SI Rate's baseball's top 100 players

Today SI's Joe Posnaski released his "Top 100 Players" in Major League Baseball.

4 Mets made the top 100. Here they are:

9. Johan Santana, SP, Mets
He was 2-4 with a 6.19 ERA in six June starts and people screamed that he was done. But Santana is a demon in the second half ... and sure enough he has not allowed a run in his last two starts.

30. David Wright, 3B, Mets
His power has inexplicably disappeared, but he's hitting, running and playing defense as well as ever. If the power returns, he's a Top 10 player.

46. Jose Reyes, SS, Mets
Hard to know exactly where to put him because of his injury issues. When healthy he is, of course, one of the most exciting and unique players in the game. But how much will this injury affect his legs?

85. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, Mets
This may seem hard to believe, but K-Rod's numbers are better across the board than they were last year -- better ERA (1.81), way fewer hits per inning pitched (5.6), better WHIP. But no one seems to notice because his save total -- 23 -- is a long way from his record of 62 of last season.

Here's the full article. Enjoy!

Tony Bernazard: Enough is enough

(Article and photos courtesy of Daily News)
There's no way I can recap this article. You must read it for yourself.

BY Adam Rubin
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

WASHINGTON - The Binghamton Mets clubhouse nearly turned into a scene out of WWE Raw recently, when VP for player development Tony Bernazard removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a postgame tirade, multiples sources told the Daily News.

Bernazard particularly went after middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, using a slang term associated with a woman's anatomy, a source indicated. The confrontation happened about 10days before the All-Star break, according to insiders.

"That's an all-timer if true," an AL official said upon hearing the account, which was corroborated by multiple people with ties to the Mets.

GM Omar Minaya acknowledged Bernazard spoke to the B-Mets in a "stern voice," but said he had no knowledge of the scope being portrayed.

"I know he did have a team meeting with them," Minaya told the Daily News. "It was not a 'you-guys-have-been-great meeting.' I know he spoke to them in a stern voice. But as far as what he was wearing, what kind of shoes he was wearing, I don't know anything about that."

While the 52-year-old Bernazard's actions were over-the-top no matter what the motivation, alleged underage drinking on the team apparently was one motivation for the eruption, an organization source said. Still, sending players to counseling rather than challenging them to a rumble might have been a more appropriate course of action.

Binghamton went 1-6 during an early July home stand against New Hampshire and Erie that coincided with that tumult. Three of the defeats came by at least seven runs. The team's longtime Double-A affiliate entered last night with a 36-58 record, in last place in the Eastern League's Northern Division.

"It's ridiculous that anyone in a professional baseball environment thinks it's acceptable," a friend of several B-Mets said about the treatment of the players.

The shoddy treatment of people in the system has led to mocking of the VP behind his back.

The News reported Tuesday that Bernazard, one of GM Omar Minaya's top lieutenants, recently erupted at the organization's manager of baseball operations. During a game at Citi Field, scouts took their customary seats in a row behind home plate. Bernazard showed up during play and wanted a seat occupied by a D-Backs scout. Bernazard's deputy, already seated in the row, suggested to the Mets VP that he wait until the half-inning ended, to minimize the disruption. Bernazard ripped into his deputy with a profanity-laced tirade as scouts and patrons watched in disbelief.

Adam LaRoche traded to Red Sox

Courtesy of Dejan Kovacevic of Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Article

By Dejan Kovacevic | 11:34 a.m. Wednesday

The Pirates' clubhouse is abuzz with word that a trade involving first baseman Adam LaRoche is imminent, and this is the reason the lineup has taken so long to get posted this morning.

That said, LaRoche is hitting in the indoor cage as I type this, and he probably will play this afternoon.

No word on a potential destination or anything like that just yet.

More as it comes, obviously.

UPDATE 11:47 a.m.: LaRoche is not in the lineup just posted.

11:58 a.m.: Word is that a LaRoche trade already is done, but this is unconfirmed. It also has not been denied by anyone with the team, either.

12:02 p.m.: Speculation among baseball people here from other teams is that LaRoche has been traded to the San Francisco Giants. Again, I stress, unconfirmed.

12:12 p.m.: LaRoche has been traded to the Boston Red Sox. No word on return yet. Still no official word of any kind from the team.

12:46 p.m.: Strange, but LaRoche is still sitting in the Pirates' dugout during the game. Hard to tell if he has a uniform on because he is wearing a jacket over the jersey, but he is wearing a Pirates cap. Could be that the Pirates are awaiting paperwork to be completed.

1:02 p.m.: Scouts in the seats are talking about how Jack Wilson may be involved in something, too. This is enormously unconfirmed, and it runs counter to information I have. But thought I would share. Do not take it for anything more than what the sentence actually says.

1:07 p.m.: The Pirates will receive two prospects, shortstop Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland, from Boston, according to the radio station WEEI in that city.

1:13 p.m.: Here are reference pages for Diaz and Strickland. Remember, these players coming here has not been independently confirmed.

1:18 p.m.: It is independently confirmed that it is Diaz and Strickland, thanks to the miracle of text messaging. Still no official announcement from the Pirates.

1:39 p.m.: Wilson absolutely, positively is not involved.

The Flushing Pyschiatric Hospital Post Game Report

Wild Ollie.

'nuff said.

Shocker: Sheffield could be headed to DL

Shocking!

Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post tweeted that "Gary Sheffield is expected to go on the DL if his leg isn't significantly better by Friday."

That doesn't sound very promising for the New York Mets homerun leader. (10 homeruns.)

Game 93: NYM @ WAS

Here are the starting lineups for Game 2 of a 3 game series in Washington.

New York Mets (44-48)
Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Fernando Tatis LF
Daniel Murphy 1B
Omir Santos C
Alex Cora SS
Oliver Perez LHP (2-2, 7.99)

Washington Nationals (26-66)
Nyjer Morgan CF
Cristian Guzman SS
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Adam Dunn 1B
Josh Willingham LF
Austin Kearns RF
Alberto Gonzalez 2B
Wil Nieves C
John Lannan LHP (6-7, 3.64)

Notes

• Gary Sheffield will again sit tonight with an injured hamstring.
• Oliver Perez is 3-4 with a 7.29 ERA in 9 career starts against the lowly Nats.

Weather
80°F and mostly sunny at gametime.

Julio Lugo not yet a Met

According to Alex Speier of the WEEI Sportsradio Network, Julio Lugo signing with the Mets is not necessarily a given. According to a MLB source, he says, the BoSox offered Julio Lugo to the Mets earlier this season, for "little to nothing in return."

Also regarding the rumors that Lugo has been working out at a Mets complex in the Dominician Republic, Speier confirmed that he is working out there. He also noted thought that Lugo also worked out there as a member of the Sox last year, so he may just be there to train.

News: Minaya's job not safe despite despite contract

Adam Rubin of the Daily News has an intriguing article about the future of Omar Minaya. The article talks about the "Wilpon's shifting view of Omar Minaya." Take a read here.

The most interesting part of the article I thought was about Mets VP Tony Bernazard. As you all know, I can't stand the guy. I think he's a cancer to this organization.

Here's an excerpt from the Daily News article that furthermore proves that:

Regardless, there's clearly dysfunction in the organization. One recent example: The scouting community has been abuzz with an account of Mets VP Tony Bernazard going into a profanity-laced tirade directed at the organization's manager of baseball operations at Citi Field, which left witnesses in the section behind home plate aghast. According to two sources, scouts had settled in a row behind the plate during a recent game. Bernazard arrived and found a Diamondbacks scout sitting in the seat he wanted. When Bernazard's underling suggested that the Mets VP wait until the end of the half-inning to change the seating arrangement in order to minimize the disruption, Bernazard went ballistic in a rant against his Ivy League-educated deputy.