Red Sox claim Wagner, according to report

Ken Rosenthal is on top of the Billy Wagner situation.

Rosenthal first reported on Friday that Wagner had been claimed on waivers.  Now he reports that the Boston Red Sox were the team that claimed him.

The Mets have until Tuesday at 1 p.m. to work out a deal with the Red Sox for Wagner or they can pull him back from the waivers and keep him on the roster.  They could also simply let him go to the Red Sox for nothing in return, but that is unlikely.

Wagner does have a full no-trade clause, which he would have to waive if he was to be moved to Boston.

Twitter updates

I’m not at the game, but I’ll be out and about.  Tweeting is my best and easiest way to break any news and muse about the Mets, so I’ll throw up one of their wonderful widgets as a place holder until I can post for real.

Enjoy the night.

Report: Wagner claimed off waivers

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that a team has claimed Billy Wagner off waivers, citing a major league source.  Update – 3:16 p.m.: Jon Heyman corroborates the report.

I guess small sample sizes count for something.

The Mets can now either work out a trade for Wagner with the team that claimed him or pull him off waivers, which wouldn’t allow him to be traded again this season.  The Mets have three days to work out a deal, says Heyman.

Wagner has $2.5 million left on his contract, plus a $1 million buyout for his 2010 option.

Rosenthal lists the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Cubs as teams who may be interested and have enough money to spend.  (My money is on the Cubs.)

He also notes that the Mets are reluctant to include money in the deal, “according to a source with knowledge of the club's thinking.”

Q&A with Phillies Nation on their bus trip to Citi Field

A large group of Phillies fans will be invading Citi Field this Saturday.

Put together by the guys and girl at Phillies Nation, a convoy of buses will make it’s way from Philly to Flushing for Saturday’s night game at Citi Field.  Coincidentally, that’s also the night of the 1969 World Series celebration.

I sent a few questions out to Phillies Nation and Brian was nice enough to answer them for me.  Here’s the quick Q&A… 

The ‘Ropolitans: How did this trip come about?  When was it first planned?

Phillies Nation: We've been doing trips for about four years now, but they've been mostly to DC or Clearwater.  With the Mets' new stadium, the (formerly) heated rivalry on the field, and proximity to Philly, it just made sense.  Plus this is the only weekend this season that the Phils are in Flushing, so that made picking the date easy as well.

T’R: How many fans are you expecting to make the trip to Citi Field.

PN: Phillies Nation has 5 buses coming up from Philly, so that's 250 right there. Then we're planning on meeting up with another 50 or so local fans.  That's just the Phillies Nation crew.  Just in the past three days, I've encountered at least a dozen more people that are going up.  With all the other bus trips and individual friends and family going, I wouldn't be surprised to see 5,000-10,000 Phililes fans for the games on Saturday and Sunday.  We've been averaging around 15,000 fans at Nationals weekend games, but I don't think it would be that overwhelming.

T’R: If you don't know by now, but the Mets are hosting a celebration for the 1969 Mets team. These shirts will be given away.  Do a bunch of Phillies fans going to a 1969 celebration have some hijinks in store?  Going to burn the shirts as an effigy or are they so silly ('69 on a Mets shirt - 15 year old humor) that you'll cherish it forever?

PN: I'm sure there will be a lot of booing, but I doubt my shirt will make it out of Citi Field.  I'll likely use it in place of toilet paper.

T’R: Pedro Martinez is returning to Citi Field to face the Mets, does that mean anything to you?

PN: It doesn't mean a whole lot to me, but I'm sure it does for Pedro.  He didn't have the success in NY as he had in Boston, so maybe he'll have something to prove in that regard.  He still has something to prove to Phillies fans as well.  Although he's looked good on the mound, his two outings have been only 5 and 3 innings.  He has a long way to go before he reaches Cliff Lee status in Philly.

T’R: Luckily for you, you'll get to see the Phillies face Tim Redding, since the Mets released Livan Hernandez.  Does that tickle your fancy at all?

PN: We're pretty familiar with Redding from his days with the Nationals, and he has pitched well against the Phils.  I know Utley hits him well, but he's definitely a solid starter...a decent replacement for Livan, who I certainly enjoyed watching.  Even more so than Redding, I think it will be fun to watch J.A. Happ who is also starting on Saturday.  He's quietly becoming a front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year.

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Thanks to Brian at Phillies Nation for answering all my questions.

And if you’re heading out to Citi Field on Saturday, Mets fans, be prepared for a lot of Phillies fans in the stadium.  And be prepared to out-cheer them during the ceremony.

Poll Results: Fans think Manuel should be fired

In my latest poll, I asked Mets fans if they think Jerry Manuel should be fired.  Here are the results…I don’t think he’s done much wrong and the injuries aren’t his fault.  I would keep him on for 2010 and see what happens.  You can hardly blame these losses on him.

Oh, and he’s quite entertaining.

Next Poll: Keep or trade Billy Wagner?

Baseball Digest: Sheffield cracked

Head over to Baseball Digest to read my latest:
“Sheffield cracked”

Rays and Marlins interested in Wagner

Based on an extremely small sample size (one inning of work), Billy Wagner looked awesome.

Since the pitcher is already on waivers, the rumors about what teams are interested are squeaking out.  Jayson Stark of ESPN.com notes that the Tampa Bay Rays and the Florida Marlins are two teams that scouts believe have expressed interest in Wagner.

The one hitch is the money left on Wagner’s contract.

There is $2.5 million left on the deal, with another $1 million buyout of his option for 2010.  Stark writes, “other clubs believe that the Mets will have to eat a major chuck of that money if they expect to land a decent prospect in return for Wagner.”

As a fan, I love Wagner.  I love his attitude on and off the mound.  But at this time, it’s time for the Mets to deal him.  Even though Francisco Rodriguez has shown signs of cracking and having a back-up closer (much like the plan was for J.J. Putz this year) wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

(Don’t forget, Putz has an option for 2010 as well, but it’s a little hefty to be paying that much for a set-up man.)

If the Mets can take most of Wagner’s contract on and dea l him away, they may be able to get a good, young player from a desperate team trying to make it in 2009.

I say the Mets pull the trigger on a deal if the right one comes along.

Manuel’s Musing

“From a manager's point of view, I probably always want to see youth at this point, but it has to be the right timing. The player development people have to say a young player will come into this situation and not be hurt by it.”

-Jerry Manuel on a youth movement

Billy’s back

Billy Wagner’s appearance in Thursday night’s game was the unlikely highlight, as Johan Santana was on the mound for the Mets.  The Mets lost 3-2, dropping the final two games of the series to the Braves

Santana allowed three earned runs on nine hits over seven innings.  He struck out two and walk none, needing only 77 pitches (66 landing for strikes).

But when Wagner entered the game for the 8th inning, the crowd got to it’s feet and cheered.  He paid them back by turning in a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two batters in a span of 14 pitches.

The offense sputtered again, plating one in the 4th on a Cory Sullivan single and later in the 8th inning on a pinch-hit single from Omir Santos.  Other than that, the bats were relatively quiet.

Francisco Rodriguez turned in a shutout inning, but walked two batters in his time on the bump.

But hey, Billy’s back.  (For now.)

Sheffield released? No, but he asked for an extension [Updated]

Update 4 – 7:19 p.m.: Steve Popper is on top of this.  He just reported that Sheffield first asked for an extension three weeks ago.  Tonight, he “revisited” it.

Update 3 – 7:10 p.m.: Sheffield is in uniform and sitting on the Mets bench as the game gets underway.

Update 2 – 6:58 p.m.: This gets better and better.  Patrick, in the comments, alerted me to the fact that Sheffield asked the Mets for an extension.

David Lennon provides us with an update…

A person familiar with the situation just said that Sheffield asked the Mets for an extension today and they refused. Now at standoff.

I was siding with Sheffield until I heard this.  As Patrick said, it’s a very Brett Favre thing to do.

Update – 6:55 p.m.: Joel Sherman tweets…

A Mets official tells me that "Sheffield has not been released."

Original Post: According to Steve Popper, one player told him that he was told Gary Sheffield had been released.  Brian Costa reports the same story.

Joel Sherman notes that Tim Redding was the anonymous player, if it matters.

At this point, since the Mets already screwed up by pulling him off waivers, this would be the classy thing to do by the Mets.  The team should grant Sheffield his release and let him possibly play elsewhere.

It’s not like the Mets are going anywhere or doing anything.