In a recent chat with Padres fans, reporter Bill Center of the San Diego Tribune says Heath Bell is seeking a three year contract.

Last month, Sandy Alderson suggested that next year’s closer is not currently on the roster and intimated to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York he isn’t averse to signing a big ticket closer although according to Mike Puma of the New York Post, while Alderson recognizes the need for a reliable closer, Alderson recently said he would like “options” in the bullpen, saying:

“I think [the closer] is a spot where a team has to have some confidence that those saves are going to be converted, routinely and at a certain level. … [Bullpens] can be unpredictable. But one has to account for that unpredictability, which means you have to have lots of options. … You have to have players that can go to Triple-A and come back. But you also have to hit on two or three guys that can be effective for you.”

Michael Baron: I wouldn’t expect Alderson to sign a closer, even one as good as Bell, to a lucrative, long term contract. Only in rare circumstances have such signings worked out, and it’s hard to sustain success in the late innings when a lot of the resources are committed to one guy. Rather, I’d like to see the Mets build and acquire quality options, piece the bullpen together, develop a chemistry and ultimately have a closer emerge among those options (like the Rangers, Rays, among others). Such a scenario allows for flexibility should one or more reliever struggle and would allow for Sandy to retool the bullpen during the season, something which he really couldn’t do this year.

I could see the Mets in the market for guys like Brad Lidge and Jonathan Broxton; guys who might be looking to re-establish their footing in the league who have a high upside, but come with baggage. These guys will likely come at a lower price both in dollars and years than someone like Bell or Francisco Rodriguez and can have equal output and reliability, should they remain healthy.

In a report for ESPN, Jayson Stark says Lidge would consider a setup role with a new team next season.

For a list of potential free-agent closers, click here.

During last night’s broadcast on SNY, Sandy Alderson said it’s possible the organization could make significant changes to the outfield wall in Citi Field.

“I think it’s conceivable that we’ll see some changes in Citi Field, but no final decisions have been made,” he said. “I think if we do something, it’s not likely to be subtle.”

According to Alderson, the team is likely to make a final decision in October.

Alderson later talked with reporters after the game and said any change would almost certainly involve the left field wall, where only eight home runs have ever been hit by left-handed hitters.

“We’re not looking for an advantage with respect to home runs versus visitors’ home runs,” Alderson said, according to ESPN New York. “At the same time, I think there is some sense that the park is a little more overwhelming to a team that spends half its time there as opposed to a team that comes in for three games and doesn’t really have to alter an approach or think about it too much and leaves.”

Last month, Jeff Bradley of the Star-Ledger said a high-ranking team official told him it’s pretty certain some alterations will be made.

“It’s very difficult to play here if you’re an offensive player,” Terry Collins told Bradley. “If there are some adjustments made, I think that would help.”

Matthew Cerrone: As I’ve said before, and as he alludes to in this quote from Rubin, the buzz has long been that Sandy prefers the ballpark to be ‘neutral,’ not a hitter’s park, not a pitcher’s park. Since last March, I had been hearing the team was considering 1) lowering left field, and 2) rounding out right field… so, perhaps these are the significant adjustments being talked hinted at.

By the way, also in his interview on air with SNY last night, Alderson said, as of right now, next year’s closer is not in the organization. In addition, he said his first order of business at the end of the season is to address the situation with Jose Reyes; and he expects the starting rotation to be similar to what it is now going into next season, basically saying pitchers like Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese need to ‘grow as players’.

The New York Mets (73-81) were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals (85-69) tonight by a score of 11-6.

For a complete box score and game recap, check out SNY.TV.

The Least You Should Know:

• Mike Pelfrey threw six innings and allowed five runs on ten hits, while striking out two.
• Angel Pagan went 3 for 4 with a run scored and a bases loaded walk that drove in a run.
• Jose Reyes was 1 for 4 with two walks and two runs scored. He is now batting .331 in his race for the batting title.
• The Mets let leads of 4-0 and 6-5 slip away.
• The Cardinals brought 10 men to the plate as a part of their six-run seventh inning.

Brian Erni: I found Sandy Alderson’s assertion on the telecast tonight that the Mets’ 2012 closer in not in the organization to be very intriguing and, quite frankly, a relief. Like Sandy said earlier in the day, constantly squandering leads can have a negative impact on a club. Quite frankly, I feel it even as a fan. Watching the offense take leads tonight only to watch the staff give it back was exhausting. Whether it was Pelfrey giving back two advantages early or the Cardinals mounting their go-ahead rally in the seventh after having two outs and nobody on, something has to give for next year and beyond.

I think Pagan is the position player in the biggest need of a strong finish. With arbitration eligibility looming and the wounds of some lackadaisical play on the last home stand still fresh, Angel would probably benefit from more nights at the plate like tonight.

Despite the pitching staff’s struggles, the Mets did have a window of opportunity to bust the game open. The biggest out of the night came from former Met Octavio Dotel, who froze David Wright on a 2-2 curveball with the bases loaded to end a New York threat in the top of the seventh after they had taken a 6-5 lead.

Frankly, what’s left to say? Tonight’s loss was the Mets’ 81st of the year, ensuring what has been a foregone conclusion for the better part of the past month and a half: they will not finish with a winning record in 2011. Additionally, this loss drops them two games behind the Nationals for third place in the NL East. If there is something to take solace in, it’s that in a month or so, the slate gets wiped clean and everyone will start 0-0 in April. Unfortunately, there’s a long winter to come between now and then.

Lincoln Post Game Extra:

Up Next:

Chris Schwinden (0-2, 5.40 ERA) will take the hill in the middle game of the series tomorrow night. Jamie Garcia (12-7, 3.59 ERA) will get the nod for the Cardinals. Game time is 8:15 PM.

Tonight at Busch Stadium, the Mets will begin a three game series against the Cardinals. Game time is 8:15 PM.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

This afternoon at Busch Stadium, Jason Isringhausen told reporters he was not feeling any pain in his back, but still feels numbness in his right leg, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

According to Rubin, Izzy basically said:

• His calf and foot are still numb, but are getting better each day.
• He does not believe he will need off-season surgery
• He still wants to pitch in 2012

In addition, Isringhausen stated he hopes to throw a bullpen session at some point during the three-game series in St.Louis with the hopes of pitching during the clubs final home stand next week.

According to Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger, Terry Collins said Manny Acosta is the closer for tonight’s series opener versus the Cardinals.

Original Post, 4:37 pm

Jason Bay is sick and so he is Not in tonight’s starting lineup:

According to David Lennon in a report for Newsday, ‘Jose Reyes and Ruben Tejada have developed a mentor-pupil type relationship,’ especially now that they share the same agent.

“I used to be 150 pounds (at his age),” Reyes said, according to Lennon, in regards to Tejada. “Now I’m about 200. He’s going to do more growing, and as you get older, you learn what you have to do to stay strong for a whole season.”

Tejada can ‘hold it down,’ but I still don’t see him as an every-day starting shortstop or second baseman. To me (and I know I’ve said this a million times before), he’s still a Maicer Izturis type, who gets 400 or so at bats, filling in and starting at two or three different positions, while hitting mostly singles and batting around .280, putting the ball in play and always hustling. Yes, there will be times when he gets hot and we think he’s a starter, but then there will be slumps when he looks weak and over matched and we think he should be back on the bench. He’s a very good, instinctual baseball player (who fills a specific role, and who should be on the team), but I am not yet sold on him being an every-day solution to a winning team.

Since July 15, Tejada is batting .299 with a .361 OBP, 11 extra base hits, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored in 160 plate appearances spanning 40 games.

“The focus is still on retaining Jose (Reyes),” Sandy Alderson told Lennon. “But as with any situation that’s open-ended, you have to keep alternatives in mind.”

To read Lennon’s report on Tejada and Reyes, during which he also talks with Terry Collins about Tejada’s development, click here.

To read more about Tejada, check out Brendon Prutney’s article for the Star-Ledger.

In an excellent report for the New York Times, beat writer Andrew Keh looks in to David Wright’s difficult 2011 season.

“I think (Citi Field) gets in his head,” Chipper Jones told Keh, in regards to Wright. “At Shea, he could go opposite field at will, and that assured he could hit from foul line to foul line. … I think the world of David, and I think he’s the total package, the kind of player and the kind of person you want to build an organization around. It’s hard to replace three-hole hitters. It takes a special breed.”

Keh talked with an anonymous scout who made a similar comment, ‘pointing out that Wright’s natural swing was to right-center field and that right-center field was a “graveyard” at Citi Field.’

Matthew Cerrone: There has been a lot of online talk about whether the Mets should consider trading Wright. Personally, I’m open to trading any one at any time, so long as the deal makes the Mets better. However, I reject the popular, rhetorical metaphors that state, ‘You have to step back to step forward,’ or, ‘The Mets can’t move forward with Wright.’ I think that if the Mets get better players at other positions, the team will win; you and I will spend far less time talking about him; and Wright will be just fine (as he is more than capable of returning to the player he was in 2007 and 2008).

Yes, he’s had a rough go of it lately, be it because he’s getting older, or because of back-to-back collapses, the team’s off-field circus, getting drilled with a fastball, adjusting to three different managers, missing time with a back issue, the rise of the Phillies or dealing with Citi Field’s dimensions. These are not excuses necessarily, but his statistics need to be looked at in a proper chaotic context.

The thing is, teams will see him as under contract for only one more season (because he can void his $16 million option for 2013); and so I bet the Mets get far less back in a deal for him than fans expect (especially since the league is putting such a premium on young talent these days).

I’d keep Wright, not just because of the weak trade market, but because I know he can be better than this (and I know he loves this team, New York and can handle the pressure). In fact, I’d look to sign him to an extension this winter so to better budget for upcoming seasons. However, in reading comments here, in my e-mail and on Facebook and Twitter, I sense there are LOTS of people who disagree.

To read Keh’s article about Wright for the New York Times, during which he speaks to the third baseman, as well as Terry Collins and others, click here.

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York says, ‘Sandy Alderson is by no means in lockstep with the “Moneyball”-espoused closers-are-overpriced mantra’

According to Rubin, Alderson does not dismiss signing a big-ticket closer.

“It just really depends how we allocate our resources otherwise,” he is quoted as saying, by Rubin. “I think it has a real impact on not just team success, but also team outlook, team attitude, team confidence. Blown saves from time to time are part of the game, but blowing them at an inordinate rate can have, I think, a real negative impact on a team. So it needs to be a point of concentration for us.”

To read Rubin’s entire post, with other quotes from Alderson about bullpens, click here.

Original Post at 8:58 am:

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, Sandy Alderson is not yet convinced he currently has an in-house solution to be the team’s closer in 2012.

In Puma’s opinion, “If Alderson had money to spend this winter, he might take a serious look at potential free agents such as Heath Bell, Jonathan Broxton and Jonathan Papelbon.”

“It can be unpredictable,” Alderson said, according to Puma, in regards to building a bullpen. “But one has to account for that unpredictability, which means you have to have lots of options. You have to have flexibility. You have to have players that can go to Triple-A and come back. But you also have to hit on two or three guys that can be effective for you.”

Matthew Cerrone: Actually, I’m willing to bet (even if he had more money to spend) he probably wouldn’t give long-term contract to Bell or Papelbon; because he certainly knows that, historically, there are very few cases where it makes sense to commit long-term to any one reliever, let alone give close to $10 million and many years to a guy who (because of his contract and experience) ends up only being used 65 times a year in one role.

Instead, I like the Options Model, which is to bring in as many arms (some on big-league deals, most on minor-league deals) and, between them and minor leaguers, piece the bullpen together throughout the season … much like the Rockies do, much like the Padres do, year after year after year. In the Padres case, Bell emerged to be dominant, but while earning very little money; so, if he ever became a bust, San Diego would never be bogged down. That’s the ideal scenario, and the one every team should be seeking in regards to their closer. Hopefully the days of signing a mercenary closers are over for the Mets (as it should be for most teams).

By the way, money or no money, I am not sure any team should be giving big bucks and years to Broxton, who is injured and who has been off his game for years.

To read Puma’s story for The Post on Alderson and the bullpen, click here.

Hat tip to Kerel Cooper from On the Black for the link.