Bobby V may return to NL East…with the Marlins

According to his new employer, sources say Bobby Valentine is in talks with the Florida Marlins as a possible managerial candidate.

Valentine just signed a contract with ESPN to join the network as a analyst, but supposedly has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the job to manage a team.

Though the Marlins haven’t made any firings, Fredi Gonzalez is on the hot seat in terms of his job as manager of the team.  Other teams that will be looking for managers are Cleveland and Washington.

And if some fans had their way, so would the Mets.

Manuel’s Musing

“No, I don't.”

-Jerry Manuel on if he had any idea why the umpires delayed the meaningless game for 2 1/2 hours

A day of rest (not really)

I’m home for the day (Yeah, New Jersey!) and I will be running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

The Mets will not raise ticket prices for 2010

Thanks to the Ted Berg, RealAnthonyCamp and others for sending this over.

The Mets have announced that they will be cutting ticket prices for the 2010 season for season ticket holders.  They will also not raise any prices of tickets for those without a ticket plan.

Here’s the Mets press release they sent out to ticket-plan holders…

The New York Mets today announced across the board decreases in the price of Season Tickets for the 2010 season at Citi Field with no increase in the price of any ticket next year.

The average ticket price on a full-season basis will drop by more than 10 percent with reductions in select locations in excess of 20 percent.  Every Season Ticket Holder will see a decrease in their invoice for next season.

The price of the least expensive seat will remain at $11.

"The Mets are sensitive to the economic realities facing our fans and we have lowered our ticket prices in response to these challenging conditions," said Dave Howard, Executive Vice President, Business Operations.  "This move underscores our appreciation of our fans’ ongoing loyalty and support.  We are committed to delivering exceptional service and value to our customers at Citi Field in 2010."

Wonderful news.  A smart PR move by the Mets that will get people back into the seats.

Oh, and by the way, this morning in my “Nine Innings” interview on Jesse Spector’s blog, when he asked me what I would do if I was owner for a day, I responded with…

You're probably expecting some sort of roster move here, but I would slash ticket prices. By a lot. Look, the fans want to see your team play, so let them. Make the tickets cheaper. Get them through the gate and in their seats. Also, keep the food prices generally cheap because they're going to be hungry. More fans equals more purchases in the stadium. The team will still make its money.

Hire me, Mets!  I know what the fans want!

K-Rod first in 14 years to allow two walk-off grand slams

According to the AP, Francisco Rodriguez is the first pitcher since 1995 to allow two walk-off grand slams in the same season.

The last pitcher to do so was Lee Smith in 1995 with the Angels.

Yeesh.

Agent: Reyes should be ready by spring training

According to Peter Greenberg, Jose Reyes “is going to be good for next year.”

Reyes is expected to have surgery on the leg.

Andrew Marchand of 1050 ESPN spoke to Greenberg who said he has consulted with Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon and they believe that Reyes should be able to begin working out in December of January.

If that’s true, Reyes should be ready to go by spring training.

Fingers crossed.

Link: Nine Innings with me

Jesse Spector, who pens the wonderful Touching Base blog for the Daily News, has been putting together a Q&A with some bloggers.  Jesse was nice enough to interview me for one of the “Nine Innings.”

Click here to read the blog, where I answer who the most overrated and underrated players are, my picks for MVP, ROY and Cy Young and my most disappointing Met, among other things.

Thanks again, Jesse.

Snoopy is here to save the Mets

From the Mets…

The New York Mets today announced they will host PEANUTS 60-Year Celebration at Citi Field this Saturday, October 3 when the Mets play the Houston Astros at 1:10 p.m.

The famous PEANUTS characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown will roam the ballpark with Mr. Met throughout the game. Snoopy will also throw out the first pitch and join Mr. Met for the Mr. Met Dash, where children run the bases after the game.

The first 25,000 fans in attendance will receive a PEANUTS Trick-or-Treat Bag in time for Halloween. Lucky fans will also be able to win copies of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" DVD from Warner Home Video, and PEANUTS New Balance Sneakers for toddlers and infants.

Super.  Wonderful.  Anything to put fans in the stands.

But on a non-baseball note, PEANUTS has got to stop.  This comic strip needs to get out of the newspaper every day.  We get it, it’s a classic, but it’s maddeningly boring and bland.  Do away with it, please.

Also, while you’re at it, please do away with…

• Cathy
• Hagar
• Beetle Bailey
• Garfield
• B.C.
• Blondie
• Rose is Rose
• Ziggy
• Prince Valiant
• And the worst of the worst: Family Circus

But that’s just me.

(Yeah, the Mets are so bad they’ve driven to me blog about comic strips.)

Missing: Nick Evans [Photoshop]

Has anyone seen this man?!

Manuel’s Musing (with bonus K-Rod Quotable!)

“We're not playing good baseball, despite who we play.”

-Jerry Manuel

and“I apologize to the fans who were watching this game because it was really embarrassing…When I suck, I suck, and today you guys saw it. That's what happened.”

-Francisco Rodriguez on his performance last night