Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL (final)
Cubs (1) vs. Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Milwaukee (4)

Well, we have a game today, and not even a play-in game, which is unusual. The White Sox have to play a makeup against Detroit in Chicago. If the White Sox win, then it's a play-in game tomorrow night against the Twins in Chicago. If the Chisox lose, then the Twins win the AL Central, and our dreams of an all-Chicago World Series are spoiled.

So let's break down today's Tigers-White Sox tilt, position by position.

Catcher: Brandon Inge vs. A.J. Pierzynski. Gotta give the edge to Bridgehampton native Pierzynski and his 3.3 Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP). Although, say this for the Mike Francesa-loved Inge and his BABIP...

Nah, I'm just kidding with that. Let's talk Mets!

In honor of yesterday's game becoming the eighth memorably heartbreaking defeat in the team's history, here are eight thoughts on the Mets:

1. Here is my column from the game. I now think that, given what transpired over the last month, the Mets should just suck it up and sign K-Rod. They can't be doing the cutesy "closer audition" next spring, not after a horrible bullpen caused The Second Collapse, and not when there are ultra-expensive tickets waiting to be sold at Citi Field.

2. As I wrote in the column, and as I mentioned here last week, it would be foolhardy to trade Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes or David Wright, IMHO. And I don't think they will. Yes, it's true, the lineup didn't produce enough over the last week. I think they were just exhausted after fighting back so often. This offense did score 799 runs, second-most in the National League.

Besides, the whole choke/clutch/SOFT stuff is such a slippery slope. In the eighth inning yesterday, with two outs, Jose Reyes hit a ground-rule double _ Marlins centerfielder Cameron Maybin helped by taking a bizarre route to the ball - and Carlos Beltran walked. Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez went to his lefty specialist, 2,000-year-old man Arthur Rhodes, and Delgado hit a ball right on the screws, right to Josh Willingham on the warning track. So the Mets choked, right? But if Delgado had broken his bat and hit a bloop single to left, then they would've been clutch?

They can't sign Manny Ramirez. They have to get younger. I suggested signing Juan Rivera in my column today, and you'd bet on a Fernando Tatis return, too. If Daniel Murphy can actually play second base, the Mets would have an improved lineup.

3. Omar. You don't like him. I understand. He botched the bullpen, big-time, two years in a row. How painful was it to see Matt Lindstrom, whom the Mets gave up for essentially nothing, finishing them off with the fastball the Mets could use so badly?

It's a second straight emotional finish, but if the Mets are to straighten this out, they have to take a step back and look at their situation at least somewhat intellectually. 89 wins and a collapse is horrifying, but it's not horrible. Signing Minaya through 2013 seemed a bit excessive. But firing him would have been far more excessive, especially considering the success of youngsters like Daniel Murphy and Mike Pelfrey.

What really killed the Mets' bullpen was the downfalls of Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez, who were supposed to be the safety nets for a Billy Wagner injury. So if they actually sign K-Rod, the Mets should back up their new closer with as many young, power arms as they can find. No more three-year deals for poor Scott Schoeneweis, who looked about as despondent as I've ever seen an athlete, and his breed of mediocrity.

4. Jerry Manuel. What struck me, having been in the Mets' clubhouse after Game 162 both this season and last, was how much more upbeat team officials were yesterday than last year. That reflects how much they like Manuel and how much they disliked Randolph. Remember, last year, they made Randolph sweat out his return for nearly 48 hours, but yesterday, Fred Wilpon and everyone beneath him made it clear that Manuel will get the full-time gig.

Remember, Randolph didn't get fired because of the '07 collapse. He lost his job because he failed to move the team beyond The Collapse. I think Manuel will be more up to such a challenge, given his better people skills.

5. Starting pitching. They're going to need to sign at least one veteran, and preferably two. Pedro Martinez has to go; the Mets can no longer employ part-time players like Pedro, as likeable as he is.

They should engage in negotiations with Oliver Perez, and who knows? Maybe this dreadful economy will actually keep Ollie's price on the reasonable side. He sure looked like a different pitcher for the better part of Dan Warthen's reign as pitching coach. Otherwise, the Mets should stay away from the big catches (CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Ben Sheets) and look at Derek Lowe, who can handle the pressure, and Jon Garland, who eats innings in the American League and should be even more proficient in the National League.

6. Luis Castillo. He's just a symbol of The Second Collapse now. If the Mets are feeling very bold, they should eat $4 million a year for the next three years and shop him to a club as a three-year, $6-million player. If Murphy can play second base, they'd have a minimum-wage player there, which would dull the pain a tad.

7. Mets fans. Why the Mets planned yesterday's Shea farewell AFTER the game , I'll never understand. But when I was walking from the press box to the Mets' clubhouse after the game, I saw very few fans departing, and I thought that was great.

You Mets fans are a hearty lot, weathering repeated heartbreaks. You deserved to say goodbye to your loveable hellhole, and to acknowledge the contributions of players ranging from Willie Mays and Tom Seaver to Dwight Gooden and Mike Piazza. I missed the ceremony, as I was interviewing people in the clubhouse, but it sounded like a much better show than the Yankees' goodbye to the Stadium last week.

8. And in accordance with that, one final image: After finishing my work in the clubhouse, I happened to ride the elevator back upstairs to the press box with Keith Hernandez, who was still wearing his old Mets jersey from the ceremony.Everyone who crossed Keith's path smiled, shook his hand and thanked him. Hernandez smiled and said, "We'll get 'em next year."

That's the essence of sports right there, isn't it? Connecting with your favorite players. Sticking with your favorite team, no matter how difficult they make it to do so.

Meanwhile, up in Boston... Congrats to Mike Mussina, and from reading his quotes, I really think he'll retire.

I recalled a conversation a handful of reporters had with Mussina at Shea Stadium, during a regular season Subway Series. It had to be either 2002 or 2003, because those were the two seasons Mussina and David Wells were Yankees teammates.

Mussina said something like, "You don't want to hang around too long. You don't want to have the decision made for you. I think most players feel that way."

"But some players will hang around until there's no more money left, don't you think?" I countered. "Don't you think that Boomer will keep going until no one wants him?"

Mussina flashed his trademark, "I went to Stanford, and I'm smarter than everyone else in here" smile.

"Absolutely," he said.

And finally, Brian Cashman will decide on his future as soon as today. I'm sticking with the 55-45 chance that he stays. That kind of covers me either way, but seriously, from speaking to friends of the Yankees' GM, it sounds like he is seriously conflicted over what to do.

Well, Dennis, you were right. The Mets' bullpen haunted them in the end, and throw in a good dose of offensive choke-itude.

Jerry Manuel will be back. They'll probably announce it tomorrow or Tuesday. I can't fault the Mets for that. The Collapse notwithstanding, this team has a much more positive vibe than it did a year ago.

Richie G., I think the Mets might just change their stance on K-Rod. He could be a $60 million Band-Aid heading into Citi Field.

Meanwhile, congrats to the Brewers. The Lou Lamoriello-esque, late-season manager change worked. I know we have some people here who aren't big fans of the Seligs, but be happy for the fine people of Milwaukee who deserve a playoff team every 26 years or so. What a stud CC Sabathia is - and good luck to whatever team invests six years and nine figures in that arm.

Much more analysis tomorrow. I've got a column to hammer out.

Here is my Sunday Insider, which leads with the moment when Shea Stadium might have shined brightest.

Here is the Seventh-Inning Stretch.

Here are your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Dodgers (3) or Mets (1)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Milwaukee (4) or Dodgers (3)

Here is my column from last night's Mets game. What an amazing ride this has been.

Here are your updated playoff seeds:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Milwaukee (4)

Have a great day.

UPDATE, 2:04: I should've mentioned this earlier, but with the Astros eliminated from playoff contention, I have won the donut bet. I'll has out the details shortly.

You folks want answers, and I try to get them for you.

I asked Daniel Murphy what the heck the deal was with his ninth-inning bunt strikeout Thursday night.

"My job was to get the bunt down," he said. "I didn't get it down."

"So the third-base coach gave you the bunt sign?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

I went to third-base coach Luis Aguayo.

"He did it on his own," Aguayo said. No way, no how, Aguayo said, did he signal to Murphy to bunt.

Based on Manuel's reactions on TV - did you see him after Murphy bunted for strike two? - I have to think the kid just got overwhelmed (uncharacteristically so) by the situation and just lost his head.

Let's start with updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Mets (4) or Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Dodgers (3) or Milwaukee (4)

Okay, now onto the deadly serious predictions:

1. The Mets, coming off the high of Thursday night's victory, will sweep the Marlins in a doubleheader Saturday (after tonight's rainout) and win Sunday's Shea Stadium regular-season finale. In the three games, Jerry Manuel will use a total of 18 relievers - and that's with Johan Santana pitching a complete game on Sunday. Manuel will grow so desperate in Saturday's Game 2, which will last 15 innings, that he'll ask Ryan Church to pitch. But Church will swerve around Manuel, avoiding the assignment and raising his arms triumphantly.

2. At Miller Park, the Brewers will sweep the resting Cubs. CC Sabathia, pitching Sunday on three days' rest for the third straight time, will throw seven strong innings to pull the Brewers even with the Mets. After the game, Brewers manager Dale Sveum will say, "Hey, CC, I know we've been working you kind of hard, but there's a slight tear in the ballpark roof. Would you mind grabbing a tool belt and helping out?"

3. At Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies will win two of three from Washington, falling into a tie with both the Mets and Brewers, causing a playoff in which the Mets will visit Philly on Monday, and then the loser of that game will host Milwaukee on Tuesday. The Phillies will be so frustrated by this turn of events that they'll detonate three packages of hot dogs.

4. The White Sox will win two of three from the Indians in Chicago, while the Twins will seep the Royals at the Metrodome, giving Minnesota, shockingly, the AL Central title. After not getting much from the Mets players they acquired, the Twins will prevail Sunday when Carlos Gomez reaches first base on a strikeout and wild pitch and comes around to score on a Justin Morneau double. "That play, alone was worth giving up Santana," Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire will say. "It's not like just anyone could have struck out in that situation."

5. The Yankees will wrap up their season by getting swept by the Red Sox in Fenway Park. When Alex Rodriguez shows up in a full body cast and wheelchair, Joe Girardi will insist, suspicously, "He was just cold and tired. He could play today if we needed him."

Meanwhile, the Rays will get swept by Detroit, giving the Red Sox the AL East title and Tampa Bay the AL wild card. A fuming Hank Steinbrenner will write, "The whole idea of teams besides the Yankees making the playoffs is ridiculous. The Yankees should have their own division and automatically make the playoffs."

6. There seems to be this prevailing idea that, if the Mets don't make the playoffs, newly extended GM Omar Minaya should break up the core of the team. In other words, trade someone from Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright.

To this, I say, "You cannot be serious!"

First of all, the Mets don't have any real character problems. If you had argued that a year ago, I'd have agreed with you. But not now. Really, given the bullpen's horrid performance for so much of the season, you couldn't have blamed the position players terribly if they had shrugged their shoulders and quit on the season. But that never happened.

Second of all, the Mets have a pretty good nucleus. Whom would you want to trade out of Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana. As Jay Jaffe illustrated in this strong piece for Baseball Prospectus, the Mets have pretty much lived up to their preseason expectations, except for their bullpen.

One reader e-mailed me, "I cannot come up with a trade proposal involving either Reyes, Wright or Beltran where the Mets would not come out on the short end in talent." Ummm, right. Reyes, Wright and Beltran are all great players. They're the types of players around whom you build.

Here's another line I've heard multiple times: "How can the Mets extend Omar Minaya when he can't even build a good bullpen?" The answer is that no GM is hired, fired or promoted based on bullpen construction. It's too difficult and random a science. Minaya put together a great bullpen in 2006, featuring a healthy and productive Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez, and then a juiced Guillermo Mota joined the fun in August. Last year, however, the Mets' pen was awful, and the same goes for this year.

Hideki Okajima was an unforeseen force for Boston last year, as the setup guy for Jonathan Papelbon. This year, Okajima, while still decent, is far more human, and bullpen remains a concern for the Sawx heading into the playoffs.

Break up the Mets? No shot. Just start developing some power arms to put in that bullpen, that's all.

Have a great weekend.

Jim Spadafore covered the Michigan men's basketball team for The Detroit News for many years _ his byline is on the bottom of this story _ including 1992-93, the season I covered the Wolverines for The Michigan Daily. That season ended like this. Jim was a nice enough fellow, but what I remember most about him was when he and his Detroit News teammates wrote columns with the most simple format: News, and Views.

It would be something like this:

News: Michigan loses to Minnesota, 82-72.
Views: Bad loss for the Wolverines, who are now 5-11 lifetime at Williams Arena. Also, look for this team to be embroiled in a huge scandal.

Because I don't like to steal other people's ideas or words, I wanted to credit "Spad" and his Detroit News teammates of the time _ Terry Foster, Tom Gage and Mike O'Hara come to mind _ for making this blog entry possible.

But first, some updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. White Sox (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Mets (4) or Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Dodgers (3) or Milwaukee (4)

News: It's Armageddon once more at Shea.

Views: Man oh man. Where do we begin? With the bottom of the ninth, IMHO. Daniel Murphy leads off with a triple, putting a Mets victory 90 feet away, and with righty Bob Howry on the mound, Cubs skipper Lou Piniella opts to pitch - carefully, mind you - to David Wright. Despite getting ahead, 3-and-0, Wright goes down swinging on a fastball outside the strike zone.

Then Piniella intentionally walks the hot Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran to load the bases go after the ice-cold Ryan Church and Ramon Castro. Perfectly played by Lou, as Church hits into the force play at home and Castro strikes out on three pitches.

Sweet Lou gets flack for his temper, for his handling of a pitching staff and for his abilitiy to wear down nearly everyone around him. But the man can manage some.

Meanwhile, Wright looked like he was pressing. He should've looked at that last pitch for ball four, at which point Howry would have needed to pitch to either Delgado or Beltran with no one out. Wright now has a .705 OPS (.329 OBP, .376 SLG) with runners in scoring position this year. Alex "He's why the Yankees never win it all" Rodriguez has an .847 OPS (.396 OBP, .451 SLG) in the same spots.

Does tonight now become Pedro Martinez's most important start as a Met? I'd say so. If Pedro checks in with a typically shaky first inning, Shea just might implode about 72 hours earlier than scheduled.

I still think the Mets survive and make the playoffs. They have too much talent - talent that is playing well at the moment - to blow it again.

News: The Brewers climb back into a playoff spot.

Views: With another game against the Pirates tonight, and then the "playoffs first" Cubs coming to Miller Park over the weekend, the Brewers are benefiting from an easy schedule. Nevertheless, a collapse can happen even with cream puff opponents, as we saw last year with the Mets. Credit the Brewers and interim manager Dale Sveum for righting themselves.

CC Sabathia, last night's winner on three days' rest, is making a case to be placed on NL Cy Young and MVP ballots _ if not first place, then somewhere. And with this heavy workload, he's got to be scaring prospective suitors this winter, at least a little.

News: The Yankees win again, and Phil Hughes pitches well.

Views: In my conversations with Yankees fans, I am seeing more of a divide than ever. There is a strong segment that is at peace with what transpired this year, that sees the team moving forward with more of an emphasis on youth and versatility. And there is an equally strong segment that thinks Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi and A-Rod should all be sent to the island from this movie.

As the regulars know, I'm taking the half-glass-full approach with this team. Yes, there are concerns for the future, and yes, it's fair to wonder exactly how good a job Cashman has done, and yes, you can especially question whether Girardi is the right person to handle the unique demands of being the Yankees' manager.

But the Yankees continue to develop interesting, young players. Now there's reason to be hopeful about Hughes again, and Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke both have displayed potential. Austin Jackson had a promising year at Double-A Trenton. Maybe Brett Gardner, hitting low in the lineup, can keep the centerfield job warm for Jackson.

Most of them won't stick; where have you gone, Shelley Duncan? But the idea is, if you bring enough young talent into the organization, and you give enough of them a chance, then you can build a team using some of those players for your club and some as trade chips to get other, established players, like in the trade that acquired Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady.

News: The Twins beat the White Sox again, closing within a half-game of the AL Central lead.

Views: I have just one guarantee here. No matter who wins the division, the AL Division Series pitting Tampa Bay against the AL Central champ will not sniff prime time.

News: The Dodgers clinch a tie for the NL West title.

Views: Last fall, I agreed with those of you who thought it was time for Torre to leave the Yankees. But the lack of respect with which the Yankees have treated Torre, since Game 4 of the 2007 ALDS, is appalling.

First, there was the offer they wanted him to turn down, in the delusional hope that Yankees fans would be stupid enough to say, "It's Torre's fault! They made him an offer!" Then there was the snubbing at the Yankee Stadium farewell. And now Hank Steinbrenner, who had virtually nothing to do with the Yankees from 1996 through 2007, is sniping at Torre.

In Shaun Powell's column today, you'll see that Torre took the high road regarding the recent developments. Of course he did. Torre might have lost plenty of games for the Yankees due to strategical mistakes and poor bullpen usage. He might have lost his job, ultimately, because he couldn't get along with his Yankees superiors. But Torre's next PR loss will be his first.

Here is my Midweek Insider, which focuses on Alfonso Soriano and his bad habit of admiring long fly balls that do not quite clear the wall.

This column is an example of how much I benefit from those of you kind enough to comment. You have helped me to examine and re-examine a number of issues, and in some instances, I've even asked a baseball person one of your questions. In this case, we all know that "hustle" has been a big issue here thanks largely to Richie G. It motivated me to ask Soriano these questions.

In non-baseball news, rest in peace, Dick Lynch. I have fond memories of riding in my family's car, on dark, late afternoons in the autumn, and listening to Jim Gordon and Dick Lynch call the Giants game on the radio.