Word got out today that the Mets and Jerry Manuel are to make some changes to the coaching staff next season. Base coaches Ken Oberkfell and Luis Aguayo will be offered new positions within the organization after joining the Mets concurrent with the Willie Randolph firing this past June.

Aguayo's replacement at third base will be none other than Razor Shines, a personal favorite of Jerry Manuel and of anyone who collects cool baseball names. Shines served to positive reviews under Manuel in Chicago -- they were once both fringe infielders in the Expos' organization -- and appears to have a pretty good reputation. He wore No. 18 in Chicago.

The Mets also announced that Guy Conti would be reassigned and Met lifer Randy Niemann would return to the staff as bullpen coach.This would mark Niemann's third stint with the major league staff -- he served the same role under under Bobby Valentine and Art Howe, racking up three uni numbers (45, 48, 52) along the way. You might also not remember him as perhaps the least distinguished of the 1986 Mets-- a lanky lefthanded reliever whose spotty Met career resulted in having worn Nos. 46 and 40 over parts of two seasons. That makes 5 unis so far, the overall record is in sight.

The Mets also said Thursday that hitting coach Howard Johnson; pitching coach Dan Warthen, and father-and-son staffers Sandy Alomar Sr. and Jr., would return to their roles with the Mets in 2009.

Turns out you can't trust everything you read on the Internet. Who knew?

The below item about rumors of a uniform change was shot down this week by a source in the know. Not only are the Mets not ditching road greys for charcoal greys, but the black will continue to be an (unwelcome) element in caps, drop shadows and jerseys. The only changes, our source assured us, will be a sleeve patch advertising Citibank honoring CitiField, and the removal of the black road NEW YORK jerseys from the lineup, allowing the team to suit up in the same black Mets jerseys at home or on the road.

(The photo here, snapped by the talented David Whitham, catches your host digesting the Mets' inability to get the winning run home from third base with no outs in what became my final visit to Shea Stadium last month. We really oughta dispense with the moroseness now, and ditching the black -- all of us -- seems a fine way to start. I'm going to go set that hat on fire). 

Very disappointing knowing that changes could be coming to the Mets ensemble had been an open secret since 2006, when Paul Lukas's spirited but ultimately doomed Ditch The Black campaign got some publicity but no results.

The New York Times in 2006:

Mr. [Dave] Howard [Mets executive VP] said that the Mets’ uniforms would remain the same through 2007 but that the team might revisit the issue for the opening of the club’s new ballpark in 2009. Still, he said, “if you look around the building, you’re seeing a lot of the black, so it’s clear fans vote most effectively with their pocketbook.”

I can't say a four-year contract for Omar Minaya and a Jeff Wilpon promise of "addition by subtraction" were the first things I was hoping to hear from the Mets this offseason.

As detailed in prior posts I'm not exactly sure what Omar has done to deserve the reward, beyond overwhelming certain free agents and their would-be suitors. His trade record, particularly since the shrewd acquisition of John Maine, hasn't been particularly shining, and his restraint in consecutive deadlines, while admirable in some respects, also preceded matching second-place finishes.

To his credit, Omar appears to have made pursuit of interim manager Jerry Manuel among his top priorities. Manuel did a magnificent job turning around a sonambulent team this year and seemed to have charmed the press and the brass. Interestingly, chatter has begun over whether to bring back Bobby Valentine, who'd certainly be an acceptable alternative from where I sit.

(Edit -- I see now where Jerry has agreed to a 2-year deal. Hoorah. In the Mets world, 2 years = 1 year, setting them up to return to Bobby Vee if things don't work out next year. All good).

Wondering just what the 2009 team will look like might be tricky considering rumors of uniform changes have arisen again. Dave from Michigan passed along chatter from Chris Creamer's Sports Logo website saying the Mets as expected are phasing out black (hooray!) in favor of blue but have the biggest changes in mind for their road uniform, said to be completely re-imagined in a charcoal gray (uh, OK?) with Mets in script (boo!). The message continues:

Interestingly there is absolutely no black on this uniform whatsoever - and I was told that the blue/orange/white color combination jumps off this uniform with incredible success. Blue/Orange/White piping will also be on the ends of the sleeves, down the front of the jersey, and down the pant legs as well.

OK, something else to look forward to, maybe.