Chris Carter Is Free ...

... to go to Buffalo, as the Mets made their almost final cuts on Friday after Fernando Tatis' fly ball reached the warning track and no further against Tampa Bay on Friday night to end a 4-2 loss. Tatis and his .163 spring training average was not one of Friday's cuts. In a season where everybody should have been fighting for a job, it turns out Tatis was safe all along. ... Just swell.

The Animal is back in the cage.

As for Carter, once again, great idea trading Billy Wagner for him and Eddie Lora (and saving three million bucks) instead of getting the two draft picks for him as compensation, and then not keeping Carter up after a good spring ensuring that he'll never see the light of day. Yeah, that trade worked out well. Hope they didn't spend the money in one place (Tatis and Alex Cora ... two places.)

And if your response is "well, they shouldn't keep Chris Carter up to justify the Wagner trade because he's only a marginal Quadruple-A player", well then Omar Minaya traded the chance at two high draft picks for a marginal Quadruple-A player. Your tax dollars at work. Speaking of:

Nelson's life with the Mets.

In other news, the organization that was once equated with family values has f$#%ed over Nelson Figueroa for the 4,238th time by cutting him on Friday as well. Figueroa, if he doesn't sign with the Phillies to f$#% the Mets back and get even, will most likely head off to Japan where he will most likely pitch the Nippon Ham Fighters to a title and co-manage a chain of McDonald's franchises with Shinjo. Remember this when Oliver Perez and his 31.74 ERA is sent to Savannah because they feel that the players on that roster would be a positive influence on him, and John Maine has to go on the disabled list due to a strained throat he suffered during an intense puke.

Our Sun Be Sinking

It's meaningless late September losses to the Cubs that make me opine for the days of Craig Brazell.

Sad, isn't it?

Brazell was the guy who basically knocked the Cubs out of the playoffs in 2004 with his one and only major league home run. The Mets could have used him in the ninth inning today, as they went down to the Cubs 5-3 on Saturday. With the Cubs basically out of it, it wouldn't have been much fun to beat them anyway. But I still wonder about Brazell who, had he been given the chance, probably would have led the Mets in home runs this season. Then maybe it would have been called "Craig's Corner", and not "Utley's Corner".

Don't believe me? Brazell currently plays for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan, and earlier this week he had three home runs in two games, including two in one inning. (And yes, as much as Met fans have been crying through tissues this season, there actually exists a "Kleenex Stadium" in Japan. How unfortunately appropriate a sponsor that might have been for our house.)

Yeah, you remember Japan, right? It's where Derrek Lee's two home runs landed.

Alas, Brazell and his Quadruple A bat are a half a world away. In return is the young man you see above: Taiki Kawasaki ... step one in the restocking of the farm system. He's seventeen years old, has a high 80's fastball, and was trained at a school run by Julio Franco. Throw in Jesus Flores, a car dealership, and a poster of Orlando Hernandez and you have one hell of a joke you can tell to your friends. You just have to write it yourself.

Step two in the restocking of the farm system is a young man named Eddie Lora, the supposed completion of the Billy Wagner trade which was supposed to bring back two players, but because the Yankees put in a waiver claim on Chris Carter, now only brings back Lora. So Brian Cashman, in an effort to annoy the Red Sox, probably got them a bit more cash or perhaps another player since now Carter may have to come here in a second trade ... at least that's how it reads to me.

Everything's coming up roses, as always.