You have to give the Mets credit here. A reportedly four-year, $66 million deal give the Mets their left fielder for the next four seasons, while adding a big bat in the idle of the lineup, one that has been missing since Carlos Delgado’s hip went out on him in the middle of May.

But let’s not call it an off-season yet. There’s still a lot of work to do. The Mets still need a catcher and of course a front of the line starter to compliment Johan Santana.

Now it seems like they are close to grabbing Bengie Molina to catch, and if that doesn’t work, the Mets can get Rod Barajas behind the plate. But that No. 2 starter? Well that’s another question.

There’s not much out there for the Mets. Joel Pineiro interests the club, especially after a 15-win season, but you have to wonder if that was Dave Duncan’s magic at work. Or they could explore a trade for Carlos Zambrano, but that’s seems like a long shot given the pitcher’s no-trade clause in his contract. Or the Mets can go and grab a reclamation project like Ben Sheets or Chien-Ming Wang, but that would just add another question mark to a team with rehabbing players.

Yet, that’s the story of the Mets for this off-season. They can fill their holes nicely, but without a healthy club in 2010, there will be no chance for competing for the post season. Jose Reyes needs to run at full speed, while Carlos Beltran has to have healthy knees. Johan Santana needs a healthy knee and elbow, while David Wright has to learn how to hit with power again.

Unless that happens, signing Jason Bay is just academic.

Speaking of Bay, you have to wonder if he really wanted to be here. Without any other offer, the 31 year-old outfielder sat and waited for the Mets to flinch on their initial four-year offer. But without anybody else competing for his services, you have to wonder if he really wanted to play in Queens. Next week, we will hear how much he loved the organization in 2002 when he was a Met farmhand and how much he loves New York and always wanted a chance to prove himself here. But his actions – or in this case inactions – the last three weeks tell another story.

You also have to wonder why the Red Sox bowed out so quickly. There are rumors about the health of his shoulders and if there are long term problems, will he make it through the life of the contract? Or will the Mets see another high priced free agent produce for a year or two, and then succumb to age in jury?

General manager Omar Minaya is on the hot seat, so he may be thinking of the near term rather than the bigger picture, while COO Jeffrey Wilpon is desperate to sell season ticket plans, which have dropped off to a snail’s pace. Bay could be the quick fix they are seeking for those problems, but it doesn’t mean it translates into wins in 2010.

Sure Bay does make the club better, but without the upgrades at other positions, the Mets will be desperately undermanned in a division that’s getting tougher and tougher every day.

One note: These are the top event games.  I’m separating these from the top events in MLB history, like Pete Rose’s banishment, Ray Chapman’s death, the 1919 Black Sox Scandal and the 1994 strike.  Make sense?  Great.

So, in no particular order, here are the second three of Jimmy Scott’s Top 6 Most Shocking MLB Events of All-Time: The Games (Part 2):

4.  Bartman

Chicago Cubs fans blame a nerdy fan with headphones and glasses for interfering with left fielder Moises Alou in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, ruining his chance to catch a ball falling into foul territory.  When this event took place, Steve Bartman instantly became one of baseball’s all-time most famous fans.  The error in judgment – let’s face it, if you were in his shoes, what would you have done with 1-second to think? – led to a series of catastrophic events for a Cubs team cruising on its way to a World Series berth.

But what fans forget is shortstop Alex Gonzalez booting a sure double-play ball later in the inning, opening the floodgates for a Florida Marlins team to eventually steal their 2nd World Series title in 6 years.  And fans also forget Kerry Wood’s game-tying home run in Game 7, as well as a short-lived 5-3 lead.  The Cubs had other chances.  Maybe it wasn’t poor Steve’s fault after all.

5.  The Jeffrey Maier Game

Bartman interferes and he’s crucified.  Young Jeffrey Maier does it and he’s praised.  See what a home crowd can do?  In Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, 12-year old Jeffrey Maier reached over the right field wall to seemingly grab a Derek Jeter ball from landing in the glove of Baltimore’s Tony Tarasco.  Umpire Rich Garcia called it a home run, not fan interference, and the Yankees eventually captured their first World Series title since 1978.

Here’s another But: Was the ball really going to be a home run?  Scott Erickson recently said HERE that there was no doubt that the ball was going to be caught.  But look at still photos and video and see the ball’s trajectory as it fell toward earth.  Then look at Tony Tarasco’s glove.  And look at his feet.  They were planted on the ground.  Was the ball really going to go over the wall?  Possibly not.  But the ball possibly wasn’t going to be caught, either.  Remove Jeffrey Maier from the equation and we might have had a double instead of a game-tying home run.  Look at the video and pictures and decide for yourself.

One additional thought: Armando Benitez was on the mound.  Orioles and Mets fans know full well that if the Maier event hadn’t occurred, Benitez likely would have still found a way to blow the save.  Sorry Mr. Erickson, but the Yankees would have tied the game that inning no matter what.

6.  Midget At The Bat

It was 1951.  Bill Veeck, owner of the St. Louis Browns, was desperate.  His ballclub was lousy and nobody was coming to the games.  Looking to give fans a reason to see a game – and pay – Veeck thought up the idea of a birthday party.  1951 was the 50th anniversary of the American League, as well as the 50th anniversary of Falstaff Brewery, one of the team’s sponsors.  Nobody could actually prove that it was also Falstaff’s 50th anniversary, but as Veeck wrote in From Veeck – As In Wreck, his autobiography, “If we couldn’t prove it fell on the day we chose, neither could anyone prove that it didn’t.”

For years, Veeck had had the idea of using a midget to promote his team (he owned 3 different MLB teams during his lifetime).  He called a booking agent who found Eddie Gaedel. While at first “dubious,” after some selling by Veeck, Gaedel agreed to appear at the birthday game.  And Gaedel would more than appear.  He’d sign a contract and become a member of the team.  Better yet, he’d come to the plate and actually bat.

Gaedel knew virtually nothing about baseball besides “I know you’re supposed to hit the white ball with the bat.  And then you run somewhere.”  Veeck spent time teaching Gaedel how to stand in the box and how to crouch (making the already tiny strike zone tinier).  When Gaedel pretended to swing, Veeck got scared, telling Eddie all he had to do was crouch in the box, take four balls, and trot to first base.  And if Gaedel did swing?  He was met with this warning from Veeck.  “I’m going to be up on the roof with a high-powered rifle watching every move you make.  If you so much as look as if you’re going to swing, I’m going to shoot you dead.”

Eddie was paid $100 for the day.  Veeck took out a life insurance policy on him for $1,000,000 to protect the team in case of sudden death or “sudden growth.”

The whole plan was a secret.  Even the Falstaff Brewery folks only knew they were part of a big surprise.  The contract Gaedel signed was mailed to league headquarters on a Saturday night, so by the time it was opened on Monday morning, the game would have already been played (in case of expected protest from the league).

A crowd of more than 18,000 showed up for the game, the largest to see a Browns game in 4 years.  In between games of the doubleheader, Gaedel made his grand entrance by popping out of a birthday cake.  Then he went back into hiding until the bottom of the first, when it was announced that number one-eighth was batting for Frank Saucier.  Home plate umpire Eddie Hurley questioned the stunt and Browns manager Zack Taylor showed the signed contract, a telegram to league headquarters (time stamped) proving proper procedures had been followed (just followed at the very last second, before plans could be thwarted), and a copy of the active roster, which included Eddie Gaedel.

Gaedel got into the batters box and the crowd was alive.  The Falstaff people were beside themselves with joy at the promotion they were sure to receive from all of this.  But Veeck was beside himself for another reason.  Gaedel wasn’t crouching, like he had been taught.  “He was standing straight up, his little bat held high, his feet straddled wide in a fair approximation of Joe DiMaggio’s classic stylek” wrote Veeck.  ”I was thinking, ‘I should have brought that gun up here.  I’ll kill him if he swings.  I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him.’”

But by the third pitch, pitcher Bobby Cain was laughing so hard he could barely throw.  Balls three and four floated about three feet over Eddie Gaedel’s head.

Eddie trotted to first base, his image captured by snapping cameras.  He stood on the bag until a pinch runner could take his place, and then he ran across the infield, waving to the crowd, toward the St. Louis dugout.  He was now one of the most famous footnotes in one of the most famous games in the history of baseball.

And the Browns lost, 6 to 2.

To read Shocking Games Numbers 1-3, go HERE.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Real Baseball Wife Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Mike Vaccaro, Natalie Niekro and Lary Sorensen.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

“Yeah, it was cold,” Sabathia said after the game.  “But you just gotta deal with it.”

The Yankee ace did just that, and unlike the Los Angeles Angels, whose sloppy fielding was clearly affected by the frigid temperature,  Sabathia showed little effect from the cold.

He allowed just one run and four hits over eight innings in the Yankees’ 4-1 win in the ALCS opener.  After completing a 1-2-3 eighth inning, the stadium exploded, chanting “CC” over and over again as the gigantic left-hander made his way to the dugout.

“It was a great feeling to have the Stadium rocking and the fans chanting my name.” said Sabathia, who threw just 112 pitches.

“He was sensational,” said manager Joe Girardi after the game. “There are conditions you have to deal with … and he threw extremely well.”

The only run off the left-hander – who struck out seven Angels and walked just one – came in the fourth, when Vladimir Guerrero doubled off the wall in and later scored on Kendry Morales’ RBI single.

It was all the offense the Angels could muster on this chilly October night, and their clumsiness in the field was as deadly as their offense was silent.

In the first, Los Angeles starter John Lackey allowed a single to Derek Jeter.  The Yankee captain then advanced to third on Johnny Damon’s fly ball single to left.  A poor throw by left fielder Juan Rivera – who missed the cutoff man – allowed Damon to advance to second base.

Jeter would score on a sacrifice fly by Alex Rodriguez, but the crushing play of the game was when third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar allowed a potential inning-ending popup to fall untouched between them.

The gaffe allowed Damon to score the only other run the Yankees would need.

“They are a very sound baseball club, and you certainly can’t count on that happening every night … it’s just one game,” Girardi said.  “I thought the first inning was really important to this game … you don’t want to walk away fro that inning without scoring.”

The Yankees capitalized on the two mistakes, and thanks to a tremendous pitching performance from their ace, bring a 1-0 lead into Game 2.

Check out BaseballDigest.com for more from Mark Healey.

“It’s tough putting pressure on CC when you get nobody on,” said Angels, outfielder Torii Hunter who got a single off Sabathia in the first inning. It was one of four hits off Sabathia who got his first LCS win and recorded a postseason high in innings pitched. “It was just CC,” said Hunter. “CC is the cold weather. CC’s the real deal, man” he said.

And again, the Yankees as they do so well, capitalized on the errors by the Angels, a team that set a franchise low 85 and third fewest in the league this season. One in the first inning opened the door for a New York early 2-0 lead when left fielder Juan Rivera threw to the shortstop that put runners on second and third.

Then, in the same inning there was the probable miscommunication of a ball in the infield, or the wind playing havoc which saw a popup from the Yankees Hideki Matsui drop between third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar. The result was a single and Johnny Damon scoring a run.

“”We haven’t seen our guys crack the door open for a team like we did tonight in a long time,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia about that first inning, And like so many other teams that have been victims, now are the Angels. “And the Yankees are going to take advantage of that, and they did,” added Scioscia.

From there it was all Sabathia.  This series is supposed to be about the Angels speed and ability to take the extra base, if they can get there.  The Yankees with their power, though no home runs this windy night, and ability to hold a lead then go to their pen in the late innings. Sabathia threw 113 pitches, struck out seven and had great command.. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth and got the save,

“I noticed he was able to get ahead and change speeds,” commented Scioscia. “He threw some good change ups. I think he commanded both sides of the plate better than we had seen him before. He pitched a heck of a game. He obviously is one of the best in out league.”

The Angels know for sure how important it was to get on base. But Sabathia did not let the cold weather get to him and made the Angels know he could be the difference in this series. Sabathia could face then two more times if indeed there is a seventh and decisive game in the Bronx next weekend.

“He kept the guys that can create problems off the bases all night,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, “and he was sensational.” Sabathia has now won two opening games in the postseason, the other against Minnesota last week in the divisional series.  And for the first time this season, with over 49,000 fans chanting CC in the seventh inning, Sabathia showed emotion after striking out pinch hitter Mike Naploi with a runner on second with a 4-1 lead.

Said Sabathia about the emotion, “That was a great feeling to have the Stadium rocking and to be chanting my name and to be able to get a strikeout. I was pretty pumped up. I don’t really show a lot of emotion a lot of times, but it came out of me there.”

But that emotion is what the Yankees like. They feel confident when their work horse takes the mound. Johnny Damon who made a defensive gem in left and had a fifth inning double hoped to have a powerful pitcher behind him in the postseason. This is his first ALCS with the Yankees.

“This is the first time we’ve been into the ALCS since I’ve been here,” he said. “The other two times we were knocked off in the first round. That’s why we got CC. To be a work horse during the season, of course, But to shut down teams in the postseason. They didn’t have too many base runners tonight. And any time you can do that, it definitely plays in our favor.”

As for the errors that the Angeles rarely make, said Damon “We’ll take it. We don’t see them do that too often, so we’ll take it.”  Miscues that spoiled a good pitching performance from Angels, starter John Lackey who gave up four runs on nine hits.

A loss that Hunter said will be forgotten. “Wake up in the morning and feel like we had amnesia,” he said.  The Angels hope to readjust and get out of New York with a 1-1 split before going home for Game 3 Monday.

Girardi also has the ability to use the bullpen Saturday evening in Game 2 because Sabathia went deep. That may now go to the Yankees advantage when A. J. Burnett takes the mound for New York opposing Joe Saunders.  “If we need multiple innings out of guys we know we can get it,” he said.

“Having a guy like CC, A.J. Pettitte (Andy) and the strong bullpen we have, it’s allowed us to get to this point,” commented Damon.  So Hopefully tomorrow night A.J. shows up and pitches well, and hopefully we can score a few runs off Saunders”

And if the Angels want to make this a series they know they have to avoid those costly mistakes. Burnett is not Sabathia, but one mistake against the Yankees, as Scioscia said, will crack the door open.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

But there they were in Queens – the best team in baseball – crushing the Mets on Tuesday, and then walking on Oliver Perez’s wild side last night.

The Mets 5-4 win notwithstanding, it’s clear that the Dodgers are a superior team and many of the Mets problems turned into LA fortune.  A few passes by Omar Minaya made the Dodgers into the team they are today.

And you can start with Perez. Although he won the game with two runs over five innings, the enigmatic starter walked seven Dodgers and was in trouble all night. And this was his first start since May 2nd, because Perez couldn’t find the strike zone back in April either. His 2-2 record comes with an 8.78 ERA, something hard to get excited about.

Instead of Perez, the Mets could have had Randy Wolf – tonight’s starter for the Dodgers. Although he not an ace, wouldn’t you rather have his 3-3 record with 3.59 ERA? And he has started a league high 18 games so far, which would have solidified a very shaky Mets staff killed by injury.

Besides Wolf would have come with a much lower price tag and the Mets would have been able to invest the difference – about $7 million – on say a left fielder.

But they could have had a great leftfielder if Minaya shipped Luis Castillo to LA for Juan Pierre and then signed Orlando Hudson. Sure Castillo is having a decent year, but Pierre would have been the Mets everyday left fielder – and then moved to center when Carlos Beltran went on the DL – while Hudson would have provided the Mets with an upgrade at second.

Just look at the numbers. Pierre is hitting .328, while Hudson has a .285 average with 5 homers and 43 RBI. Don’t you think the Mets could have used that?

And they could have used the Dodger manager as well. If the Wilpons had some forward thinking after the collapse of 2007, they would have fired Willie Randolph and hired Joe Torre, who would have provided the team with a very credible field boss. Not only would the Mets have a winner, they would have stolen back some thunder from the Yankees as well.

Remember Randolph oversaw the greatest collapse in history. So if he lost his job no one would have said boo.

Plus you would think the team wouldn’t have tanked a month of the season in 2008 trying to get Randolph fired, which would have probably meant the Mets in the playoffs last year – and maybe no Phillies World Championship. Sure the Mets would not have Gary Sheffield right now, but does that really matter?

Yet, the Mets are stuck with bad decisions and that means an under .500 record, while the Dodgers are the best team in baseball, even without Manny Ramirez for 50 games. Torre seems very content on the West Coast, while Hudson and Wolf probably aren’t having any second thoughts signing in LA.

But, hey, the Mets do have Ebbets Field, and that has to count for something.

Even if that fish happens to be Gary Sheffield. Maybe.

Yes, the Mets did fill a need by signing the veteran after he was released by Detroit. All parties are saying the right things now that Sheffield is on board after he also fielded calls from Philadelphia and Cincinnati. The 40-year-old has not played the outfield regularly in nearly three years after being the designated hitter for the Tigers and the position that he is most likely to play – right field – is not an easy one to learn to begin with at the new home stadium for the Mets. Like its inspiration before it, Cit Field’s quirky dimensions there bring back memories of a similar patch of grass at Ebbets Field, but no one is going to mistaken Sheffield for Carl Furrillo.

Ryan Church, who missed time during his first campaign in New York after suffering two concussions, figures to be the odd man out when Sheffield gets a start. Daniel Murphy is going to be the left fielder and manager Jerry Manuel has already stated that he wants the youngster to get as many at-bats as possible. On the days that Church finds himself on the pine, centerfielder Carlos Beltran better have his Wheaties for breakfast. Murphy is still learning the outfield and Sheffield, at this stage of his career, is going to bring back memories of Dave Kingman’s attempts at chasing down fly balls.

But the Mets were looking for offense when they inked Sheff, who will enter an elite group of power hitters with his next home run. 500 dingers is one of the marks that make the Hall of Fame enter conversations, but considering that Sheffield has admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs (although he maintained that he did not know what they were), that number may be tainted to some to allow his plaque to hang in Cooperstown.

Even if the voters overlook the steroid issue, Sheffield has not exactly been a choir boy throughout his tedious past. To name a few, he got into a shouting match with a Red Sox fan in Boston in 2005 and said that Joe Torre (his manager at the time with the Yankees) treated players differently because of their skin color.

The Mets are Sheffield’s eighth team and he hasn’t left all of them on the best of terms. He was nearly acquired on two separate occasions over the years by the Mets, but both deals fell through. His uncle is Dwight Gooden, who Sheffield referred to at his introductory press conference.

When asked why he chose to sign in New York, Sheffield replied without hesitation, “Because my uncle played here.”  He further stated that he would have been content staying home if no one contacted him after the Tigers let him go. The $14 million the team had to swallow was still coming to him either way, but Gooden made sure that his nephew wouldn’t get too cozy watching “The View” every day.

“He (Gooden) was trying to push me off the couch,” said Sheffield. “He kept reminding me I always said I wanted to play here.”

After 21 seasons, he may have little left in the tank. Last summer, he hit only .225 with 19 home runs and 57 RBI. His last productive season came with the Yankees in 2005 when he went .291/34/123.

Sheffield maintains that he will be content on being a pinch-hitter if that is asked of him and that his reason for coming here was to win another championship. That remains to be seen. If the team offense is floundering, Murphy is going through growing pains and Church remains a very pedestrian type of player, Sheffield will not be able to control himself. He knows how to play the New York media and will do so to get his message across.

Everyone is happy when the team is winning, but Sheffield would surprise no one is he started squawking about playing time during a winning streak.