There are a few possible scenarios and we will have at least one eliminated when August 1 rolls around. General manager Sandy Alderson is surely exploring the option of trading Reyes and seeing who will give him the best package in return. The table setter should bring back a bevy of prospects and that would clarify any question if the Mets are in a full-blown rebuilding stage. The trading deadline arrives the last day of July, and the Mets will in all likelihood be sellers. It remains to be seen just how much is on the table.

If the Mets decide to hang onto Reyes, then they will be doing so with the knowledge that he is not going to discuss any contract extension. He has made it clear that the offseason is the time to talk business off the field.

“He wants to focus on baseball,” Alderson told reporters. “He wants to focus on what’s going on on the field. So with that in mind, we will respect his wishes and hopefully pick up negotiations at the end of the season.”

What Alderson failed to mention is that Reyes could be traded and still return to Flushing as a free agent. That is the second possibility. The best of both worlds, in a way.

But that is also taking a big risk. If Alderson truly believes that Reyes is the player he should build the team around, then trading him may send the wrong signals. In that case, hanging on to Reyes until the season commences will give the Mets exclusive negotiating rights for five days after the World Series ends. After that, Reyes hits the open market and anything can happen then.

But there is a silver lining if Reyes is a Met and walks at the end of the season. He is a Type A free agent and the Mets would receive two first round draft picks next year. They would have to offer him arbitration for that to kick in, but that’s merely a formality.

Photo by John Scollo

Fast forward to the fourth of November and all of the chatter early on that you can’t buy a championship has quieted. Yes, the Yankees do have many home grown components on the roster but without the addition of the big three free agents there would not have been a 27th World championship won.

After a rash of busts that have gone through Yankee Stadium since the last championship in 2000, the organization was meticulous in doing their home work. They needed to address the starting rotation and did so in astonishing fashion, inking lefthander CC Sabathia and righty A. J. Burnett. With Jason Giambi’s albatross of a contract finally expired, the Yankees had a hole at first base.

At the 11th hour, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman swooped in and signed Mark Teixiera right under Boston’s nose. This completed the trifecta of big name additions and immediately put the Yankees as favorites to win it all.

They not only dominated the regular season by finishing with the best overall record but easily dismissed the Twins and Angels in the playoffs. They then defeated the defending champions in six games. The Phillies were a formidable opponent but it was men versus boys. Even the biggest Yankee hater has to tip his or her hat to them following the 7-3 clincher at the new Yankee Stadium.

It is quite amazing when you sit back and ponder that not only have the Yankees captured 27 titles but also 40 American League pennants since they moved from Baltimore back in 1903. The next two teams on the list are the St. Louis Cardinals with 10 World Series championships and the Athletics franchise (Philadelphia, Kansas City and Oakland) is next with nine.

Even the staunches Yankee hater has to tip his or her hat to them. Come to think of it, a bigger story this year would have been if they didn’t win it all.

NEW YORK YANKEES WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS

1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009

Photo by Bill Menzel

Although the Phils are in first place in their division, it is mostly by default. Lidge came crashing back down to earth with an 0-3, 7.86 ERA with 13 saves in 29 games before going on the disabled list. Ryan Madson stepped into the stopper’s role and had nearly as many blown saves (three) as saves (four). With Lidge making his first appearance in nearly three weeks, the fans at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark can only hope that the 2008 version is the one coming back.

Philadelphia leads the Mets – another team decimated by injuries –  by one full game in the National League East with a very paltry 38-34 mark, by far the weakest division leader in Major League Baseball. Considering that we are not even at the half way point in the season yet, it may come down to who can keep the most warm bodies on the field.

Photo by Bill Menzel

It’s not too late to catch the third installment of MuscleSport Radio, the weekly Internet podcast bringing you the best of bodybuilding, pro sports and anabolic steroids. This week’s special guest was none other than Gunter Schlierkamp, who speaks frankly about some of the frustrations he faced in bodybuilding and why he has turned to acting the past two years and not the Olympia stage. Gunter also comments on the passing of the great Ben Weider and what the entire Weider family has meant to his career.

The World Series and the bad weather effecting it is also discussed on this show, as well as the seven NFL players testing positive for the diuretic Bumetanide.

All past broadcasts are archived and can be heard via MuscleSport Mag, Blog Talk Radio (www.blogtalkradio.com) and iTunes.

Please be advised that we have already scheduled our special guest for the Tuesday, November 18 show – legendary bodybuilder Boyer Coe.

Be sure to listen live every Tuesday afternoon from 3 to 4 pm (Eastern time). Our call-in number is (347) 884-8157.

Now that the obvious has been admitted, will it mean that baseball’s home run king will return to the game? It was blatant that collusion took place last summer as offenses struggled and Barry Bonds was sitting home. No team had the guts to sign him or go against their brethren by doing so, even if the addition of his lefthanded power would have made a difference for a postseason berth.

If his case is proven, will that open the door for someone to give Bonds a look next spring? It will be difficult to admit a conscious group effort to keep a person out of the game and then have it happen again.

Recently, the Baseball Players’ Union has proven through evidence that teams acted in concert to leave Bonds without a job. They then reached an agreement with the commissioner’s office in delaying the filing of an official grievance, no specific date being set. One has to surmise that nothing will be done until after the World Series is completed.

By coming to the decision with the union, Major League Baseball didn’t exactly dismiss the charges, ones that their attorneys have repeatedly denied in all prior statments. Jeff Borris, Bonds’ agent, has claimed to have “numerous things that occurred” that made him believe that “clubs were acting in concert,” and he further stated that when he has the opportunity to testify, will “delineate each and every one of them.”

Most of the former players that were held in high esteem were there. Not just old timers like the greta Yogi Berra, but more recent ones such as Paul O’Neill and Bernie Williams. But nowhere to be seen was Roger Clemens, who was an important piece in the Yankee dynasty during his tenure from 1999 to 2003.

A favorite of owner George Steinbrenner, the Rocket even came back out of another brief retirement in glorious fashion in 2007 by making the announcement himself from the Boss’ private luxury box. But even that wasn’t enough to bring him around for one more appearance at his old stomping grounds.

The Yankees’ silence on the subject spoke volumes. By not touching Clemens with a 10-foot pole, they have made it clear that due to his performance-enhancing drug allegations, he is no longer welcome in their home. Regardless of his repeated denials, it is so blatantly obvious that Clemens used them and has hurt his image by not coming clean.

The Yankees won two straight World Series with Clemens when he was first acquired from Toronto, and also played in two others. He had 14, 13, 20, 13 and 17 wins in pinstripes. Appearing washed up, he struggled to a 6-6 mark in his return last summer.

Always a fan favorite, it would have been interesting to see the reaction Clemens would have received. Unfortunately, we will never know.