From Friday’s NY Post :

ESPN reported that former Mets pitcher Sid Fernandez was named in the Kirk Radomski affidavit that was unsealed in Central Islip yesterday.

The story says, “According to the affidavit, obtained exclusively by ESPN, the former Mets clubhouse attendant received a $3,500 check from former New York Mets All-Star Sid Fernandez, written in February 2005, six years after Fernandez last tried to pitch professionally.”
Radomski was a key source of information in the Mitchell Report on steroids released last Thursday. The newly released file does not specify what Fernandez’s check was for.

Since leaving baseball after given a minor league contract by the Yankees in 2001, Fernandez had played in celebrity golf events.

Much as I love all the dirt being kicked up, there are all sorts of reasons why Sid Fernandez would cut a check for $3500 that have nothing to do with steroids.

On another clubhouse tip, what exactly is Jon Heyman implying about Radomski and Mike Piazza?

Flushing University’s Matt Himelfarb dragged the following astute observations out of the New York Sun’s Tim Marchman :

You wrote right after the collapse about how the Mets needed to rethink their veteran approach. Do you believe resigning Luis Castillo and Moises Alou only reinforces that belief, or was it simply a case of there not being any better options in-house or on the market?

Those were both good moves; Alou is still terrific when he’s healthy and the Mets have the depth to cover him when he’s hurt, and Castillo was the best option in a bad market. What I didn’t like was starting Lawrence over Pelfrey, or letting Humber rot on the bench for weeks after he’d finished strong in the Pacific Coast League before tossing him on the hill in a must-win game. If you won’t trust a kid over someone like Lawrence or Mota, when are you going to trust them?

Do you believe the Mets lacked a certain bit of fire last year, and how do think is the best way to go about fixing that problem without sacrificing production?

If they’d won two more games no one would really be complaining about their lack of fire; they just weren’t as good or as well-managed as everyone thought they were. I figure the best way to fix that is to get better players.

Do you think Willie Randolph should have been fired following the collapse?

Probably not, but that’s just because I think bad managing is a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself. Replacing Randolph wouldn’t have had any real effect.

Anyone in particular still on the market that you believe the Mets should make a big push for?

Barry Bonds. He’s still the best hitter in baseball and his court case doesn’t start until the end of the year.