady has been working with trainer Tim Grover to get back into shape. Grover,  who trained Michael Jordan, says “put him in uniform and get him out there, T-Mac is ready.” McGrady, has an expiring contract and is only 30 years-old. He  should put fans into the seats and his jersey should be a quick seller.

Sergio Rodriguez was a first round pick by the Suns in 2006 (27th overall). He has a ton of upside and will be turning 24 years old in June. In his third year in the league he has yet to find a niche due to inconsistent playing time. However, he has shown flashes this season when he received over 20 minutes of playing time.

FYI: The Knicks traded Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry for Eddie House, Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens.

Eddy Curry has a  $11.2M expiring contract for next season which could be used to trade for another big contract of longer term- Idea from Newsday writer Alan Hahn

David Lee becomes the first Knick to make the All-Star team since 2001.

Lee and Chris Bosh are the only two players in the East who are averaging 20 points and 11+ rebounds per game. He also is shooting 55% from the field, 79% from the line and 3.5 assists per game. Lee has seen his scoring increase due to scoring 20+ in seven of his past eight games.

Other options to replace Allen Iverson could have been Josh Smith and Andrew Bogut.

The Hawks have the second best record in the East and already have two players on the Eastern squad (Joe Johnson and Al Horford). Smith is 5th in the East in blocks (2.1).

Bogut is tied for 2nd in the East in blocks per game and is 7th in rebounds. Along with rookie PG Brandon Jennings, the Australian big man is one of the main reasons the Bucks are one game out of the 8th seed.

David Lee has better numbers than both these players but the Knicks are just 19-32. The Knicks have one more win than the Pistons which tells you how disappointing the first half has been. Lee should be rewarded for his play but getting the nod to the Eastern team also drives up his asking price this off-season.

Glen Sather did his Cal Naughton Jr./Magic Man impression by making Scott Gomez disappear in the offseason, and now he’s taken part of that bounty (ok, bust/underachiever/good-for-nothing, take your pick) that he stole from Montreal and shipped off Chris Higgins along with free-agent blunder Ales Kotalik to Calgary for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust. It seems like a good trade for the Rangers, but how many times is Sather going to have to get rid of his mistakes (Gomez, Kotalik, etc.)? I guess we’ll just have to hope it’s not the last time.

The main positive of this trade for the Rangers is the jettisoning of Kotalik’s three-year $9 million contract. They also erase Higgins from the roster (he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season). Whether fair or not, Kotalik was a healthy scratch much of the time lately, and Higgins didn’t do much of anything after given chance after chance and plenty of ice time. Maybe they’ve both just been unlucky, but all the Blueshirts lose are two ineffective players.

And what do they pick up? The most important thing is what they didn’t acquire: An expensive long-term contract. They get Jokinen, who’s been described as selfish, an underachiever and a bad teammate. But more importantly, he’s a free agent after this season. He may give the team some short-term potential, and will most likely start out centering Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal. His 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) would place him third on the Rangers (and one less point than Higgins and Kotalik combined). So he could give the team a much-needed offensive boost. How will he fit in inside the clubhouse? And how will John Tortorella handle him? Who knows? But if it doesn’t work out, he’ll be gone at the end of the season anyway. Of course, there’s always the danger that he plays really well, and Sather signs him to a stupid contract. But that’s always the danger with Sather lurking around these parts.

The Rangers also obtained Prust. His most important stats: 98 penalty minutes and 18 fighting majors. I’m more excited about him than Jokinen. And hopefully he will displace Donald Brashear and not Aaron Voros.

So the Rangers pick up some short-term offensive potential and a fighter, and they lose two players who didn’t do much of anything. But the most important aspect of the transaction was freeing up some salary-cap space. Higgins (read: Gomez) and Kotalik were two of Sather’s past miscues, but at least he may be trying to clean up his own mess. Keep going, Glen. Next!

The great David Wright power outage of aught-nine has a precedent in New York baseball history. From 1969 to 1973, Bobby Murcer hit 26, 23, 25, 33 and 22 home runs. The next season, the Yankees temporarily moved to Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being renovated, and the 28-year-old sunk to 10 homers. In the four seasons before 2009, Wright blasted 27, 26, 30 and 33 long balls. In ’09, the Mets moved into shiny new Citi Field, and the 26-year-old could also only muster 10 dingers for the season. Both players were in their prime. Neither were/are considered home run bashers in the true sense of the word, with both being more all-around hitters who also happen to hit for power. But both players saw their home run totals drop dramatically after moving into a new stadium.

Murcer tailored his swing to old original Yankee Stadium and that inviting short right-field porch, and was one of the best outfielders in the American League in the first half of the ’70s. But as soon as he stepped into Shea, he was spooked by the faraway right-field wall, and suffered through a powerless year (though he did make the All-Star team in ’74 much like Wright did last year). In fact, he only managed to hit two homers at Shea all year long, and they came on consecutive days in September (Wright hit five at home and five on the road). He never got a chance to figure out his new home and redeem himself, though, as he was traded to the Giants after one season in Queens for Bobby Bonds (who, himself, was shipped off to the Angels – for Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa – after playing only one season for the Yanks). Murcer went from bad to worse – going from Shea to cold, windy, empty Candlestick Park, and only hit 11 homers for the 1975 season. He did recover to hit 23 in ’76, and after being traded to the Cubs, he belted 27 home runs in ’77. He then started his gradual, natural decline as he went through his thirties (oh, those innocent pre-steroid days of yore).

Was Murcer the only Yankee to suffer a home run drop after moving to Shea? It looks like the answer is yes. The only real home run hitter on the team in those days was Graig Nettles. He hit 22 in ’73 and then totaled the exact same amount in ’74. Lou Piniella hit nine dingers both years. Ron Blomberg hit 12 in ’73 and then 10 in ’74. Thurman Munson did go from 20 to 13, but 20 was a career high for him in the first place and 13 was more in line with his normal power numbers. Roy White saw his long ball numbers drop from 18 to seven, but he also had 136 fewer at bats than the previous season in his first year at Shea.

Of course, Wright went from a pitcher’s park at Shea to another pitcher’s park in Citi Field. But the high left- and center-field walls and the spacious right-center area, where he hits many of his home runs, in Citi may have gotten into his head (though if he kept his oversized helmet on at all times, he could prevent all bad thoughts from seeping into his brain). Other forces may have had an effect on his power also, though – he had no protection in the lineup with all the injuries the Mets had last year, which resulted in a lack of good pitches to hit, and by his own admission his mechanics were out of whack (he’s been working with Howard Johnson this offseason to correct the flaws in his swing). Citi’s reputation as a park where home run hitters go to die may be a bit overblown, as the Mets hit more homers at home than they did on the road last season, and the team just didn’t have any home run hitters in their lineup, so we don’t really know if any other players would have been affected by the move into the new stadium.

It’s hard to imagine that Wright will only hit 10 homers a year from here on out. It was most likely just a flukey season all around, and Wright will make the necessary adjustments and get used to his new surroundings. The Murcer/Wright comparison was something that jumped out at me, but there are enough differences that it’s highly likely Wright will rebound from his quirky season. But the similarities made it seem like déjà vu all over again. We’ll never know if Murcer could have bounced back in his second year at Shea, but there is one thing we do know: Wright won’t be traded to San Francisco for a member of the Bonds family any time soon and he’ll get many more cracks at solving Citi Field.

Jason Bay is officially a Met. He passed his physical, had his press conference and is now the new left fielder for the Amazin’s. He’ll essentially replace Carlos Delgado in the middle of the order (or will he? Please tell me Delgado will not be back; he needs to make his “clubhouse presence” present in another clubhouse). The Mets need all the infusion of new blood they can get – in the clubhouse and on the field. And they need a home run hitter in the middle of the order, and Bay hits home runs. So what’s not to like?

It took awhile to finally dot the i’s and cross the t’s, but Omar Minaya waited out Bay’s nonexistent bidding war and the “mystery” teams that were never really out there and signed the outfielder to a pretty reasonable contract. Boston was the only team that had an offer on the table, so Minaya had to better that one, but he didn’t blow it out of the water and didn’t end up bidding against himself. All things considered, the final numbers on the contract are sensible for a proven cleanup hitter: an $8.5 million signing bonus, $6.5 in 2010, $16 million a year for the following three seasons, and a fifth-year option for $17 million, which kicks in with 600 plate appearances in 2013 or 500 plate appearances in both 2012 and 2013. There’s also a buyout option for $3 million after the guaranteed fourth year. If Bay qualifies for that fifth year, that just means he was healthy and stayed on the field, and was most likely productive. He’ll be 31 through 34 years old for the four guaranteed years of his contract, and 35 for that fifth year. Considering he got a somewhat late start to his major league career, he should be right in his prime during the years he’s under contract with the Mets.

Is Matt Holliday a better all around player? Probably. And would the Mets have been better off with his more outgoing, fiery personality? Possibly. But the Mets would have had to go into an extensive and expensive bidding war with the Cardinals. As it is, Holliday will probably make $30 or $40 million more signing with St. Louis, and that’s without another team besides the Cards getting involved. Bay’s already dealt with the Boston media, which is no picnic, and had to deal with replacing Manny Ramirez. For the Mets, he doesn’t have to be “the man” or the face of the franchise; he just has to fit in and produce, and not say anything stupid, which he most likely won’t. He’s liked by all his former teammates and by all accounts is a good guy and a gamer. He gives the Mets three high OBP/power guys in the middle of the lineup (assuming David Wright hits more than 10 home runs a year going forward).

The Mets aren’t locked into some seven or eight year contract, they’re dealing with a solid citizen who’s produced in a pitcher’s park (in Pittsburgh) and in the spotlight of the East Coast media (in Boston), the money isn’t all that outrageous in this day and age and Bay has refuted Peter Gammons’ statement that he’d rather be in Beirut than Queens – “That couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said, “I wouldn’t have signed the contract if I didn’t want to be here.” (I think his no-trade clause specifically mentions Beirut.) So here’s at least one day when something went right for the Mets. Now they just need three or four more starting pitchers and a catcher and a . . .

On Saturday night I was flipping between another Rangers loss and the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Of course you can’t help but wonder, “What if George Bailey’s situation happened to me?” What if I were able to see the consequences of never being born? That thought lasted about a minute and a half, because everybody’s life would surely be better. My wife would have been able to marry a more successful, rich, interesting, well-rounded man instead of someone who has nothing but a monkey shooting a slap shot, a couple of empty beer cans and some old Rusty Staub highlights filling up his head. My daughter would have a normal father, one who doesn’t constantly quiz her on the proper French Canadian–accented way of saying the names Guy Lafleur and Gilbert Perrault. And nobody else’s life would be affected one way or the other.

But on that subject, what if, more importantly, James Dolan had never been born? The Isiah Thomas era would never have happened. Scandals would have been avoided. Millions of dollars wouldn’t have been wasted. Marv Albert would still be calling Knicks games. Glen Sather would be long gone, after the disasters he’s foisted on his fan base. Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival and Chris Drury would all be in Columbus or Nashville, anywhere but New York. Stephon Marbury? Wouldn’t have gotten a sniff of New York. Eddy Curry? Still in Chicago. Would a few mistakes have been made? Probably. But would competence have occasionally made an appearance at the Garden? Most likely. Instead, we’re stuck with the anti George Bailey. Dolan makes everything around him worse off, and on top of that, he keeps losing Zeke’s petals. And every time a bell rings, another horrible free-agent contract is signed. Of course, it makes more sense to imagine James Dolan as Mr. Potter (with the guy who should be running the Knicks and Rangers never having been born). And we’re all living in his slum – Dolansville.

Let’s see what each local team needs for Christmas after their respective performances this week (and yes, many of these involve time travel).

The Jets: They just need a chance. This week’s win over Tampa Bay was their third in a row and has propelled them into the playoff picture again, but they’re going to need help. The Broncos lead the wild card race at 8-5, while the Jets are one of four teams standing at 7-6. They have a tough schedule the rest of the way (Falcons, Colts, Bengals), but they’re still breathing.

The Giants: Dear Santa: Please, please let us not give up 45 points every game the rest of the way. Can we put some pressure on the QB this year? And can the secondary cover somebody – anybody? And if it’s possible can we stop fumbling the ball? And when the other team fumbles, can you remind us to pick up the ball? Thanks, and Merry Christmas, the Giants.

The Knicks: “We’re capable of going out there and beating anybody, and we’ve shown that, but we’re also capable of losing to anybody, so we’ve got to be ready at all times and ready to go.” – David Lee, a day or so before the losing to Charlotte. The Knicks need some consistency for Christmas (1-9, then 7-6, now 0-2) – and also the ability to travel back in time so they can replay that fourth quarter against the Bobcats and maybe rethink all those threes vs. the Bulls.

The Nets: Can they just get a win for Christmas? Come on, just one more.

The Mets: Let’s see . . . they need a left fielder, a catcher, some quality starters, a few relievers, maybe a first baseman and how about a new second baseman. Oh yeah, what they really need is a plan and a new GM. They weren’t in on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, and like most interested teams, they didn’t want to go five years on John Lackey, so he wasn’t really in their plans either. And should they have spent $30 million on Randy Wolf? No. So they really aren’t “losing out” on all these players, and all the panic around town is a little over the top. But they should be overhauling their roster this winter; instead it looks like it will be just a little tinkering and tweaking. Ryota Igarashi is a start. And Jason Bay will probably be next. But do you trust Omar Minaya to make the right moves? He may be extremely optimistic, but Mets fans will most likely get a lump of coal in their stockings this year.

The Yankees: Sure, they need a left fielder (or center fielder if Curtis Granderson ends up in left), but they’re so loaded and rich they should be the one handing out the presents. They’re the richest team in Bedford Falls.

The Rangers: Christmas came early for the Blueshirts – Wade Redden was scratched (finally!), and the offense scored five goals. Now they just need to do that, oh, about every game. The real Christmas wish for the Rangers: Santa firing Glen Sather since Mr. Potter isn’t going to do it.

The Islanders: They just need time. They have the young talent and the will and hard work, so it looks like they’re on to something. Sure, they may have a clunker or two like the 7-1 loss to Florida, but they’re young and still learning. They, too, would probably like the gift of time travel to undo that Rick DiPietro contract. Sure, he may eventually give the Isles years of solid play in goal, but right now that’s looking like one of the worst contracts in NHL history. Oh, and Santa, please don’t let them go to Kansas City.

The Devils: The Devils have Lou Lamoriello. They don’t need Santa’s help with anything.

I’ve come out of the woodwork for a brand new blog, because I’ve come across some interesting data, and I think it’d be just plain selfish of me not to share it with my Mets brethren.

While the media is busy debating whether or not the Mets less-than-aggressive move for Jason Bay is purely a PR ploy, of greater interest to me personally is the assertion that Mets brass might actually prefer Bay over free agent Matt Holliday.  It seems that the Mets are – gasp – using statistics to evaluate how each hitter might fair in their cavernous ballpark.  This, meanwhile, from a team that has apparently made upgrading the defense and signal-calling from the catchers position their number one offseason priority, despite, as ESPN’s Keith Law pointed out, the fact that statistical analysis largely debunks the notion that a pitcher’s battery mate impacts his ERA on any detectable level.  So imagine my surprise to hear various reports that the Mets have analyzed data on both players and have concluded that Bay’s swing will translate well to Citi Field where the Mets feel Bay could achieve success pulling the ball over the left field wall.  Conversely, the Mets fear that Holliday will lose a lot of home runs to Citi’s expansive gaps, most notably in right-center.

So, great, I’m thinking to myself, the Mets have finally woken up and realized that the rest of baseball has put a heavy emphasis on statistical analysis, why shouldn’t we?  Unfortunately, I just couldn’t leave it there.  As a baseball fan who clearly has too much time on his hands (or is itching to get canned from his job), I had to look at the numbers for myself.  After all, hit charts are readily available to anyone with internet access days.

What I found was not so encouraging.  While I couldn’t find a hit chart that tracked every ball that a batter put into play for the entire year (I suppose such a chart would get pretty busy), I was able to track how Bay and Holliday each faired in their home ballparks.  For Bay I pulled his hit charts from Fenway Park, and for Holliday I combined his charts from Busch Stadium and McAfee Coliseum.  I superimposed each over the dimensions at Citi Field, and voila! We have our data.

Scientific?  No.  These hit charts don’t include any data on loft or wind currents or anything of that nature.  Moreover, they exclude half of each player’s at-bats as they only chart how each faired at home.  Nevertheless, the graphic dismays me.  Maybe the Mets have more telling data that they’re evaluating.  Or maybe they’re just liars looking to pull the wool over our eyes.  Either way, this can’t make a Met fan happy.

Bottom line: Matt Holliday hits bombs.  Jason Bay, not so much.

In 2006, the Mets were one game away from the World Series. And that’s been their biggest problem the last three years. They still think they’re one game away from the World Series. But they’re not. And they’re not even close. 2006 was their year. It was their chance. Their opportunity. And they blew it. And they’ve been a step behind, plugging holes, sticking their finger in the dike, fixing last year’s problems, or even the problems from the year before that, ever since. Unfortunately, the big problems who go by the names of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel (is Wally Backman waiting in the wings now that he’s been hired to manage Brooklyn? God, I hope so) are still here, so we’ll have to live with them at least through the beginning of the 2010 season.

The Mets’ failings are more than the bullpen issues of ’07 and ’08, and more than the power outage and injuries of ’09. The team needs more than Matt Holliday and John Lackey (though they definitely need them). The Mets have shown a glaring lack of hustle, effort, competence, intensity and anything that remotely resembles solid fundamentals on the baseball field. They need a wholesale change of culture. They’ve been much too blasé about winning over the last few years. What they need is a more powerful will to win. All too often we saw them shrug their shoulders when losing started piling up, with the attitude that they’d start winning sometime in the vague, nebulous future. “You can’t win ’em all,” was the phrase they seemed to so easily embrace. When the Mets traded for Jeff Francouer, my first reaction was, “Now I have to root for that guy?” He was the last player I thought I would like, but he’s shown more intensity with a will to win than any other player on the team. We all know about his shortcomings at the plate and he’s probably not as good a fielder as his defensive reputation makes him out to be, but he’s the kind of complementary player the Mets need. If he’s batting sixth or seventh, fine. Not every player in the lineup can have a .400 OBP. He’s got that football player mentality that no one else on the roster possesses (well, except Johan Santana). There’s no need to trade Carlos Beltran, David Wright or Jose Reyes, but they need a new breed of sidekicks in order for the Mets to change their ways on the field.

The Omar Minaya Mets don’t have any grit and toughness. No team is going to win with nine David Ecksteins or nine Jeff Francouers; you need more talent than that to be a successful team. But, no, grit and toughness don’t have to be “intangibles.” If you barrel over the catcher, instead of gently sliding around him, Mets-style (or not even sliding at all), and knock the ball out of his glove to score a run, that’s tangible. That shows up on the stat sheet. Francouer’s the only Met I could even imagine knocking over a catcher. If you block a base preventing an easy path for an opposing team’s base runner and tag him out, that’s tangible. If a fielder sacrifices his body to get in front of a hard-hit ball (Carlos Delgado could barely put in the effort to move his body at all to field a grounder, let alone get in front of a ball, and Wright’s come up with a bad case of the olés the past year) and record an out, that’s tangible. And just running out pop-ups and ground balls can do wonders for a team.

There are rumors the Mets are looking to trade Luis Castillo, with names like Orlando Hudson, Chone Figgins and Brandon Phillips popping up as possible replacements. Good. The Mets need to cut ties with guys like Castillo, and Delgado and Fernando Tatis as well. And their starting rotation is in a shambles. Would you trust Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez to be three-fifths of your rotation? I can propose some cockamamie trades and signings, but like many Internet/blog proposals, they’d never happen and I’m not smart enough to come up with realistic trade proposals or think I can be a GM. So I’ll just say the Mets need to do more than add a couple of free agents. You can’t keep bringing the same players back and expect different results. Beltran recently stated that he wants to see Delgado back for another year. I surely wouldn’t expect him to publicly say that he doesn’t want the first baseman to return, but I don’t think the players realize the team has bigger problems than last year’s injuries.

The Mets are more than one free agent signing away from being a World Series contender. They need to reshuffle their roster, and import a different brand of player. The Mets look at themselves in the mirror and think all they have to do is comb their hair and straighten their tie and they’ll be all right, when, in fact, they’re not even wearing any pants. They need to stop looking to fix the past and instead find a plan and identity for the future.