According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jeff Francouer may be close to being sent out of town. Apparently, if he is traded, it will be in a deal with the Texas Rangers for 25 year old utility infielder Joaquin Arias.

Both players in the alleged deal have already passed through waivers, meaning they're both eligible to be traded to any team.

Mets Game #132, Road #68
	New York Mets (65-66) @ Atlanta Braves (76-55)
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Weather Forecast

Pitching Match-Up

Mets Lineup

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Braves Lineup

Team Leaders

Mets Injury Report

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Braves Injury Report

This Date in Mets History

Tom Seaver shutouts San Francisco, 8-0, to tie Jerry Koosman’s franchise record of 19 wins on August 31, 1969…Felix Millian collects his 127th single of the year to set the club mark for singles in a season on August 31, 1973…New York trades Jerry Grote to Los Angeles for two minor leaguers-to-be-named later (pitcher Dan Smith and infielder Randy Rogers) on August 31, 1977.

It's Tracy Stallard birthday and he was born in 1937. It's also Claudell Washington birthday and he was born in 1954. Plus, it's Hideo Nomo and Pat Howell birthdays both were born in 1968.

New York Mets purchased Bill Graham from the Detroit Tigers on August 31, 1967….New York Mets traded Jerry Grote to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dan Smith and Randy Rogers on August 31, 1977….New York Mets traded Pete Harnisch to the Milwaukee Brewers for Donny Moore on August 31, 1997….New York Mets sold Tim Spehr to the Kansas City Royals on August 31, 1998.

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Like always,

Mets Game #131, Road #67
	New York Mets (65-65) @ Atlanta Braves (75-55)
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Weather Forecast

Pitching Match-Up

Mets Lineup

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Braves Lineup

Team Leaders

Mets Injury Report

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Braves Injury Report

Tidbits of Interest

• Recent – The Mets start a 10-game road trip tonight, traveling to Atlanta, Chicago and Washington…It’s the club’s second longest road trip of the season …New York went on an 11-game road trip, July 15-25, going 2-9…The Mets went 4-3 on their last road trip, August 16-22 (at Houston and Pittsburgh)…It was New York’s second winning road trip of the year…The Mets went 7-2 on a nine-game road trip June 11-20 (at Baltimore, Cleveland and Yankees)…The Mets went 3-3 on their most recent six-game homestand…New York is 17-25 since the All-Star break…The 17 wins since the break are tied for 23rd in the majors…After June 27, when the Mets were a season-best 11 games over .500, they have gone 21-33.
• On the Road – Overall, the Mets have a winning record on two of their nine road trips this year…The Mets are 9-16 in their last 24 road games and 12-22 in their last 34 games away from Citi Field…Overall, New York is 26-40 on the road this season…The .394 winning percentage on the road ranks 21st in the majors.
• Series Notes – The Mets are 23-19 in the first game of a series, including 7-14 on the road, going 2-2 overall vs. the Braves and 1-1 at Atlanta…The Mets are 3-14-4 in road series.
• Starters – Mets starters are 8-9 with a 2.58 ERA (44 earned runs/153.1 innings) over their last 22 games dating back to August 6…The staff as a whole has pitched to a 2.78 ERA during this stretch, the second lowest mark in the majors…Oakland is first (2.36)…Since the All-Star break, Mets starting pitchers have allowed three earned runs or fewer in 31 of their 42 starts…The starting staff has allowed six or more runs in six of these 42 starts…New York starters are 11-18 with a 3.27 ERA (98 earned runs/269.2 innings) and 13 no-decisions during this span….New York’s pitching staff has posted a 3.36 ERA since the All-Star break, the third-lowest mark in the majors during that span…Only Oakland (2.64) and San Diego (3.35) have a lower ERA….New York’s starting pitchers have thrown 175.1 innings in the month of August, the most by any National League rotation.
• Offense – The Mets are hitting .223 (315-1410) with 127 runs scored, 56 doubles, nine triples and 27 home runs in 42 games since the All-Star break…The Mets are 17-25 in these games…New York is batting .232 (196-844) in August…..The Mets have scored first in 11 of their last 13 contests…The Mets are 6-5 in these games…Overall, New York is 53-24 this year when scoring first….Since July 1, the Mets have a .297 on-base percentage ranking 28th in the majors…New York’s team batting average during that period is .230, ranking 29th in the majors and the club’s .342 slugging percentage is 29th…The Mets have 118 extra-base hits during this span, ranking 29th in the majors.
• RISP – New York was 2-7 with runners in scoring position last night and has hit .191 (26-136) with RISP over its last 19 games…Overall, the Mets are 19th in the majors with a .253 (275-1087) batting average with runners in scoring position…They rank 18th with 1087 at-bats with RISP…The Mets are hitting .248 (135-544) with runners in scoring position on the road…New York is batting .203 (106-521) with runners in scoring position and two outs, ranking 30th in the majors…The Mets are hitting .183 (28-153) with runners in scoring position after the seventh inning, ranking 29th in the majors…New York went 1-2 yesterday with the bases loaded with R.A. Dickey’s two-run single…The Mets are hitting .196 (21-107) with the bases loaded, ranking 30th in the majors.
• Josh Thole – Is hitting .300 (21-70) with three doubles, one home run and four RBI this month…Thole has five multi-hit games in his last seven starts.
• Ike Davis – Needs 18 runs to tie Cleon Jones’ rookie franchise record…Jones scored 74 runs in 1966 with the Mets…Davis is also 17 RBI shy of Darryl Strawberry’s rookie team mark of 74 RBI set in 1983.

This Date in Mets History

Five weeks after breaking his hip, Casey Stengel formally announces his retirement as the manager of the Mets on August 30, 1965…Bob Friend beats the Dodgers, 10-4 at Shea, in Sandy Koufax’s final decision against the Mets on August 30, 1966…Koufax finished his brilliant career with a 17-2 mark vs. the Amazin’s…Howard Johnson cracks a home run in a 9-3 win at LA to give him his second 30 home run-30 stolen base season of his career on August 30, 1989…The Mets beat the Astros, 17-1, on August 30, 1999…Edgardo Alfonzo ties or sets four club marks by going 6-6 with three home runs, six runs scored and five RBI.

It's Tug McGraw birthday and he was born in 1944 and also John Adkins born in 1977.

New York Mets sold Dale Murray to the Montreal Expos on August 30, 1979….New York Mets traded Kevin Brown and Julio Machado to the Milwaukee Brewers for Charlie O'Brien and Kevin Carmody on August 30, 1990….Montreal Expos claimed Orlando Mercado of the New York Mets on waivers on August 30, 1990….New York Mets traded Nikco Riesgo and Rocky Elli to the Philadelphia Phillies for Tom Herr on August 30, 1990….New York Mets traded Archie Corbin to the Kansas City Royals for Pat Tabler on August 30, 1990….New York Mets traded Nelson Cruz to the Oakland Athletics for Jorge Velandia on August 30, 2000….New York Mets traded Victor Diaz to the Texas Rangers for Mike Nickeas on August 30, 2006.

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Like always,

With the 2010 seemly over for the Mets, it's time to look to the 2011 season and who will be coming off the books.

Jeff Francoeur ~ 2010 salary $5M: He seems to be a fan favorite, but that doesn't make you a major league ball player. Francoeur has shown signs of improvement at the plate and has a great arm in right field, but I just don't see him having a place on this team in 2011.

John Maine ~ 2010 salary $3.3M: After five seasons with the Mets his tenure in New York is almost definitely over. He blew out his shoulder this season for the Mets and his career could possibly be over. Hopefully he makes a recovery and is able to catch on somewhere else though.

Pedro Feliciano ~ 2010 salary $2.9M: He is a free agent at the end of the season and it's still uncertain if the Mets will bring him back. Feliciano has been with the team for eight years and has been one of the best non-closer relief pitchers in Mets history. The price tag for him might be a bit much, but I have a feeling the Mets will bring him back.

Alex Cora ~ 2010 salary $1.85M: After signing a one year deal the Mets released Cora before his second year option could vest. It was a smart move for the Mets business wise, but they lost an important player in the clubhouse. If Cora chooses to retire, the Mets might be interested in bringing him back in a coaching role. But I think Cora wants to play for a few more season before he goes down that path. The Mets aren't completely done paying Core though. They will owe him $.15M in 2011.

Fernando Tatis ~ 2010 salary $.85M: After the Mets lost Tatis for the season with a shoulder injury, it's very, very unlikely they will bring him back. The Mets have Mike Hessman on the team now, who can do just what Tatis did, but better. King Fernando did have some nice moments for the Mets, and for that we thank him.

Henry Blanco ~ 2010 salary $.75M: He signed a one year deal in the offseason and it doesn't look like the Mets will bring him back. Josh Thole will be the starting catcher in 2011 and the back-up catcher will either me Omir Santos or some other free agent.

J.J. Putz ~ 2010 salary $1M: The Mets had to buyout the final year on Putz contract, which was $1M. After this season they will be completely free of Putz.

Total ~ $15.65M: That really isn't a lot of money coming off the books for the Mets. I don't expect the Mets to be in the market for any of the top free agents in 2011. The Mets do have a ton of money getting freed up after 2011 with Carlos Beltran's, Oliver Perez's, Luis Castillo's and possibly Francisco Rodriguez's contracts expiring. With the current finical state of the Mets, I don't expect them to bring in anyone with a big contract until that time.

After taking batting practice on Sunday, Jose Reyes is still feeling discomfort in his in his oblique. He only took six swings from the cage and is not sure when he wants to test it out again.

Reyes was swinging from the left side, and said the pain was just too much to continue, and stopped after six swings.

On when whether he would take swings on Monday he said, "I probably won't do anything."

With Reyes being out of the line-up it doesn't look like the team is being effected negatively. They are still a "win one day, lose the next" type of team.

This news certainly isn't good for the Mets, but at this point it really doesn't matter. The Mets might think about shutting Reyes down for the year to prevent any serious damage.

If Reyes would be out for the rest of the season Ruben Tejada would continue to be the everyday short stop. I would like to see the Mets bring up Reese Havens and see him play some games at second base. Problem with him is that he has to stay healthy.