You have to love the drama that is the New York Mets. The Mets have become the official daytime soap opera of SNY. The ladies that read this may understand a little better, so may a few of the guys who have nothing better to do in the afternoon. Come on, admit it, some of you guys out there watch the soaps.

The latest episode of 'As the Mets limp', is brought to you by SNY, and unofficially by Ace Bandages. In this episode, Kelvim Escobar gets a little character development. Escobar was signed early in the off season by the franchise. He arrived with much fan fare and, of course, was optimistic and welcomed just as optimistically.

Since that honeymoon press conference, he has not been considered close to baseball ready. We are just two days away from opening day, and the pitcher they signed to be the gap to Francisco Rodriguez for this season, all season, is now just beginning to throw. This is another reason to consider the Mets amazing. No one else would have signed this player. No one else would've considered it until he could throw and do so effectively. Not the Mets, though, my friends.

He went from having a weak and unresponsive throwing shoulder, to proclaiming that he will retire if he's not healthy by April 1st. That was the earliest April Fools joke I've ever heard of, and he sure got one over on the Mets fans and the Mets brass in their wallets. They don't see it like that however, that may be even sadder.

When asked of his opinion on how the Mets feel about his rehab, Escobar says of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel,

"They always tell me not to worry, they don't want me in April or May, because that's not when you win the World Series. (They tell me) they need me for a long time, to take my time and not rush myself, to be patient about things."

That's wonderful. The truth is, games are won and lost in April, May and June too. If a team loses enough of them in that time period, that team doesn't have a chance to get into the playoffs and guess what Mets brass? No World Series. Another poorly thought out concept by this franchise, like so many others before.

They never gave Escobar the proper physical, if they had they would've known he was no where close to ready and may never be anywhere close to being able to produce this year if ever again. That is a massive slip up by the Mets organization and their medical team. The same type of slip up that led to the wonderful transaction of J.J. Putz last year. Need I say more. A similar situation. We all know how that turned out, right?

It is with this in mid that I wish to make a radical suggestion. Kelvim should just retire already. Stop teasing himself and the Mets along with their fan base that he may one day get healthy enough to throw a pitch in a Mets uniform. It is the right decision for him and for the Mets. That means it will be the right decision for the fans too.

He signed a guaranteed contract. It was only for $ 1.25M, this year. It is an example of how they spend their money. They passed on Beimel, Mahay, Gaudin and several others because they felt that they had their set up man. They don't right now. Not in him anyway, and they may not even get it from him ever. I have three good reasons why he needs to call it quits now.

First, he could retire now, knowing that  he has made more than enough money throughout his career to be able to live off of his reputation and contracts for the rest of his life. He could parlay that career reputation into some business adventure or a job in the media. He may even be able to properly rehab, without rushing, and come back in a year or so.

If he does that he could be in a better position to prolong his career and continue being the productive player that he is used to being, but it will take some time. That is something the Mets really don't have. At least Omar and Manuel don't anyway. Escobar was Omar's decision, as was Putz before him. The track record is beginning to pile up against them.

Second, the franchise should convince him to quit to save face. By convincing him to retire, they can end this experiment of the weak arm wonder mending and the bad press it's giving them. They, also can allow the roster vacancy he leaves to open up the potential for another player to step into the majors.

 Imagine if this bullpen has Igarashi, Mejia or Takahashi in the bullpen and are able to call up Ike Davis or Chris Carter due to the extra roster spot. They are already deep enough in the bullpen with the exception of a lefty specialist if Feliciano becomes the 8th inning guy.

Otherwise, they don't need another questionable arm convoluting  the bullpen question. If Omar and company can convince him to do so, and whoever takes that roster spot produces, the brass can boost their reputations and save face. By saving face, they can save their jobs.

Finally, is the age old question of going out on top or ending with a crash. He's earned his share of accolades. It's not like he has never won a title, or as if he's never performed well on the big stage. He has had a good career and has been in the playoffs. He's been a consistent player for a few years and has built the reputation of a winner.

If he tries to make it back at some point this year, he may do so, but it may be a terrible career in a Mets uniform and will hurt that reputation. If he allows his ego to get in his way, he could damage his career's perception and therefore, his financial future. If he decides to fade away, he'll probably be remembered as consistent and productive at a high level.

If he then returns in a year or so, healthy, he will be considered courageous and be honored for the effort. He will be praised for a comeback. If he fails at it, at least he was healthy. The Mets signed him, trusting him to eventually be healthy. They were taking a chance. I'm sure they knew that, but they did it anyway. I applaud the attempt, but at some point they also have to be realistic.

They must realize that the options in their current bullpen and in the minors waiting for various injuries to open up a spot for them, are better options than Escobar. However, until the Mets management does open their eyes and come to the reality of the situation, we will still be tuning into the latest episodes of 'As the Mets limp'.