Every Mets fans knows this has not been an amazing season, so a little reminiscing and offering appreciation was a welcome addition for fans who were around when that team overcame all obstacles. “The Miracle Mets” as they were known, and two Hall of Fame pitchers Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan got the loudest ovations in pre game ceremonies.

“Awesome tribute and also important that players of this era see these type of players,” commented Mets manager Jerry Manuel after his team lost another ballgame, 4-1 to the first place Phillies.

That magic of 1969, when it seemed every pitch and hit went their way in the month of August unfortunately would not follow for the August 2009 Mets.

Starter Tim Redding was not expected to throw more than 70 pitches.  He is now in the back end of a rotation because Livan Hernandez was released earlier this week. Redding, who was 3-1 against the Phillies in his last seven starts dating back to April 2, 2008, in his five shutout innings of work at one point resembled Gary Gentry, one of those Miracle Mets then who was in the back end of the rotation put together by .anager Gil Hodges.

“I was taxed,” said Redding. “I haven’t thrown more than 50 pitches in a month.” He threw 81 pitches and did his best to keep his team in the ballgame. Redding was lifted and for the second time this season Manuel used seven pitchers in a game.

“Could I have gone one more?” asked Redding. “Probably,” he said, also adding it may or may not have been the right choice. But that has been the story of the 2009 Mets. Decisions with an inconsistent pitching staff, and a make ship lineup that Manuel puts on the field, are more difficult than the ones that Hodges made during that miracle championship season.

Redding, perhaps had a solid and limited outing after talking to Ryan prior to throwing his first pitch. “He said go after them and relax and I did,” commented Redding about his brief talk with Ryan who is the current president of the Texas Rangers. Redding (1-4) did not figure in the decision and would limit the Phillies to 1- hit, striking out four.

Omir Santos extended his hitting streak to five games with an RBI single in the second inning, Angle Pagan went 2-for-4 and Daniel Murphy with a hit extended his hitting streak to eight games. That was the extent of it for the Mets at the plate on an evening of nostalgia that went for another loss.

MORE METS:  Outside the press VIP area after the game, Jerry Koosman, an instrumental pitcher during that 1969 season patiently signed autographs for fans. “What made us so good was the chemistry we had and Gil (Hodges) the manager,” he said.  Koosman now retired in Osceloa Wisconsin offered his views about the current state of this Mets team and the fans.

“Every team will have their struggles,” he said.  “The thing is, we went a season without major injuries and had the guys who could do it, the unexpected.  These fans are the best in baseball and they were a part of the championship as much as we were. Look at this 40 years later, and we are still remembered and in time I am sure the same will happen again here…”

Pedro Martinez will be on the mound for Philadelphia Sunday afternoon in the third game of the four game series that concludes Monday afternoon. Martinez makes his third start since being signed by the Phillies opposing (3-3) Oliver Perez of the Mets. It will be interesting to see how the Citi Field fans will react to Pedro pitching in another uniform.

’They’re going to get a chance to see me as a different way, healthier,” said Martinez.  The Mets decided to not offer him a contract after sitting out most of last season with Rotator cuff surgery to his pitching arm. After pitching well for the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic, he hoped to get another contract offer from the Mets that never came.

Does he hold any animosity towards the Mets organization for not giving him a call?  “Some teams showed interest after the classic,” he said, “Just didn’t think the Mets wanted to do it and they didn’t.  Though Martinez did say that waiting for the Mets to give him a call “cost me half a season” and the biggest motivation to coming back was his health.

“They didn’t feel they could trust how healthy I was and how I was feeling,” said Martinez who will have the awkward feeling of starting against his former team. The last time he faced the Mets, Martinez was with Boston and pitched seven innings and did not figure in the decision on July 13, 2000.

As for his start Sunday Martinez said, “Since I came over to the Phillies I said I would enjoy every single moment in baseball. Someone who respects the game and enjoys what he does.”  He hopes the fans can understand this is business and will appreciate what he did during his tenure in New York.

“I enjoyed every moment I was here and have great memories,’ he said.  And if Pedro pitches like he did in his debut with the Phillies on August 12^th, five innings and getting the win, well Mets fans will have to wonder. Why didn’t he get at least a one-year deal?

e-mail Rich Mancuso:  Ring786@aol.com

But Redding is a realist and knows returning to this club after his one year, $2.25 million contract expires after this season is suspect at best, so the next six or so starts are a tryout, not just for the Mets, but the rest of baseball as well.

“I don’t want to say this season is cashed in, but a lot of guys will get an opportunity to see if they get brought back,” said Redding who is now 1-6 with a 6.10 ERA on the season. “I would love to be back where I can play with the team that’s 100 percent healthy for all 162.

“But that remains to be seen and if these next six weeks are an audition so be it. I am just going out there trying to do what I did tonight and however long it lasts.”

The great performance tonight doesn’t exonerate Redding for his poor pitching up to this point. In fact, other than Bernie Madoff, no one has stolen more money this season than this tomato can.

For most of the year, he has been a batting practice pitcher, putting the ball down the middle of the plate and then turning his head as it screamed out of Citi Field. He pitched flat, with no sign of improving until the Mets moved in to the bullpen after his 5-run, 2.1 inning performance against Pittsburgh back on July 2nd.

But the ‘pen did something to the 31 year-old. Instead of continuing on down the road to oblivion, Redding improved because of he was able to get ready to pitch a lot quicker.

“Sometimes as a starter you try to be too fine too early,” he said. “What the bullpen allowed me to do is get ready quickly and not worry about it. Sometimes I gave up runs where I pitched well and there were times I gave up runs when the ball was right down the middle on a tee.

“But I found out I have four pitches to throw and I have all four. The situation I was in was for one inning and now that I am back as a starter wherever I might be, I have the confidence that I can throw four pitches as a starter.”

It remains to be seen if this fringe pitcher is in the Mets plans for next year. In fact, the Redding decision is down on the list. After all, they have to make a decision on the general manager, manager, catcher, first baseman, setup man and even Gary Sheffield before the Mets figure out what to do about their barely hanging on fifth starter, who was a Fernando Nieve injury reprieve away from being released.

Yet, for one night, Redding pitched up to his contract and if he can do it over his next six or so starts, he may figure his way back in the Mets plans.

If not, maybe another team will take him.

And Redding, being a smart man, know this.

It wasn’t there for Figueroa from the beginning as the Arizona Diamondbacks scored three runs in the first and second innings, good enough, for a 6-5 win taking three of four games from the Mets at Citi Field.  Figueroa would face 15 batters, lifted after an inning and a third giving up the six runs on 10 hits.

“Hopefully I will be a better pitcher from this,” commented Figueroa afterwards in a quiet Mets clubhouse.  The Mets have lost four of their last five, and at 50-55 moved further from the wildcard pact of seven other teams, now eight games from the top.  More and more, as this current home stand progresses, it appears the Mets may have to focus on next year.

There were some good things though coming out of another loss.  The Mets fought back, this after Mark Reynolds hit two more home runs, his 31^st and 32^nd of the season off Figueroa in the first and second innings. They managed to get to Arizona starter and winner Dan Haren (11-6) for their five runs in Haren’s seven innings of pitching. Daniel Murphy hit his seventh home run of the season off Haren in the sixth.

Reynolds was 5-for 12 in the series and all of his hits went for extra bases. His trip to Citi Field included four home runs and five runs batted in. “It’s a big park but I just happened to hit four of the longest ones I’ve hit here,” said Reynolds about his home runs.

The Mets bullpen was superb, about the only good coming out of another bad pitching performance from Figueroa. After he was lifted, Tim Redding, Bobby Parnell, Pedro Feliciano and Brian Stokes pitched seven innings of scoreless ball on three hits.  So even with another loss, and seeing his team moving further away from contention, Mets manager Jerry Manuel looked at some of the positives.

“You continue to fight and you’re going to win a game like that,” said Manuel when asked if this loss was more satisfying than losing an 8-0 game. In other words, Manuel saw the resiliency that has been a part of this Mets season with the bulk of his lineup out with injuries.

Even at this juncture, the imminent returns of Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran to the lineup will have to be played with caution.  The Mets made no moves prior to the trading deadline last week, and with the dog days of August here, there may not be any reason to worry about another September collapse this time.

Figueroa had nothing from the beginning. The Diamondbacks, who are almost next to last in every offensive category, and next to last in the NL West, hit everything that came their way in that first inning.

“It’s unfortunate,” explained Figueroa about his brief outing. “The timing, it’s not April coming here and not giving them what they wanted.” The timing for the Mets to shave that facial hair is slipping away, so is any immediate possibility of offering some type of pennant race for their fans.  St. Louis comes to town Tuesday evening for a brief two game series that concludes Wednesday afternoon.

Johan Santana (12-5) opens the series and will try and once again to give the Mets a win after another loss. The Cardinals will throw Joel Pineiro (9-9), who threw a complete game shutout against the Mets at Citi Field back on June 23^rd.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

One quiet competition taking place is for the number five slot in the starting rotation. Not exactly the star-studded drama going on in Tampa, but during a 162-game schedule a bevy of arms is necessary.

As it currently stands, there are eight possibilities that will be widdled down during the exhibition schedule. Six veterans and two youngsters make up that octuplet and leaves the organization a margin of error and instant fill-ins in case of ineffectiveness or injury.

The pitchers making manager Jerry Manuel’s decision as difficult as they can are as follows, in no particular order:

1-    Tim Redding – The eight-year veteran has not had a winning season since his rookie campaign with the Houston Astros in 2001, but threw 182 innings and won 10 games for the lowly Washington Nationals last summer.

2-    Jonathan Niese – A 22-year old southpaw, Neise had a cup of coffee in Flushing last year and went 1-1 with a 7.07 ERA in three starts. Will probably be better off with more seasoning at Triple-A.

3-    Bobby Parnell – Saw brief action in the big leagues in 2008 and pitched five relief innings in six games. Another candidate for more minor league action.

4-    Tony Armas, Jr. – Once part of the trade that sent Pedro Martinez from Montreal to Boston, the son of the former outfielder has never lived up to his potential. A career mark of 53-65 with a 4.65 ERA makes him mediocre at best and he is returning to the Mets after winning his only start last year.

5-    Elmer Dessens – Entering his sixteenth big league season, Dessens’ best year came in Cincinnati in 2000 when he went 11-5. Used mostly in relief the past few years, the Mets are hoping they can catch lightning in a bottle with him.

6-    Casey Fossum – Once a big time prospect, the lefthander has bounced around to four different teams since then, most recently the Detroit Tigers where he went 3-1 last year.

7-    Freddy Garcia – Perhaps the candidate with the most upside, Garcia will be a steal if he can recover from his shoulder injury. He has won in double-digits six times in his career and has been an ace of both the Mariners and White Sox staffs.

8-    Livan Hernandez – El Duque’s half-brother is now a Met, with the club giving him a minor league contract. Regardless, the MVP of the 1997 World Series can eat up innings as easy as he does large meals. A rubber arm is an understatement with him with his 255 innings average over a 16-year career.

Because there are so many question marks surrounding all of these men, it may be a good idea to hang on to more than one as Plan B. Only Redding, Niese and Parnell are on the 40-man roster, so there is much to gain and little to lose by stockpiling pitchers. That has been Minaya’s mantra over the years and this looks like a good time to continue that trend.

Redding or Hernandez will probably the most consistent, but a healthy Garcia can make a difference. Niese and Parnell should begin the season in the minors and the other candidates will probably start falling after a rough outing or two.

Considering the way the last two Mets seasons ended with gut-wrenching collapses, a good stock of experienced pitchers to go to, especially in September, can make a difference when it counts.

The half brother of former Mets Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez was a combined 13-11 with a 6.05 ERA in 31 starts for Minnesota and Colorado last season. In 180.0 innings, he allowed 257 hits, 129 runs, 121 earned, with 43 walks and 67 strikeouts.

He began the year with the Twins and posted a 10-8 record with a 5.48 ERA in 23 starts and gave up 199 hits, 93 runs, 85 earned, with 29 walks and 54 strikeouts over 139.2 innings of work.  Hernandez was designated for assignment on August 1^st and was claimed off waivers by Colorado on August 6^th.  For the Rockies he was 3-3 with an 8.03 ERA in eight starts…In 40.1 innings, he permitted 58 hits, 36 runs, earned, with 14 walks and 13 strikeouts.

Hernandez will compete with Freddy Garcia, rookie Jon Niese, and Tim Redding for the No. 5 slot in the rotation.

The warm sun of Port St. Lucie has made its way back to New York today, as the Mets go through their first workouts of the year. It will be a very different Spring Training with many notable names leaving in a few weeks for the World Baseball Classic, while manager Jerry Manuel goes through his first camp, trying to establish a work ethic for his club.

So as they open up, the Mets will look to keep their eye on a number of issues and have a few questions to be answered.

Will Johan Santana be healthy enough for Opening Day?

A healthy Santana is the most important issue for the Mets. Recovering from off-season knee surgery, the Mets’ ace already is skipping the WBC and will be working towards an opening day start.

Look for Manuel to treat Santana with kid gloves. He will get his work in, but the club doesn’t want to put him in a position where he misses time during Spring Training. That said, he says he will be ready for the start of the season, who why not believe him?

Who will be the No. 5 starter?

Tim Redding has gone on record saying he expects to be the No. 5 guy, while Jon Niese may have something to say about that.

The real question is the health of Freddy Garcia. If the former ace of the Mariners and White Sox, can prove himself healthy, he may nail down the one open slot in the rotation with Redding going to the bullpen. And that may be the best bet for the club, because if Redding goes to relief, he will get plenty of work in April as Santana and Garcia go five innings apiece.

But if Garcia is not ready, Redding will probably go to the rotation.

Niese will probably start the year at Buffalo and be called up when the Mets need a starter.

How will the WBC affect Manuel’s camp?

Manuel went on record saying he wants to stress fundamentals, which is nice for the players who will be in Port St. Lucie for the whole time. But with half the lineup in the WBC, it will be tough for Manuel to make his mark on those in the tournament.

Yet, they are all veterans anyway and the word probably won’t get through. So continue to expect to see Carlos Beltran bunt with a man on and two-outs, Carlos Delgado  pull the ball right into the shift, David Wright occasionally airmail a ball to first, and Jose Reyes run the team out of a few innings this season.

Just remember though, the last time the WBC was played, the Mets ran away with the division, so this may not be a bad thing.

Are they really going to start the year with Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis in left?

It looks that way. Barring Manny Ramirez coming to the club and taking the league minimum, the Mets will have Murphy in against righties and Tatis will play against the lefties.

This is not a bad thing, per se. The Mets have Fernando Martinez in the minors and if he is healthy, he can come up if one fails, but Murphy played well in 2008 as did Tatis, so giving them another shot is warranted.

Is the bullpen set?

As of right now, K-Rod, J.J. Putz, Pedro Feliciano, Duaner Sanchez and Sean Green have spots in the bullpen, so there is a spot or two open.

The Mets may sign Will Ohman and ideally they would want to have another lefty out there. But they will take the best guy available. That means if Brian Stokes has a good spring, he will probably get a shot. Bobby Parnell is also in the mix.

Nelson Figueroa could be the long man if Redding makes the rotation.

Perez will take his high wire act to Citi Field (Bill Menzel/NYSD)

One year and one day ago the Mets announced the trade and signing of Johan Santana, giving them a legit ace for the first time and a long time.

This year, the team inked the other lefty in the rotation as the Mets signed Oliver Perez for three-years, $36 million.

Much like Santana, general manager Omar Minaya was willing to play the waiting game, especially after seeing an ice cold free agent market. Instead of bidding against themselves – a classic Scott Boras tactic – Minaya stood fast until Perez was willing to take the Mets offer.

Of course, that didn’t stop the Mets from looking at other options like Derek Lowe, who proved to be too expensive, and Randy Wolf, Ben Sheets, and Jon Garland, if Perez went elsewhere.

Although some in the Mets organization preferred Lowe, Minaya’s first choice was the 27 year-old lefty who went 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA last season.

He now joins a staff with Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and either newly signed Tim Redding, rehabbing free agent Freddy Garcia, or rookie Jon Niese.  Former ace, Pedro Martinez seems to now be off the radar.

The move also means the Mets may not be able to afford signing a high ticket outfielder like Manny Ramirez or Bobby Abreu, both of whom would have been on the radar if the Mets couldn’t re-up Perez.

Freddy Garcia hopes to regain form at Citi Field

Although he won’t solve the Mets search for a No. 2 starters, Freddy Garcia may help the club in 2009.

Inking the righthander to a minor league deal, the Mets hope the former All-Star has recovered from labrum surgery that he had on his right shoulder in Aug. 2007. The injury and recover limited the Garcia to only 16 games in the past two seasons.

“He’s a big game pitcher who has had great success in the postseason and we feel has a good opportunity to contribute to our success this year,” said Mets general manager Omar Minaya.

If Garcia makes a comeback, the Mets may have something here. The 32 year-old went 17-9 with a 4.53 ERA in 33 starts for the Chicago White Sox in 2006. And in Chicago’s World Series year, he compiled a 14-8 record with a 3.87 ERA. The righthander went 3-0 in that postseason and hurled 7.0 shutout innings in Game Four to earn the victory and complete the four-game sweep over the Houston Astros.  Overall, Garcia is 6-2 in nine postseason starts.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to pitch in New York,” said Garcia, who was 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in four games with the Tigers after signing last August.  ”Nothing would make me happier than to pitch in the same rotation with my friend and fellow countryman, Johan Santana, and help win a championship with the Mets.”

A two-time All-Star (2001, 2002), Garcia has won 10 or more games seven times in his career, including six straight years from 2001-2006.  He went 17-8 with Seattle in 1999, 18-6 with an American League leading 3.05 ERA in 2001, and was 16-10 with the Mariners in 2002.

From 2001-2006, he was one of four pitchers in the majors to win at least 10 games, start 30 or more games and pitch 200 or more innings.

Overall, Garcia is 118-77 with the Mariners, White Sox, Phillies, and Tigers.

He is expected to challenge newly signed Tim Redding and rookie Jon Niese for the No. 5 slot in the rotation.

Omar Minaya did the smart moves this winter says NYSD's Joe Pietaro.

They were able to do that with their new closer, Francisco Rodriguez, who was hoping for a five-year, $75-million deal while he was setting the single season save record last summer with 62 for the American League West champion Los Angels. Mets general manager Omar Minaya made a low-ball offer at the winter meetings and they ended up signing K-Rod for three years and $37 million. After trading for J.J. Putz, the bullpen was solidified and Minaya turned his attention to the starting pitching.

With a solid top three in Johan Santana, John Maine and Mike Pelfrey, the Mets are looking to add one or two arms and already have picked up Tim Redding as an insurance policy. The righthander, who was signed for one year at $2.25 million, pitched a career-high 182 innings for the Washington Nationals and was very effective against Philadelphia, the Mets’ top rival.

“I can’t explain why I have success against one of the elite teams,” Redding told reporters about his 3-1, 3.41 ERA in five starts versus the 2008 World Series champions. Regardless of why, the Mets certainly hope that Redding can duplicate that feat for them this season.

With Derek Lowe signing with Atlanta, the Mets’ options were cut by one. Minaya made a significant offer to the former Dodger ($12 million per year for a three-year deal), but the Scott Boras client held out and ended up going to the Braves for an extra year and $60-million. That is way too much and a bit long for a 35-year-old pitcher, but the Braves were scrambling after John Smoltz bolted as a free agent for Boston. Minaya was correct in not budging from his offer to Lowe, which was more than fair.

That leaves a few names still out there, mainly Oliver Perez, Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf and John Garland. According to a report on the MLB Network, the Mets have made an offer to Perez to come back to them for three years and $30 million. The lefthander went 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA in 2008, not sparkling numbers by any stretch, but good for a middle of the rotation guy. With that in mind, that type of person needs to be paid as such, and not receive front of the rotation money.

Some can make the argument that if Perez returns, he can be considered the number two or three starter. When he is on, he looks like the second coming of Ron Guidry. But the erratic Perez has some days where he can’t find the plate and looks more like Rick Ankiel (not the outfielder version).

There is also some chatter that Minaya may bring back Pedro Martinez on an incentive-laden one-year deal. That may intrigue some people and it definitely has more upside. The problem will be if Martinez appears to not have it anymore, do you banish him to the bullpen as a mop-up man or release him?

It is obvious than an upgrade is needed in the Mets rotation and Minaya should not deviate from what he has done so far. Dealing with agents such as Boras is definitely not easy, and by keeping on his poker face, Minaya has come up aces up to now.

They may have done that in the Bronx, as well, but paid dearly for it.

Sure, in one 36 hour period during the Winter Meetings, the team totally revamped the bullpen, but unless Tim Redding excites you, the winter has been a giant yawn.

Perez needs to take his high wire act to Citi Field (Bill Menzel/NYSD)

Continuing with their methodic approach, the Mets are taking their time in signing their No. 2 starter for the year. Do they take back the sometimes brilliant, sometimes erratic Oliver Perez or go with the much older, yet more consistent Derek Lowe?

Although Lowe is a more accomplished pitcher, the Mets should just go out and re-sign the 27 year-old Mexican lefty. Yes, he can be frustrating, but Perez will give more value to the organization as the Mets ride out a three or four year deal.

It’s just simple logic. If the Mets pay Lowe $14 to $15 million a year, they will be rewarding him for past performances rather than future returns. A 36 year-old in June, Lowe will have a natural decline in his production just based on the age factor.

We have seen this before. As Al Leiter progressed into his late 30s, his cutter started stopped tying up batters and caught more of the plate. Tom Glavine pitched OK when he was in Queens, but just wasn’t the same Hall of Famer the Mets expected when they signed him at age 37.

Still not convinced? Then look at the last two seasons, where Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner lost a year each due to injuries.

Now the Mets want to sign another over-35 pitcher. Sure, Lowe could be the exception the rule and his sinker could keep on dropping until the age of 40. Remember, he is a big man and pitched in relief until the age of 29. But it’s more likely his out pitch with start staying up in the zone, which could cause havoc later in his contract.

Perez is no slam dunk, though, but the slam dunks signed in the Bronx a month ago. Yes, he can he erratic and frustrating at times, as he looks like a world beater one inning and a batting practice pitcher the next. But in the absence of any true aces on the market, Perez is the Mets best bet.

First and foremost, he is a big game player.

Last season, the lefty rose to the occasion versus the Mets biggest rivals. Against the Yankees in 2008, Perez went 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA and in six starts versus the Marlins, he was 3-0 with a 2.23 ERA. Yet his most impressive numbers came in game where the Phillies opposed him. In 26 innings last season, the lefthander allowed one earned run to Philadelphia – a Jayson Werth homer in July. That’s a 0.35 ERA for those scoring at home.

And remember, with a better bullpen, the lefty won’t have to stretch himself out, but rather he can worry about the game in front of him, which will only make him a better pitcher in the long run.

Plus at age 28, there’s a possibility Perez will improve. At the very least, the Mets will be getting what they paid for because he is a pitcher in his prime, and will be a very safe bet for three to four seasons.

So if the Mets want to stay in this sweepstakes just to bid the Braves, Brewers, or Phillies up on Lowe, so be it. But at the end of the day, they need to realize the team’s long term best bet is to re-sign Oliver Perez.