LINK - Mr. Vaughn, 42 — and married with a 5-year-old daughter — cuts an unlikely figure in New York’s real estate world, not just because women are drawn to him, or because he is 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds under his custom-made suit, Donald Pliner loafers and diamond studs. Charismatic and massive, enduringly famous and comfortably rich, he brings a dose of glamour to the decidedly unsexy world of low-income housing. This is where Mr. Vaughn, a star slugger for the Boston Red Sox who quit baseball in 2003 after a lackluster run with the Mets, decided to build what he called his “afterlife” from the ashes of his baseball career. His six-year-old company, Omni New York LLC, is on its way to becoming a major player in the low-income housing world. It has acquired 4,000 apartments, most of them in New York State’s scrappiest neighborhoods, housing the poorest of tenants (98 percent of them qualify for Section 8 rent subsidies).
link - Whatever the reality is from the hangover of the Madoff affair, the troubled real estate market -- in which the Wilpons have made much of their fortune -- and the lack of fannies in the Citi seats hang over each and every move and non-move the Mets make. Fans rightfully don't care whether the Wilpons can buy another yacht. They care whether they can buy Cliff Lee this offseason. The Mets don't seem able or willing to compete with the Yankees financially, which is inexcusable. The Yankees might have 27 championships and the prestige of their name, but the two teams are physically separated by 10 miles and a bridge while financially they seem worlds apart.
link - Let's be honest, too: The farm system isn't exactly deep with top-notch prospects, no matter how Minaya spins it. Ownership actually bears significant responsibility for that. Fernando Martinez recently endured a 3-for-33 slump at Triple-A Buffalo, is hitting .250 for the season and may have been leapfrogged by Kirk Nieuwenhuis as far as being the organization's top outfield prospect. Beyond 18-year-old shortstop Wilmer Flores and right-hander Jenrry Mejia, there's little buzz from scouts about Mets farmhands, at least as elite prospects.
link - Like it or not, Mike Pelfrey is doing very little to shed the ‘head case’ label that followed him the past couple season. I hate to utter those words because I was as quick as anyone to believe he was over his anxiety issues and that even his most recent struggles were more mechanical than anything else. But if you fail to correct a mechanical flaw at this point in your career and this late in the season, it’s at least somewhat reflective of a mental lapse. So guess what, as unfortunate as it is, here is a player whose mind needs to be managed just as much as his physical tools.
link - It was sort of fitting that Aaron Heilman - one of few scapegoats for the 2008 season - closed out the Mets Friday night. Minaya couldn't wait to get him and Scott Schoenweis out of town after a second straight collapse, yet guys like Luis Castillo were allowed to stay, and Oliver Perez was actually re-signed. What a complete joke. And now that Jason Bay is on the DL, we have 15 more days of watching Jeff Francouer swing for the fences, despite the Mets being down three runs in the eighth inning. Speaking of Francoeur, he hasn't sniffed a hit since his homer Tuesday night. And now that Mike Pelfrey is completely in the tank, we are pretty much cooked anyway. We could trade for 5 Ted Lillys it won't make a difference. It's way too late to fix this mess.
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