Sandy Alderson has received accolades to date more for what everyone anticipates him doing versus actual accomplishments. The front office was able to find some gems this offseason that have paid off. Pedro Beato, Jason Isringhausen, Chris Capuano, and Ronny Paulino are all important contributors for less than $4 million dollars. That was the sandbox, now comes the deep end of the pool that will determine the Mets future. His first real test begins now as he figures out what to do with K-Rod, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran.

His ability to move K-Rod just days after the closer switched to Scott Boras is a real coup. Forget the two Players to Be Named Later from Milwaukee since they are insignificant. He is able to remove the 2012 albatross of K-Rod’s $17.5 million dollar vesting option from the payroll in exchange for paying the rest of his 2011 contract ($5 million dollars). Sending him to Milwaukee is apparently a surprise to both Rodriguez and Boras, who many thought was going to get heavily involved in any trade negotiations. There was word that K-Rod wanted a contract extension in exchange for setting up this year.

Alderson knew that time was running out on trading him. Teams need some wiggle room with his vesting option. Milwaukee won’t use him to close, but there are nights it might happen and they need that flexibility. With 21 games finished to play with they should be fine.

One big difference between Alderson’s Mets and the prior regime is the lack of leaks from the front office. Rarely was a secret kept when Minaya was in charge, but this year very few rumors have been bandied about regarding the Mets. Alderson keeps a tight lip. I heard that one of his assistants said they would prefer to release information to the press at the same time. They don’t want to play favorites with specific newspapers or reporters.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN talks about this deal began yesterday afternoon, yet nary a word was spoken. It caught the fans, media, and player by surprise.

Keeping things under wraps worked in his favor with this deal. He is now rid of K-Rod and the games Scott Boras was prepared to play

***

Giants closer Brian Wilson aka “The Beard” is becoming my least favorite player in the big leagues. I find his on the mound persona to be more shtick than natural. Say what you want about the departed K-Rod and his post game celebrations, but there was a real reason behind him pointing to the sky. With Wilson you get the sense he created “The Beard” so he can market himself in the next Charlie Sheen flick.

Last night, Wilson claims to have heard the Mets and Giants are talking about a deal for Carlos Beltran. It might be the first time a player has spread a trade rumor. Perhaps it’s just Wilson talking hopefully, but he was in the same All Star clubhouse with Beltran the last 48 hours.

Better question is why was Wilson on the All Star team anyway? He’s not having a great year as it’s filled with inconsistencies. His ERA+ of 118 is lower than the just traded Francisco Rodriguez, who no one was going to mistake for an All Star. Basically, it was a case of a manager picking his own guy that he’s comfortable with.

Hanging out with Charlie Sheen? The guy is an implosion waiting to happen. What will his shtick be then?

***

If the rumors of the Mets talking to San Francisco about Beltran are true, then it will present the next challenge for Terry Collins. He’s been able to keep this team focused on winning through all the injuries, but trading the closer is the first sign that management doesn’t believe they are true contenders. If Beltran is next, you are taking the guy who has been their “heart and soul” leader this first half out of the locker room. Perhaps you will see Ike Davis, David Wright, and Jose Reyes return to the club at the same time, but everyone has been lauding Beltran’s impact on this team.

Can Collins continue to get these Mets to play hard and compete nightly? For the rest of this year I think he can. Most of the guys in the room have something to prove, and can’t afford to shut it down at this point in their career. Unlike the last two seasons, where many were established veterans, a great deal of the roster is full of Triple-A call-ups that want to make their mark. That should help Collins continue to get maximum effort on a nightly basis. Is it enough to continue to play nine games over .500 (their record since the 5-13 start)? I am not sure there is enough talent to sustain that level of play. That is, unless Wright, Davis, and Reyes return in short order.

***

Tommy Dee of The Knicksblog had an interesting tweet about Nate Robinson. Apparently, the former Knicks guard sometimes plays softball up in White Plains. Tommy also talked about a great catch Nate made in the outfield.

Nate, if you are ever on Long Island the NYBD softball team needs a defensive minded outfielder to help our cause. Send me an email!

***

Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal said that Robinson Cano gave Jose Reyes “The Claw” during All Star Introductions last night.

***

Looks like the tax man is coming for the media’s “hero” Christian Lopez. Reports yesterday indicated the swag that Lopez was given for Jeter’s 3,000th hit ball will cost him between 5k and 13k. That is a lot of hours at the Verizon Store to pay that off. What Lopez doesn’t realize is the IRS will grant him an extension to pay, but with severe penalties and a ridiculous interest rate.

If the poor kid files for bankruptcy one day is he still a hero? Did he still do the right thing?

***

Steve Somers of WFAN took Derek Jeter to task for 4 hours during his show. This was in response to The Captain not showing up at the All Star Game. It appeared that many Yankees fans were upset about this as well. It was 50/50 response to whether Jeter should have gone to Arizona to get announced and honored.

Many pointed out this is not the first time that Jeter failed to do the right thing in recent memory. He also didn’t show up to Bob Sheppard’s funeral last year.

Funny, Jeter never seemed to do the wrong thing up until recently. What has changed? Could it be the movie star girlfriend?

By the way… I haven’t heard Somers that angry in years. It’s the most energy emanated from the Schmoozer in quite some time.

***

If A-Rod or Jose Reyes didn’t show up to the All Star Game after their 3,000th hit would they have gotten a pass? Highly unlikely.

***

Credit Dan Graziano of ESPN for taking Jeter to task on Twitter. He believes The Captain should have shown up to receive his accolades. He also doesn’t understand what Jeter has done for MLB. I agree. How is Jeter winning for the Yankees good for the rest of baseball? Do Mets fans feel good about him winning the 2000 World Series MVP? The opponents who gave up those 3,000 hits are better off?

Just more empty narratives by the Jeter loving mainstream media. I still am waiting for someone that covers the Yankees, or relies on the Yanks approving their press credentials to at least give both sides to the story. All I have read are rosy pro-Yankees stories. It’s very clear no one wants to go up against the team in this scenario.

***

Danny Knobler of CBS Sports said that Bud Selig “comes off great in person, terrible on TV and print.”

Remember, he was a used car salesman. That might explain it. I would just check my wallet after I was done with that interview.

***

Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts were debating home field advantage and the All Star Game. I personally hate the whole “this one counts” deal. They suggested the league use the All Star Game as a way to determine whether they use the Designated Hitter in the World Series. That actually might be a real advantage, since MLB teams don’t enjoy the same home field success like teams in the NBA. If the NL wins there is no DH. If the AL wins there is a DH for seven games. Imagine the Red Sox having to decide if they should play David Ortiz at first and Adrian Gonzalez in the outfield?  It’s not a terrible idea.

I still like the good old boring team with the best record determining home field idea.

***

Finally, Newsday’s Neil Best reports that NBC and Mike Francesa elected to cancel his Sunday night television show “Mike’d Up.”

Best claims Francesa’s ratings were generally strong, but Mike wanted to cut back to spend more time with his family.

I understand the spending time with family part, but don’t be fooled. Francesa has been mailing in that show for a while and I suspect the NBC suits knew it. They were probably paying him big dough to work half the time. They wanted Mike’d Up, not Bruce’d Up (for his sub Bruce Beck).

I think we will be hearing more about Francesa “cutting back” in the near future. Did you notice how the CBS suits made him do an NBA Draft show and Subway Series weekend show? Believe me, that wasn’t Mike’s idea. They are paying him big bucks (reportedly $5 million a year) and want their big name host at the big events, not on summer vacation. Unfortunately, Mike is stale and the NBA show should have been hosted by Evan Roberts. The Subway Series show probably could have used Roberts’s energy as well.

Right now, Mike is in the sunset of his career. If I am WFAN I cut him back during the week and make his staple show the NFL on Sunday. I think he still has enough energy to come to work for three hours on Sunday morning.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

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Tags: Adam Rubin, Brian Costa, Brian Wilson, Bruce Beck, Carlos Beltran, Charlie Sheen, Christian Lopez, Dan Graziano, Danny Knobler, Derek Jeter, ESPN, Francisco Rodriguez, Ike Davis, Jose Reyes, K-Rod, Mike Francesa, Mike'd Up, Milwaukee Brewers, Nate Robinson, NBC, New York Knicks, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Robinson Cano, San Francisco Giants, Sandy Alderson, Scott Boras, Steve Somers, Terry Collins, The Claw, Wall Street Journal, WFAN